On Sept. 25 at 10:30 a.m., The City of Huntsville will be celebrating the groundbreaking of two new stations after waiting three years from the voters approving the project. The police department and fire department will get stations that will serve their purpose to house personnel and equipment as the current stations are outdated.
Huntsville City Council approved the contract with Houston-based construction company, Flintco LLC., with 8-0 vote on Sept. 17. The contract is about $19 million for the construction of both fire and police stations.
“We have been building up to this for several years,” Police Chief Kevin Lunsford said. “When the police department moved into [their current station] in 1981 it was at that time being repurposed. It was originally the First National Bank and it was built in the mid 1960s.”
As the population grows in Huntsville and increases the demands on public safety, the facilities can no longer sufficiently serve personnel or the public. The apparatus bay at Station 2 cannot safely support the weight of the fire engines, according to Assistant Fire Chief John Hobbs. Also the evidence room and office space at the police station cannot adequately accommodate the department, according to Lunsford.
“To prepare for [Huntsville’s] development, these stations will be built to last 30 years out,” Lunsford said.
The public is invited to attend the ceremonies where the city and public safety officials will give speeches explaining the ceremony and interacting with the public. The public and officials will then be escorted in a procession style to the location of the new police station on Rosenwall Road where a similar ceremony will take place.
“It’s a chance to let the community see that we’re officially getting started on this project that they approved,” Lunsford said. “Traditionally, city officials and public safety officials will gather around with shovels and ceremoniously turn the first shovel of dirt.”