Fire Board Not Giving Up On New Station

The fire board chairman does not believe library books are more important than life safety.

He and other members of the Spring Hill Fire Rescue Board reacted angrily to county commissioner Rose Rocco's statements last week that she would be more inclined to approve a library expansion rather than the construction of a new fire house.

They think a fifth Spring Hill fire station would improve response times in the southern section of the district - and they pointed to a county-paid study as proof.

"Our job here is for the citizens of Spring Hill," said Chairman Charles Raborn, who took a deep breath before addressing the issue of a new station during a meeting Wednesday. "When their own deficiencies are (reported), it is our responsibility to close that deficiency ... I can't see how a library is more important than somebody's life."

Two months ago, fire commissioners asked interim Chief Mike Rampino to discuss the possibility of building a station at the corner of Spring Hill Drive and Melville Street, across the parking lot from the Spring Hill Branch Library.

Both Library Services Director Barbara Shiflett and Assistant County Engineer Greg Sutton told Rampino that expanding the library and building at 6,500 square foot fire station were "definitely feasible," the chief told the board.

Hamilton, in a letter sent this week, stated the county would not proceed with a new station until after the upcoming election. That is when Spring Hill residents will decide whether to have an independent fire district or to dissolve the fire board and allow for the county to manage it.

"Given that we have been given no direction, we plan to take no action ... until results of the vote on the future of the Spring Hill Fire Service have been determined in November," Hamilton wrote.

Raborn said the matter could not wait. The board reached a consensus and asked Rampino to readdress the matter of a new station at that location.

"I see no reason why the county wouldn't go through with this," the chairman said.

Fire commissioner Leo Jacobs agreed, citing the release of a $100,000 fire study late last year that recommended a new station in the southwest sector of the district.

"Why did we pay $100,000 for this study if it's useless?" he asked.

The discussion came less than a week after Rocco criticized the district for publishing on its Web site that it was "looking forward" to a fifth station next to the Spring Hill Branch Library when the county had not voted on such a project.

"This isn't close to being finalized," she said.