tony jeter dot com

I have had people ask me why the City will not disclose the locations of the proposed new fire stations being voted on this weekend. People have expressed to me, on more than one occasion that they think the locations are already a done deal. I can honestly say that we really don’t know where either the main fire station  or fire station #8 will be located. There are multiple sites being considered.

The following are some of the reasons why it is not a good idea to publicly make information available on proposed land acquisitions by the City:

Disclosure of specific locations could fuel speculative property purchases, driving up the cost of the property.

Disclosure of specific locations could create some ‘false’ expectations for both potential sellers and nearby property owners.

Disclosure of specific locations and the resulting increase in the cost of property acquisition could cost taxpayers more.

Disclosure of specific locations has little to do with whether the need for the stations exists. The ability to continue to maintain current services and service levels is not directly related to where a particular station will be located.

There are operational advantages and disadvantages of particular sites for both the main fire station and Station 8 and the City is still evaluating the relative merits of different sites.

Disclosure of specific locations could adversely impact the bond election process as some voters might believe (incorrectly) that the City has already decided upon the need for the stations, by the acquisition of the property, in advance of the voters approving the projects at this time.

Finally, if a location were designated in the bond the voters approved it would not give the City the flexibility to pick an alternate location out of necessity. For instance, what if the City and the property owner could not agree to terms? The City would either have to build on that location or go through another election to change locations.