Centerville looks to benefit from possible Houston County SPLOST

CENTERVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – “The new station would be a great addition for us,” said Centerville Fire Chief Jason Jones.

The Centerville Fire Station isn’t a traditional looking fire station.

“When the call does drop, having more room would greatly enhance our response time,” said Jones.

It’s tight on elbow room for the 22 firefighters working various shifts throughout the day, and rushing out sometimes to fight fires.

“For the guys in the bedrooms, they’re packed in there, just jumping out of the bedrooms not having any room to get outta there in the first place,” said Jones.

That’s why this possible new Houston County SPLOST means a lot to Fire Chief Jason Jones and the other guys.

“I’m glad that we’re a priority on this next, hopefully upcoming SPLOST if it’s approved by the citizens,” said Jones.

It’ll be on the ballot when Houston County voters get a ballot in March.

“The City of Centerville is requesting we get a new fire station as well as possibly a new ladder truck,” said Jones.

That helps tremendously.

“We have no storage space now as it is, everything’s just crammed in a closet, but, that’s really going to help us a lot,” said Jones.

Centerville Mayor John Harley knows the help’s needed.

“We need a bigger station, a taller station, in order to affect all that,” said Harley. “When we do the bigger station, one of the things we would like to do is add an ambulance.”

Plus Harley says the SPLOST will help Center Park at Centerville–a big outdoor event space and park.

“Otherwise there are just no funds in the budget to do it,” said Harley. “The SPLOST is what allows us to do these things.”

Both Mayor Harley and Chief Jones hope you’ll vote yes on the SPLOST come March 2017.

The station wouldn’t be built until 2018.

Chief jones says the city needs a ladder truck to serve taller buildings as the city grows.