Morrison set for emergency with new
Morrison now has a spacious and well equipped new fire station, thanks to a UCDD grant and the hard work and perseverance of Morrison city officials.
Located on Manchester Highway adjacent to Dollar General, the building provides an effective central location for three fire-fighting vehicles and county ambulance stationed there. The facility has been in operation for around two months.
The completed project came cost a little over $426,000, including a UCDD grant of $300,000 received in 2003 with matching funds of $50,000 from the county. Morrison city government provided the remaining funding.
The building has 4,820 square feet, a full kitchen, with appliances donated by Bridgestone, a sleeping area, and a vehicle bay roomy enough to house a fire engine, tanker and brush truck, as well as a county ambulance.
There were several reasons for building the new facility. Though there had been a fire hall at Smartt Station, which helped cover the Morrison area, and a fire hall in Morrison near city hall, officials felt it was time to bring services closer to the community around Morrison.
?We wanted to consolidate,? said Morrison vice mayor Sue Anderson. ?We wanted to get the ambulance service to be more available locally, and we needed more room for our fire trucks.?
Morrison Mayor Bobby Prater says the community is justifiably proud of its new emergency facility.
?We?re tickled to death to have it because that?s what we?ve been working for,? Prater said. ?To have something down here, something closer than Smartt Station. We think this will help decrease the response time for the emergency vehicles, and that?s what we wanted.?
Those involved in the bringing the project to fruition include the entire Morrison Board of Mayor and Aldermen, fire chief Mark Parker, former Morrison Mayor the late Harris Jacobs, James Garrett, of James Hailey & Co., Michelle Price of UCDD, former County Executive Kenneth Rogers, and Johnson?s Builders.
Officials had been planning the project for around four years, and it was originally slated to built on county-donated land in the Mountain View Industrial Park. But when that plot was declared wetland by the state, the project was moved to the new location, which turned out to be somewhat of a blessing in disguise, according to Anderson.
?This lot is centrally located,? said Anderson. ?And we wanted it to be in plain view for people to see too. We thought being out here on Highway 55 would be good for the fire department and the ambulance service, so that was a selling point for us.?
The current site was purchased from Hubert Boyd, and though the property included a good amount of road frontage, it was purchased at what was felt to be a quite reasonable price
?He worked with us,? Anderson said, ?and because it was for the community, he gave us a good price. We really appreciate his doing that.?
?We also appreciate the help we got from the county,? Prater said. ?And the donations from Bridgestone, like the kitchen appliances, and Bridgestone also donated tires for our vehicles. We appreciate that too.?
Anderson says the new facility is well worth all the effort.
?We think it will better serve the community as a whole,? Anderson said, ?to have the fire trucks and ambulance service here. The response time will be quicker. It will be good for the whole county.?