Kokomo plans for southside fire station

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July 1, 2009

Plans contingent on annexation, grant money.

By Scott Smith The Kokomo Tribune Wed Jul 01, 2009, 10:39 PM EDT

If the city of Kokomo wins either of its annexation cases, residents can expect a new fire station on East Center Road.

Wednesday, the Kokomo Board of Public Works & Safety approved an option on 2.5 acres just east of the Center Road Village Pantry store.

Board president Jim Brannon said the site will become the home of a long-awaited southside fire station, as well as a substation for the Kokomo Police Department — if the city’s annexation plans pan out.

The city is attempting to annex 6,800 parcels of property on the outskirts of the present city limits, divided into two areas known as the East Side Annexation and the West Side Annexation.

Remonstrances against both annexations are pending before Special Judge Thomas Lett, and the earliest the city expects a decision on either case would be late September. Even then, appeals could drag on for months.

Nonetheless, the city is forging ahead with plans to design a new southside fire station, something Kokomo fire chiefs have been recommending for more than a decade.

The property, which sits between the Village Pantry and the Southwood subdivision, is expected to appraise for more than the agreed purchase price of $110,000. The property is owned by the Vitatoe family, and Brannon said he’s been negotiating the deal with local Realtor Jim Ferguson.

The city is also applying for a Department of Homeland Security grant to fund construction of the station, with the grant application due by July 8.

The next step in the process will be to submit a resolution to the Kokomo Common Council, which would signify the city’s interest in the parcel. If the council approves the resolution, the city would then obtain two appraisals.

“Upon completion of either of the two annexations, the city will exercise its option in order to obtain the property prior to construction,” reads a June 24 memo from city engineer Carey Stranahan.

Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight was noncommittal Wednesday when asked if the new fire station would require an increase in the number of city firefighters, or equipment.

“I guess that would be a decision by whoever’s in charge [of the fire department] at the time, whether it’s the interim chief or a new chief,” Goodnight said.

Current interim Chief Brad Myers has been serving since former Chief Scott Kern’s May 22 resignation. Kern and Deputy Chief Randy Wilson moved back into the firefighter ranks in protest of Goodnight’s decision to lay off 12 city firefighters.

Goodnight said the staffing reductions were necessary in light of state property tax caps.

Since the May layoffs, the city’s financial situation has been further hurt by a non-payment of personal property taxes by the city’s largest taxpayer, the former Chrysler LLC.

That company sold some of its assets to the Fiat-led Chrysler Group LLC in a government-assisted bankruptcy proceeding.

The city is expected to take out up to $6 million in state loans to make up for the Chrysler funding shortfall, money which will have to be paid back.

But Goodnight said the city’s fiscal plan for offering services to the annexed areas is still viable.

“So much of the fiscal plan has improved through streamlining and consolidating jobs,” Goodnight said.

• Scott Smith is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

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Plans contingent on annexation, grant money.

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