City Council Needs to Take Up the Construction of New Headquarters Fire Station

Now that the citizen's of Goose Creek have worked their way through the maze of the City Council election and subsequent runoff, it is now time for City Council to tackle an issue that has been deemed critical for our residents.

I am referring to the City's need to construct a new Headquarter Fire Station along Highway 176, near the Walmart. This has been one of the top priorities on the City's Strategic Plan for the past several years and I have requested that we increase the pace of our speed to bring this project to fruition.

While I understand that the property that is best suited for our needs is currently owned by Alcoa and they have more pressing needs with trying to secure a long term contract from Santee Cooper, that shouldn’t impede our quest to provide essential services to our residents.

At our April City Council meeting, I requested that the Mayor schedule a Council Workshop so we can discuss and authorize City Staff to extend an offer for the property, which I hope will lead to contract negotiations with Alcoa.

In addition, City Council will need to receive recommendations from City staff on the funding mechanism for not only acquiring the property, but for constructing and staffing this station.

This new Fire Station will provide our residents with improved fire coverage and will allow the city to work towards remodeling the existing fire station on Brandywine Boulevard, which is desperately needed.

I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank Council member Sal Gandolfo for his three decades of service to the citizen's of Goose Creek as a 16-year member of City Council along with his 14-year tenure on the Zoning Board and to welcome Franklin Moore to City Council.