Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue is seeking an increase to its fire tax in the county’s new budget in order to help fund the development of a new fire station at an estimated cost of $3.7 million.
The current fire station, located at 60 Firehouse Road, has stood for about 40 years. Fire Chief Terry Rholetter said the department has outgrown the building, which suffers from water damage and lacks vital resources like living quarters and adequate space for all of their engines.
While the $3.7 million projection isn’t the absolute cheapest way to build a new station, Rholetter said that investing in a sturdy facility that matches expected growth of the community will be the best investment for Otto residents in the long term.
“These buildings have pretty much aged out,” Rholetter said. “We actually looked into upgrading this building to get it to where we can get our bigger trucks in it, but it’s pretty much a total teardown.”
The proposed new fire station would be located on a plot less than a mile north of the current station that would not change the scope of the fire district. The land is already fairly flat and should be easy to develop on, but just as importantly, trucks would be able to pull out into a straightaway on Georgia Road.
Firefighter Kevin Fountain said the existing station’s driveway is unsafe for an apparatus because of the risk of collision with vehicles coming around the corner, as well as the steepness of the hill when there’s snow on the ground.
“Pulling out and going north, it’s the longest two lanes of traffic you’ll ever cross in your life with traffic driving 75 miles per hour going south,” Fountain said. “At the new site, you do have clear vision going in both directions.”
To fund the new station, the department’s millage rate would need to be increased from 0.0684 percent to 0.1068 percent. Fire taxes are determined by property value, so if the county adopts the increase, homeowners can expect to pay $106.08 per $100,000 in property value annually, compared to the current $68.40.
The department has lowered its ISO rating to six in recent years, saving homeowners between $100 and $200 per year on home insurance, Rholetter said.
“It’s about $38 per $100,000 [extra] of property value if you do the millage rate increase,” he said. “We’ve tried to save money over the years, and we think we’ve done a pretty good job.”
The department held a public meeting on May 29 to discuss plans for the new station with residents. Those who attended agreed that ensuring the best quality service was worth the outlined cost.
“Even if it ran you another $100, it’s still just once a year,” Bill Allan said. “I don’t think that’s much to worry about.”
Rholetter was preparing to discuss the proposed fire station with the Macon County Board of Commissioners at their budget work session on June 2.