Avery Kreemer
Springfield News-Sun, Ohio
(TNS)

Jan. 31—The City of Springfield spent nearly $6 million of its $44.2 million allocation of American Rescue Plan funds in 2022 toward projects that officials believe will provide tangible benefits to residents.

City spokesperson Valerie Lough said the city’s planned expenditures all fall within five categories: building four new fire departments; working on water and sewer infrastructure; awarding grants for arts, culture and recreation initiatives; renovating the City Hall parking garage; and providing solutions for affordable housing and displaced individuals.

“Our eye is on the future and ways that we can make the best long-term investment for the people of our community,” Lough said.

The city has so far spent about $5.9 million of its ARPA funds in those categories.

The largest investment went toward providing shelter solutions for the city’s homeless, as officials committed $1.7 million to purchase the Villager Inn off of North Street with the intent of turning the motel into a temporary homeless shelter — an approach officials said was necessitated by COVID-19′s economic impact.

“COVID led to the displacement of more individuals, straining the infrastructure capacity necessary to shelter not only individuals but single parents and families with children,” said Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck. “We’ve been working at the city and county level to build capacity to address this issue.”

The city doubled down on this approach early this year with the allocation of another $2.2 million to purchase the Executive Inn off of Columbia Street. In total, Springfield plans to spend about $8.4 million on projects related to affordable housing and displaced individuals — about 19% of its total ARPA allocation.

Heck said the motel projects will provide temporary housing solutions, along with supportive services, as folks who were displaced by the pandemic transition to more stable situations.

Springfield intends to build four new fire stations across the city at a cumulative price of about $18 million. Earlier this year, the Station No. 3 off Selma Road was decommissioned ahead of the new projects. The Springfield News-Sun reported that the 1959-built station was too small to house modern fire equipment.

Lough said the new stations will “not only replace worn and outdated facilities, but will be designed and constructed to last for generations in the City of Springfield.”

In total, the city intends to spend $11 million on its water and sewer system, plus $6 million on its underground parking garage renovation above City Hall Plaza.

About $800,000 in small grants will be given to arts and recreation initiatives.

Lough said each project was chosen with a lasting impact in mind, and added that all funds will be allocated before the end of 2024 and spent before the end of 2026, per federal guidelines.

“When we started to make decisions about how these ARPA dollars could be used to benefit our community, our clear priority was to select areas where we can affect practical, long-term and sustainable change for the people we serve,” Lough said.

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a newspaper series tracking how dozens of our area’s largest governments are spending hundreds of millions of dollars combined from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Visit our “Billions in COVID aid: Where it’s going” special section on our partner newspaper’s website at daytondailynews.com/investigations/billions-in-covid-aid to see summaries from other co

Margaret Kates
al.com
(TNS)

The city of Mobile is looking to build a brand-new public safety training complex for firefighters and police officers, replacing the aging facilities it currently uses to train people who work in public safety.

“I foresee this opportunity for the city to build this facility, and what we can provide for the city as a whole,” said the city’s executive director of public safety Lawrence Battiste. “We do so much for the region, we are the ‘beacon on a hill’ for public safety in the region.”

On Tuesday, the Mobile City Council will vote on whether to approve a roughly $997,000 contract with Goodwyn Mills Cawood, an architecture firm, for the design of a “state-of-the-art joint training facility that combines resources from Mobile’s Police, Fire-Rescue and Emergency Services Departments,” according to the contract. The site is set to be roughly eight to 10 acres and the facility is supposed to be roughly 21,126 square feet. The cost of building the training site is supposed to be roughly $13.5 million.

Where the training facility will be has not been determined. It’s also not clear when the facility would be completed. Battiste said once the design is completed (12 weeks from when the contract is authorized), the search for a location will begin in earnest. According to the contract, construction on the facility must be completed within 15 months of breaking ground.

Battiste says that the facility is a more efficient way to train police officers and firefighters, who will share the facility equally. While each group has its own training, there are several elements that overlap, he says, and having the two combine forces will help streamline training.

“While police and fire have operated independently of each other, there are training elements of both that overlap,” Battiste said. “Creating a state-of-the-art training facility that combines the best of what the police and fire have to offer.”

Having up-to-date facilities and top-notch training is critically important, Battiste says, because the city of Mobile doesn’t just train its own officers: police officers and firefighters from around the region receive training in Mobile. Many smaller municipalities that don’t have the infrastructure to support police and fire academies send recruits to Mobile for training.

“It’s important that we have a facility that puts Mobile in the best light, not just for our city but for these adjacent communities,” Battiste said. “To be the best, you have to build the best.”

In addition, for the city of Mobile itself, having nice facilities is important for attracting talent to the police and fire departments, Battiste says. Mobile’s police department has struggled with retaining officers in the last two years. Last spring, the city of Mobile offered a pay incentive to police officers, after the city lost 111 officers in 12 months.

And as the city of Mobile hopes to grow, by annexing territory west of the city or by other means, having strong police and fire departments will be crucial to that goal, Battiste says.

Battiste says that the city hasn’t reached out to the community for input on the facility, as it was more focused on identifying its needs to update the infrastructure. But he says, in his experience, the public has generally been supportive of the city’s first responders and of allocating those departments the resources they need.

In recent years, new facilities for police have become a flashpoint, particularly with the rise of the “Defund the Police” movement in 2020. In Chicago, a new, $128 million police and fire training facility opened this week after years of pushback from activists, who wanted the city to spend the money on social services and housing to hel

The Hendersonville (NC) Fire Department took one step closer to a new Fire Station 1 Monday as the Boyd Park site officially closed and construction ramped up, the city of Hendersonville said in a news release.  

The construction period moving from the outgrown Hendersonville Fire Station 1 and completion of the new 19,750-square-foot station requires flexibility from Hendersonville Fire Department staff and the collaboration of fantastic community partners. Construction fencing went up Monday as Station 1 demolition ramps up. The estimated completion of the new station is expected in the spring of 2024. 

“City council has prioritized public safety and made thoughtful decisions throughout this process to ensure efficient delivery of emergency services,” said City Manager John Connet. “Our fire department would not be able to provide uninterrupted service during this construction process without the collaboration and support of Henderson County’s Emergency Services Director Jimmy Brissie and the Henderson County Board of Commissioners.” 

In preparation of Station 1’s demolition, Hendersonville Fire’s administrative team, city and county managers, Emergency Services Director Brissie, and Valley Hill Fire & Rescue’s Fire Chief Tim Garren developed a plan to relocate and house crews strategically throughout Hendersonville to uphold HFD’s commitment to efficient response times to incidents occurring in the city.  

“Our department appreciates city council’s commitment to providing us with a primary station equipped to serve our growing community and department,” said Hendersonville Fire Chief D. James Miller. “Adapting to change certainly has its challenges, but the growing pains will all be worth it when we are celebrating Station 1 at a grand opening ceremony next year.”  

Hendersonville Fire Department operates three rotating shifts supervised by a Battalion Chief that provide 24-hour coverage with three engines and one ladder truck. In late 2022, HFD’s downtown ladder company, engine 9-3 and battalion 9 joined engine 9-2 at Hendersonville’s Fire Station 2 on Sugarloaf Road. One engine company has been operating out of Henderson County’s Emergency Services building on Asheville Highway and the final engine company has been operating a peak-hour truck out of Valley Hill Fire & Rescue’s Station on Willow Road. The fire department’s administrative staff are split between a temporary trailer at Station 2 and office space provided by Carolina Village during the construction process. 

“We are truly blessed to have so much support in this community that allows our department to continue our excellent response times and customer service while we are without our primary station,” said Hendersonville Fire Chief D. James Miller. “The hospitality and generosity of Henderson County Emergency Management, EMS, Rescue Squad, and Valley Hill Fire & Rescue are unmatched. The way our organizations work together doesn’t always happen in other parts of the country and state, and we are thankful for the relationships we have with our partners in Henderson County.” Chief Miller also expressed his appreciation to Executive Director Kevin Parries and Carolina Village for providing two administrative staff members office space until the new Station 1 is complete. 

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