June 08--A change in state legislation is helping the Perry-Clear Creek Fire Department remodel and expand its Lake Monroe fire station.
Beginning July 1, fire districts may purchase firefighting equipment, which includes housing, on an installment conditional sale or mortgage contract of no more than 15 years. Previously, the state required a contract of no more than six years.
Jim Dunning, former Perry-Clear Creek firefighter, said the new flexibility of the law will allow the Perry-Clear Creek Fire District to remodel and build a new addition onto its South Strain Ridge Road station without having to take out a bond or raise taxes.
"We can do it on our regular budget," Dunning said.
The station was built in the late 1980s, and three firefighters are stationed at the location 24 hours a day. Its service area includes Lake Monroe, and it houses the department's rescue boat and hovercraft, which it uses for lake rescues in the winter.
Joey McWhorter, chief of the department, said the department averages between five and eight runs a day, and has seen an average yearly increase in fire runs between 8 and 11 percent.
An addition will likely triple the square footage of the station, taking it from its present 4,000 square feet to somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 square feet, allowing the department room to grow.
Right now, a garage faces the road and holds two fire trucks. It connects to the living quarters for firefighters.
A second, unattached garage in the back holds other rescue vehicles.
Plans are to build a new garage beside the existing one, expanding it to hold four vehicles. The existing garage will be remodeled to hold four or five bedrooms, a kitchen and living room area, said Roger Stewart, member of the fire district board.
Estimated cost of the project is between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.
When it storms, sometimes lake visitors seek shelter at the fire station, and plans for the new living area include a safe area for the firefighters, visitors and nearby residents, Stewart said.
"The present station's been there for 23 years, and we're building this to be there many years down the road," he said.
Co-authors of the new bill, State Reps. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, and Eric Koch, R-Bedford, took a tour of the department's facilities Friday and viewed plans of the proposed addition.
Koch said the legislation is an example of a constituent-generated legislation, and it was something that affects not only the Perry-Clear Creek Fire Department, but fire districts across the state.
"It's the kind of legislation where you get to see a tangible result," Koch said. "This bill was an update of a law that now gives the fire districts flexibility."
Copyright 2013 - Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.
