AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Fire Chief Mitch Metzger and other city leaders believe it’s time to update the agency’s station.
So, the Aug. 1 primary election ballot will include ballot measures designed to help fund a new building.
One measure asks voters to approve a bond that would add 37 cents in taxes for every $1,000 in property value, Metzger said. So, the owner of an average $300,000 home here would pay an additional $111 in taxes beginning next year, if the measure passes.
That’s just less than $10 per month, he said.
“We know it’s a tax increase, and as a taxpayer I understand that can be frustrating,” Metzger said. “However, we won’t be able to continue rendering the same level of service if we can’t upgrade our facility.”
The department has identified a potential building to purchase at 1149 S. Garfield Road, he said, noting it’s a good, central location for emergency response.
“We have been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the state to purchase a new building,” Metzger said. “But the grant is fully contingent on the bond being passed.
“If the bond doesn’t pass in August, we are basically back at square one.”
If the bond passes and the new building purchased, the city will sell an existing building to help pay for renovations, he said.
The current fire station was built in 1968, according to Metzger, and has been through numerous renovations.
It does not meet current health and safety requirements, and firefighters have less than adequate decontamination areas such as laundering facilities and proper showers, he said.
“Our showers are near the bay,” Metzger said. “So, if someone steps out of the shower and a truck pulls in they are immediately covered in exhaust fumes.”
He said these areas are essential for removing carcinogens and medical waste from responders when they return from calls.
Metzger also said the current vehicle bays are too small to park modern firefighting apparatuses, such as ladder trucks used for multi-story buildings.
Police Chief Brad Richmond said the bond is important because the city wants to continue performing at a certain level.
“We just want to continue serving the community at a high level,” Richmond said. “Our department just needs to be adequately equipped, and our personnel taken care of.”
Metzger said department call volume has increased 172% over 10 years, and 26% of calls received are back-to-back.
The ballot measure has been in the works for about a year, Metzger said. If it passes, he hopes the department can move by 2025.
The fire chief said another measure is up for vote, too.
That measure would a library annexation that would also impact the department.
Currently, four of the city’s full-time firefighters are being paid salary through the emergency reserve fund, Metzger said. But the city can’t do that forever.
So a proposed bond with an effective date of 2025 would add 34 cents in taxes per $1,000 of property valuation, he said. This bond would add $102 annually for a property valued at $300,000.
If approved, residents would pay for the library directly through taxes, and free up more than $300,000 to help fund firefighter salaries, the chief said.
The library system doesn’t tax residents directly; the city allocates $14 million of its property tax revenue toward the cost annually.
Both measures are on the Aug. 1 primary election ballot.
Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.
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