Athenians are one step closer to seeing a new fire station built in East Athens.
On Monday, county officials presented nine sites for the new Fire Station #5 to the SPLOST Site Selection Committee, or SSC. The proposed sites meet minimum criteria requirements developed with the public earlier this year, and are centered on Morton and Old Lexington Roads.
This isn’t the SSC’s first rodeo, however. After the county narrowed down sites last year, public outcry led the Mayor and Commission to start the selection process over.
District 8 Commissioner Carol Myers, who sits on the Site Selection Committee, predicted a repeat of last year’s showdown.
“I think it’s going to come down to a lot of the same issues. The increased response time versus peace of country living. Which are valid points.”
The county says that replacing Fire Station #5, which is currently on Whit Davis Road, will decrease response times and improve the county’s rating with the Insurance Services Office, an independent organization that rates fire departments.
The county will offer opportunity for public input on the proposed sites later this month and will provide their recommended sites to the Mayor and Commission in December, with the station itself likely built sometime in 2026.
During Monday’s meeting, the SSC also let slip the proposed location of the East Side’s new library for the first time in a public meeting.
County officials announced that a private property had been taken out of the running, leaving publicly-owned acreage on Barnett Shoals Road near the intersection with Carriage Lane for the new library. The location will go before the Mayor and Commission in the coming weeks.
