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OUR VIEW ---
Why not keep a fire engine at Station 4?
High
Point City Council is getting ready today to spend just over $1.9 million in
taxpayer’s money for a new fire station. This plan for a new Station 3 is
important for future growth of the city, and barring any last-minute
revelations of problems, City Council should give its approval to a contract
to construct the station near the intersection of Westchester
and Chestnut drives.
This new fi re station, which won’t be ready
until early 2008, will replace the 45-year-old, outdated facility at the
intersection of Rotary Drive
and Phillips Avenue.
It’s a good move because the new station will allow newer, bigger equipment
to be housed there, and it also will help provide increased fi re protection in the area of the city that’s growing
into Davidson County. And since the station is
moving only a few blocks away, fi re protection for
the area near the existing station shouldn’t be compromised.
The Station 3 project is funded by part of a $6.5 million bond issue
for fire protection approved by voters in 2004. Work also is progressing on
another project that was part of that bond proposal – relocation of Fire
Station 4. In early November, City Council authorized the purchase of about two
acres at the intersection of Old
Winston Road and E. Bellevue Avenue to relocate Station
4. City offi cials hope
that construction project, estimated at $1.5 million, is completed by summer
2008.
As with Station 3, moving Station 4 from its current location on Fisher Avenue is
a repositioning of stations to reflect city growth. That’s a good idea, but
with Station 4, we see a potential problem. Moving from the Fisher Avenue
location seems to expose N. Main
Street business and residential areas from Parris Avenue southward
to about Montlieu
Avenue to less fire protection. That doesn’t
seem wise.
However, if the city were to leave one firefighting unit and crew at
the current Station 4, which is slated to become a maintenance facility, the
increased risk to those N. Main businesses and residents would seem to be
diminished. As City Council goes forward with plans for new, needed Station 3
and Station 4 facilities, it should keep this question in mind and make fully
certain that no area suffers a lessening of fire protection.
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