(Columbus) Columbus residents will see a contested mayoral race when the head to the polls next Tuesday. Current Mayor Mary Arnold is not seeking re-election. One of the matters that will come before future Columbus mayors involves the need for a new fire station.
Joe Hammer, who retired from Columbus Water and Light last year, likes the idea of housing both a new Department of Public Works facility and the new fire station in the same location. He says that a parcel purchased by the city for a new fire station on West James Street, the former Ford dealership, is no longer an ideal location.
“And that was sold to the city for a lesser amount for the reason of putting a future fire station there, and it was a fairly good chunk of land,” Hammer says, “Unfortunately, our city council decided to sell off a part of that land and I don’t think enough thought was put into that before they went and sold off that piece of land; that whole chunk of property probably would have been ideal.”
Ian Gray, who is the current council president, says before city taxpayers shell out any money, a fire district should be formed to ensure that rural townships served by Columbus Fire are paying their fair share.
“About 60-percent of our fire services go to those outlying rural communities,” Gray says. “Currently, the way it’s set up, they only pay for a portion of equipment. So like fire trucks and things they do pay for a portion. They pay for none of the facilities and none of the labor. So, before we spend millions on a fire station, I believe it should be a priority to create a fire district.”
Both Hammer and Gray say that the fire station is on top of their priority list and is a key project in helping the city of Columbus grow.
Listen to our interview with Joe Hammer:
Listen to our interview with Ian Gray:
