Goldsboro selects fire station location
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on June 16, 2009 1:46 PM
Goldsboro City Council members agreed Monday night on a site for a new fire station they hope to build with American Recovery and Reinvestment Stimulus Act grant funds.
Their decision came after Interim Fire Chief Gary Whaley spoke about the application process -- and the critical need for selection of a location before the government's July 10 deadline.
"The big thing is, we need to make a decision," Whaley said during the council's pre-meeting work session. "We've got to have a station location."
Moments later, a unanimous vote gave them one.
Mayor Al King said "it seems clear" the best option is to acquire land on Industry Court and build a replacement for the city's aging Station 3 there.
That location presents the safest scenario for fire fighters, their equipment and residents, and decreases response distance to the Phase 11 and 12 Annexation area by more than half a mile, he said.
The other possible locations -- the site of the existing station on Patetown Road and the annexation area -- present problems, Whaley explained.
The Patetown Road property is nearly an acre too small for the proposed facility, which will mirror the department's existing station on Royall Avenue, he said.
"The lot is just not large enough for the plans we have," he said.
And the annexation area does not yet have a water supply sufficient to support a new station.
Those points were all it took to convince council members.
Now that a location has been selected, Whaley and his team will work to finish the ARRA grant application by the first week in July.
Mayor Pro-Tem Chuck Allen said he hopes the project will be approved, as the need grows for a new fire station in the city.
"We know we're going to need to build a new fire station," he said. "Whether it's now, or two years from now."