Residents at a special election Saturday overwhelmingly voted to pay more taxes to see a new $26 million fire station built, thesunchronicle.com reported.

By a vote of 1,359-466, voters backed a tax hike overriding state tax-levy limiting law Proposition 2 1/2 to pay for the station, the report said.

The current average single-family home’s assessed value is $626,131, and that home will face an estimated annual $538 increase on the tax bill based on a 25-year bond with a 5% interest rate, the report said.

A total of 1,844, or just under a quarter of the town’s 7,803 registered voters, turned out to the poll at the Freeman-Kennedy School, according to the report.

Construction could begin in the spring with completion anticipated in fall 2024.

A new station has been estimated to cost $26 million, a sum which would be offset by about $3.3 million left over from a 2016 appropriation for new police and fire stations, an earlier report said. The fire station was never built because of cost overruns with the police station.

Plans call for the new fire station to be built on the Main Street site of the present fire station, which is outdated and undersized, according to the report. A new fire station building committee has been planning the project for nearly two years, and has held forums and tours of the fire station, which had also been the old police station.

For more information, visit www.norfolk.ma.us, where there is a detailed town meeting warrant article about the fire station project. Also, the building committee has a page on the town website with in-depth information, including answers to frequently asked questions, presentations, documents, about the current station, and meeting agendas and minutes.

The Tuscaloosa City Council approved moving Fire Station No. 6 to a new location Tuesday, wvua23.com reported.

This decision is the first step toward beginning the construction of the new station, which will be located at 1812 Hargrove Road E on 2.51 acres, the report said. Construction is estimated at $4 million. Station No. 6 will include features designed with the community in mind, the report said.

They are planning on utilizing a gymnasium for training and office space, a fire official said. The facility will provide services that the community needs for the next 50 years, according to the report.

The site is also large enough to house fleet maintenance operations for Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue, and there’s also talk of adding a fueling station for city-owned vehicles, the report said.

City leaders said the new station location can better service areas of east Tuscaloosa than the current spot.

Now that the rezoning is approved, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox will determine the budget and construction will begin soon after, the report said. Station No. 6 is expected to be finished within 24 to 36 months of the construction start.

The Asbury Park City Council unanimously approved a bond ordinance increasing the amount of funding for the construction of a new municipal firehouse to $22 million, tapinto.net reported.

The proposed site of the new headquarters is on city-owned property located at 200 Memorial Drive which is currently being used as a municipal parking lot, the report said. 

The ordinance approved during Wednesday night’s council meeting amends an original $3.5 million bond ordinance passed in 2018 increasing it by $18.5 million, according to the report. 

The city’s current firehouse, located at 800 Main Street, will be turning 123 years old this summer and city firefighters can indeed attest that the building is showing clear signs of aging, the report said. 

The Bedford Town Council said the town was awarded a grant from the Virginia Fire Services Board for the Regional Fire Service Training Facilities, wset.com reported.

The grant, of up to $19,203, will allow the Bedford Fire Department to install towers on the current training facilities grounds for rescue training, the report said. This would be not only for volunteers in Bedford but across the state.

The council said the town was also notified that the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) will provide funding up to $1,000 per Bedford police officer that attends training for the crisis intervention team. The DCJS funds are restricted to police department spending only but can be used for items like equipment or training, the report said.

The council shared that the department will use these funds for the remaining amount needed to purchase a police ballistic shield and update expired trauma kits. The council approved the budget amendments for both of these pieces of funding.

Fire crews responded to a two-alarm apartment fire in Oakland’s Cox neighborhood early Sunday morning, according to the Oakland Fire Department. Crews were called to the fire on the 9500 block of Birch Street and safely evacuated all parties inside of the residence. The property will be salvageable after the blaze, OFD said.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRON-TV FOX 2 Oakland