New station planned near Morrison
Warren County and the city of Morrison will soon be working in partnership to build an emergency services building in the Mountain View Industrial Park to be used jointly by the Morrison Fire Department and Warren County Ambulance Service.
According to County Executive Kenneth Rogers, who worked with Morrison to secure the funds, the money will come from a $300,000 Tennessee Community Development Block Grant along with matching funds of $50,000 from both Morrison and the county, providing a total of $400,000 to construct the building.
The grant was put together with the aid of the Upper Cumberland Development District and required some quick action from the county and Morrison to meet filing requirements for the grants.
“We had to act and act quickly on it,” said Rogers.
A special meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee was called Jan.14 to get the $50,000 appropriation from the county through committee in time to get a resolution drafted to be presented to the full county commission at its Jan. 21 meeting.
The county won’t be buying new equipment for the additional station, but will simply move the ambulance from the Smartt Station fire hall to the new facility, a move Rogers says will improve response times and coverage on that end of the county.
“We have done a study on the call volume,” Rogers said, “and we’re going to be able rezone it and take some load off of Station 3 to better cover the county, and provide service for all of Warren County.”
In addition to the $50,000 matching funds, the county will also be donating a 4.5 acre parcel of property located in Mountain View Industrial Park for the construction of the new emergency services building. This is property the county already owns, so no extra money will have to be appropriated to purchase land.
The facility is being planned with an eye to the future and possible expansion as that side of the county continues to grow, as well as providing a spacious and modern facility for Morrison to utilize for its fire station.
“The city of Morrison is going to have three bays to park their trucks in, and the county is going to have two bays.” Rogers said. “We’re just going to have one ambulance out there right now. But if it shows a need later on, it’s better to have it now with this grant than try to come back and add on to it.”
Budget and Finance Committee chairman George Smartt was enthusiastic about the potential and the availability of the grant, and encouraged the committee to pass the appropriation at its special meeting.
“It seems like a no-brainer to me,” Smartt said, “because it’s going to help the county and it’s going to help the industrial park.”