County Departments Ask For Big Changes
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Madison County Fire Chief Eric Turner said a new building is what his fire department needs the most. “Over time the trucks have gotten bigger and we just don’t have enough room, ” said Turner. Turner proposed a plan in the Madison County Capital Budget Meeting held Thursday. He asked for $500,000 to build a larger facility that would allow the department’s maintenance shop and dispatch center to move to a more centralized location. Currently all Madison County Dispatch and Maintenance is done from one of their older volunteer stations off of Harts Bridge Road, “We are operating in a fairly limited budget ya know and trying to do more with less.” admitted Matthew Gay, Madison County Fire Dept. Maintenance Supervisor. Turner further explains, that station is working off of one backup antenna. The primary antenna was destroyed during a thunderstorm last month. “We don’t have any backup if this goes down…we would be in trouble,” said Turner. Dispatchers communicate with fire trucks and the department’s 16 stations, Turner said. State officials said funding for the chief’s project depends on what capital funds are available in this year’s budget. in the meantime, the chief’s next step is to find a location for the new building and engineer to draw up plans before they can move forward for a bid.
