It’s been some years in the making, but on Wednesday afternoon, the groundbreaking on the land of the future home of Centerville’s new fire station finally took place.
“Today has been a long time coming,” said Mayor John Harley as he looked out into the open space where several citizens of the city gathered to witness the occasion. “Mayor and council, along with staff, have been working to build a new fire station for years,” he added. “I am so excited for those who are here with us to celebrate and those who are celebrating with us online.”
The groundbreaking ceremony on the Miller Road lot just beside the place where the current station now stands, was open for public attendance, but it was also streamed live through the official Facebook pages of the City of Centerville Government and the Centerville Fire Department, for anyone who wished to view it virtually. Aside from the mayor, other noted officials were there as well, including Houston County Board of Commissioners Chairman Tommy Stalnaker.
“While we wish everyone could have been out here in person today, we understand the need to social distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the mayor said. “Hopefully, when the project is completed, we can have more of our partners, friend, and neighbors with us at our grand opening. We have successfully upgraded many of our facilities in the city of Centerville through SPLOST planning,” Harley further stated. “The 2012 SPLOST allocated $3 million for our LEC and Municipal Court. The 2001 SPLOST allocated $2.1 million for City Hall. We are excited to also finance this new fire station with SPLOST funds and thank the commissioners for their leadership and the people of Houston County for continuing to approve the SPLOST. A special thank you for Chairman Stalnaker for being out here with us today.”
Taking the stand at the mayor’s invitation, the chairman congratulated the city on the future facility and thanked them for the cooperation they have had with Houston County over the years. “But the most important group of people that need to be thanked,” Stalnaker pointed out, “are the citizens of this county, the citizens of this city, and the other cities in the county for passing the 2018 SPLOST and making funds available for this type facility. I know you’re going to be proud of it.”
Councilman Justin Wright offered a prayer over the grounds and the builders of the facility, and Councilman Edward Armijo extended words of thanks just before Fire Chief Jones stepped forward to speak on behalf of Centerville Fire Department.
“I want to first thank everybody for being here today,” Jones expressed. “This new fire station is going to be a great asset for not only our staff, but the entire citizens of Centerville and Houston County. As many of you may or may not know, this location is the original site of the first City Hall for the city of Centerville. That building housed every city department in it, including the original fire station. Also, this site is where I first started my career, so the building of this new fire station is sort of like a homecoming—not only for myself, but for the department as well.”
Continuing, Jones went on to acknowledge the citizens of Houston County for backing the fire station project through their support of SPLOST. He then added, “I want to thank mayor and council for your continued support through this whole process, and through the next process of this building construction.” Expressions of gratitude were extended to WM2A Architects and ICB Construction group for their partnership as well. Lastly, Jones voiced heartfelt words of appreciation to those who worked closely with him on a daily basis.
“I want to thank my firefighters,” he said. “If it weren’t for their commitment and dedication to this community, support wouldn’t come from all you guys. Big round of applause for these guys because they do a lot for this community, and that’s why they’re getting this new fire department.”
When the applause and cheers from the crowd subsided, Chief Jones went on to share, in detail, some of the perks that would be included in the new construction. “This fire station is going to be state of the art. It’s going to have a lot of amenities the current station doesn’t have. There’s going to be a lot of safety factors built into this station for our firefighters. There will be dedicated areas for cleaning and deconning of our equipment and gear, and that’s safety for our firefighters.” Jones revealed that the new station would also have an abundance of space for offices and living quarters for the first responders who worked there, putting their safety on the line every day. “This is going to be a great facility,” he assured the crowd.
Centerville city officials, Houston County officials, Centerville firefighters and the project partners did the ceremonial groundbreaking collectively. All took shovels and tossed dirt to signify that the work was officially underway.
“Wow!” Mayor Harley said in excitement. “That’s the best word for this … Wow!”
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