It has been talked about ever since Fire Station #2 was completed in 2005. Now a new Fire Station #3 in Soddy Daisy is becoming a reality. The new building will replace one that was built in the early 1970’s that has structural problems. It will be located at the same site as the old fire station #3, next to Veteran’s Park on Dayton Pike.
The initial planning for the building has been done. Now Fire Chief Mike Guffey and the city’s building inspector have been working with the architect making changes in an attempt to lower the price by reducing frills, before it is sent out to bid. It should be ready to bid out in six weeks to two months. Soddy Daisy is trying to get the city’s infrastructure up to where it should be, said Chief Guffey.
The building has been planned to be functional for 50 years out. It will be built to hold one fire engine, a 65 foot ladder truck, a brush truck used for fighting brush fires and a squad truck. It will also have six small sleeping quarters for both men and women. In the next 10-15 years it is expected to be in use 24 hours a day. It is thought that the cost of the fire station as of now, will come in at around $1.5 to $2 million.
Each year, a large donation has been made to the city from the Red Bank and Soddy-Daisy Charitable Foundation for the sole purpose of building this new fire station. The contributions, totaling around $220,000 that have been put aside, will now help pay for the building.
Soddy Daisy has nine paid firefighters who are supplemented with volunteers. The city is currently in the process of hiring one additional firefighter. City Manager Janice Cagle said the city hopes in the future to hire more full-time firefighters.
At the commission meeting Thursday night a vote approved the purchase of 16 sets of turnout gear for the fire department. The amount of $31,584 is in the current budget for this equipment.
The city manager also reported that paving has been completed on Scribner Lane. The cost of the asphalt was $77,755 and paving was $7,420.
A new phone system has been installed at city hall. Ms. Cagle got approval from the commissioners to declare the old phone equipment as surplus in order to get rid of it.
Commissioner Rick Nunley announced that the new building under construction by the Soddy Daisy Veteran’s Foundation has been named for Mayor Robert Cothran. It will be used for meetings and dinners and will be a location where veterans can get help in receiving the benefits that they have earned.
Commissioner Gene Shipley is starting to plan the city’s Fourth of July celebration. He is looking for individuals and civic or church groups that might be interested in taking part in the festivities and would like to have a lot of public participation.