NEW PHILADELPHIA History was made Thursday as officials broke ground for New Philadelphia's new fire station, which will replace a structure that has been in use for more than a century."We haven't done this for 110 years," Mayor Joel Day said at the beginning of the ceremony at 134 Front Ave.
More than 75 people attended the event, including elected officials, past and current firefighters and city residents.All who spoke offered their thanks to everyone who helped in planning for the fire station and in getting a $5 million bond issue passed in November to finance construction.Day thanked former Mayor Dave Johnson and former Service Director Jim Zucal, present and past members of city council, members of the Safer New Philadelphia Committee and Fire Chief Jim Parrish and firefighters.Speaking of the firefighters, he said, "Our city government knew for years that the condition of the existing fire station was deteriorating. Despite that, they (firefighters) continued to be exemplary in performing their service to the citizens of New Philadelphia. Had they not maintained their devotion to our community, support for the bond issue could have been a much tougher sell."He also offered his thanks to the voters, "who acknowledged the necessity of a new fire station by their overwhelming approval of the construction bond issue last November. It's now the city government's responsibility to see that their expectations are met or exceeded as actual construction of the new station gets underway."The new facility will be a two-story, 20,000-square-foot steel structure.Parrish pledged that firefighters would be careful in managing taxpayer dollars.