The long-awaited project to bring Hattiesburg a ninth fire station is getting its legs, as City Attorney Randy Pope is filing for eminent domain on behalf of the city to acquire a 1.95-acre parcel of land in north Hattiesburg for the station.
The measure was recently approved by a 5-0 vote by Hattiesburg City Council members, which will pave the way for the construction of Hattiesburg Fire Department Station 9 at 7450 U.S. 49, just north of Peps Point Road. The city is expected to pay $87,750 for the land owned by Saia Motor Freight Line, which is the value given to the parcel by appraiser Stan Lightsey.
“Obviously, there are many steps to go, but procuring a piece of property that was in the city and not in a flood zone is a very positive development,” Mayor Toby Barker said. “Now we need to secure the property, and once that happens we can begin design.
“We know that this is the next step for us to maintain, and hopefully improve, our fire rating. It also follows one of the trajectories of our city’s growth.”
As of yet, there is no concrete timeline for the project, but officials expect to have a better idea of that in the near future.
“We’re securing the property, and a while back we went through the process to get an engineer and an architect on board to design it,” City Engineer Lamar Rutland said. “So once we have the property, we can start that process.”
Construction of the new fire station, which will feature three bays and a ladder truck, is expected to cost between $2.5 million and $3 million.
In late 2017, council members voted to institute a 3-mill increase on ad valorem taxes, with 1 mill going to the construction of Fire Station No. 9 and the other 2 mills set aside for future debt service on the upcoming Hattiesburg Public Safety Complex. Residents in the Hattiesburg Public School District only saw an increase of 0.26 mills, as the amount of millage needed to fund the school district’s budget decreased.
“Any time you can upgrade facilities, it’s a positive recruiting and retention tool for your manpower,” Barker said. “As the city grows, obviously we want to show that we’re going to put the investment into city services for areas that will have positive effects (because of this).
“Furthermore, if we can improve our fire rating, it will just help insurance rates for our residents and our business owners.”
