County approves fire hall trade; awaits response from city council

Written in association with the Cleveland Daily Banner.

Bradley County has thrown in its keys to the Inman Street Fire-Rescue Headquarters building, and now it awaits the response of the Cleveland City Council.

The Bradley County Commission finally reached a resolution for its part in the long-debated fire hall trade on Monday, July 15, voting 11-1, with Commissioner Scott Gilbert saying, “Pass,” abstaining from the vote. Commissioner Tim Mason was absent.

Commissioner Bobby Goins was the sole vote in opposition to the exchange of the county’s Fire-Rescue Headquarters building on Inman Street for a new fire garage on Minnis Road.

The resolution, passed unanimously by the Building and Land Committee last week, includes the provision of maintaining former county Commissioner Charlotte Peak as a county representative for the development of the new facility.

In an interview following the vote, County Mayor D. Gary Davis expressed his satisfaction with the outcome.

“We’re getting a new facility, somewhat smaller, but a new facility that is cost-friendly for both the city and county,” Davis said. “I think it’s a win-win for them.”

The county will exchange the aging Inman Street building, which has significant structural issues and an estimated repair cost of $800,000, for a 9,600-square-foot fire garage. The new facility will have six bays, one more than the current headquarters, and is designed to better accommodate the county’s fire trucks.

This decision concludes a nearly yearlong negotiation with the City of Cleveland that began publicly in August 2023.

“It feels good to have anything behind you that has taken so long, but I really think that this is a good project for the county,” Davis said.

Peak, a private contractor, is currently serving without pay, and will continue to oversee the project.

“I think it would probably be agreeable if you just added to the resolution that [Peak] be named the county representative on the project. That way, they would know they can talk to her,” Davis suggested. “She’s been involved in the agreement up until now and will continue. As long as she’s willing to provide free services, I want to take advantage when something comes up with the building project.”

As discussion continued, Commissioner Milan Blake noted concerns about warranties. Mayor Davis addressed these issues, stating, “The manufacturer’s warranty and the contractor’s warranty will be assigned to the county once it’s finished.”

He also confirmed that the city will adhere to all codes and ensure insulation is included in the building.

The city has agreed to consider annexing Minnis Road from Highway 64 to Powerline Road, a request that will be formalized in a future voting session. “We don’t want it to be a deal killer, but it has been requested,” Davis said.

The county commission’s approval of this resolution marks a significant step forward in enhancing the county’s fire rescue infrastructure while addressing long-standing facility issues.

Reflecting on the vote, Davis said, “It feels so good to have this moving forward.”

The construction of the new fire garage is expected to be completed by June or July 2025, providing the county with improved facilities and greater capacity to serve the community’s needs.

In a statement to the Cleveland Daily Banner, Joe Fivas, city manager, affirmed that the city council is likely to take up this matter in August.

“If the city council adopts this fire garage proposal, it will prove to be a win-win-win for the county, the city and community residents,” Fivas said. “It opens the door to potential significant downtown redevelopment and additional downtown parking.”

Continuing, Fivas said, “If approved, the city will do an RFP for the redevelopment of this property, which could bring more high-paying jobs and investment into our downtown community. This is another brick-in-the-wall in the city’s plans to develop 1,000 new downtown housing units and have an additional billion dollars in taxable value in our downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.”

Concluding his remarks, Fivas said, “These downtown redevelopment efforts lead to keeping taxes low for all county and city residents, allows new housing options for our county and city residents, keeps pressure off our surrounding green fields and will eventually reduce traffic on Paul Huff by creating another desirable location for residents’ entertainment and dining options.”