A proposed fire department station in the Wolf Creek area of DeKalb County is looking more and more inevitable now following a proposed partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The proposed service has been on the department’s radar for several years, with $100,000 of funds having been set aside so far in anticipation of the fire hall. The problem the department has faced is finding a suitable locating for the building and recruiting volunteers.
During an April 11, county budget committee meeting, DeKalb Fire Chief Donny Green said that meetings have been held in recent months between the county and US Army Corps of Engineers, including field representatives for Congressman John Rose. The meetings are aimed at coming to terms on a partnership agreement for a Public Safety Building that would house a fire hall.
If a deal is reached, the Corps would permit the county to build a two-bay public safety building on its property near Center Hill Dam. The county would bear the expense of building the facility, but the Corps would have ownership of the building and bear the cost of utilities.
Chief Green said the Corps would require the facility to be deemed a public safety building, so that other agencies could make use of it, including the TWRA, THP, Sheriff’s Department, and Rescue Squad.
Green suggested to the budget committee the county continue to include an additional funds from the capital projects fund in seed money for construction of the building in the 2023-24 fiscal year budget, subject to final approval of the full county commission.
“I would like to see us appropriate another $100,000 for that this year so that if we can work out that partnership agreement with them to have a location on the Corps property to build it then that could be a project we could get started in the next fiscal year,” said Chief Green.
“What we are looking at is called a partnership agreement with them (Corps) to where they give us the privilege of constructing a building on their land and once we build it, the facility becomes their building, and my understanding is they (Corps) will pay the utilities on the building. We will have a bay for a fire engine and the rescue squad can store a boat there for operations on the river. The facility will have a place for the sheriff’s office, THP, or TWRA if they are in the area and want to stop by to do paper work or use the restroom. They (Corps) want this to be for multiple agencies and that is why they want it to be called a public safety building,” said Chief Green.
The proposed location for the building would be centrally located in the Wolf Creek area to serve communities on both sides of Center Hill Dam. In order for residents to be able to take advantage of lower homeowner insurance premiums under Insurance Services (ISO) requirements, their properties must be within five road miles of one of the county fire department’s fire stations. Currently, the nearest county fire stations to Wolf Creek are the Cookeville Highway Station and Temperance Hall Stations.
“The biggest hurdle we have had is getting a location that will fit in a prime spot that will get us that five mile coverage back toward Big Rock Market and back toward Cove Hollow. This location is the prime spot because it addresses the problem we had with utility access. From Cove Hollow Marina to the Dam there is no utility access because all of that is Corps of Engineers property. In that area there is no electricity, water, or natural gas access. Below the dam, where this building is to be constructed, all of those utilities are there. When you go down Long Branch Road beside the dam, the campgrounds are on the right and the spot for this public safety building would be on the left at the location which was used for a staging area when they were doing construction on the dam,” said Chief Green.
If the agreement is finalized and the facility is built, Chief Green said the county will have to purchase another fire truck to put there, but the fire department expects to have enough volunteers to staff it.
