CALEB MCCLUSKEY
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
(TNS)
TUPELO — As the All-America City develops, city officials plan infrastructure upgrades with that growth in mind. One focus the administration brought when it first came in three years ago was upgrading the city’s fire stations, and this continues with the recent effort to rebuild Fire Station No. 5.
The Tupelo City Council voted unanimously this week to surplus and demolish three parcels on 2667 South Green Street to make way for the new Fire Station No. 5. This comes after the city purchased the properties from Kirk Used Car LLC for $145,000 and $200,000 to Melinda Kirk. The properties are next to the current fire station, which was built in 1970.
“We should be getting pretty close to looking at an initial design,” Mayor Todd Jordan said of the proposed fire station. “I’ve seen a few. It is going to look good.”
In the last five decades, the existing station has faced multiple issues, including roof damage from a tornado and continued sewage problems. Fire Chief Brad Robinson said the sewage problems have closed the station down multiple times over the years.
“We are very excited to see that (project) grow and start to become a really nice addition to the Tupelo Fire Department and the city of Tupelo,” Robinson said. “To acquire all three of those lots is amazing. It is not only going to give us the ability to put a fire station there, but also the ability to have a pole barn on that same site.”
Designs for the new station, work on which began last fall, are nearly complete, Robinson said, noting that he will come before the council looking to move forward with the project in August. As of Thursday, he said there was no cost estimate, but the city has $3 million allocated for the construction of the station in the capital plan, though that is subject to change through amendment.
The pole barn, Robinson said, will shield equipment and trailers from the weather, extending their lives. He noted it will be built after the station as a separate project.
Not only do fire stations affect the general safety of an area, but they also affect insurance premiums through the fire rating system, which influences insurance rates for home and business owners. Tupelo currently sits at a rating of 4, with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst.
This project follows the completion of Fire Station No. 2 in 2022. Jordan previously stressed the importance of replacing the aging stations, with Fire Station No. 1, which is the oldest standing station to date, also a candidate for replacement in the coming years.
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