Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire and Rescue has shifted into overdrive as it prepares to build and ready a new fire department on three acres of donated land in the Pebble Bay neighborhood in a month’s time.

“We know the next year is going to be tough,” Weldon said.  “We’re going to have to tighten the belt buckle and really stretch, but we’re determined to make this work.”

The department will be ready to serve all three districts by July 1 at 12 a.m., Keith Bost, chief of Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire and Rescue, said.

The decision to build the station comes after Denver Fire Department sent a letter to Catawba County Manager Tom Lundy on May 19 stating it would discontinue service to three areas of Sherrills Ford on June 30.  Denver Fire Chief Jay Flynn said the decision was due to inadequate funding when the county would not grant it the 7-cent fire tax it requested in February or the 8.92 cents it requested in May.  Instead, the county decided to keep the current rate of 3.89 cents per 100 home evaluation.  Denver has provided service to 6.69 square miles of Catawba County with 2,300 residents.  It’s partnership with Catawba County has lasted 50 years.

The Catawba County portion of the Denver’s district includes three sections. The eastern portion around Slanting Bridge Road to N.C. 16, the western portion on the west side of Lake Norman and the central section which covers the neighborhoods of Catawba Burris, Pebble Bay and Bank Head.

Catawba County plans to assume responsibility for all three portions over time, beginning with the eastern section on July 1. Denver’s decision expedites the process and plans that were already in place, according to Sherrills Ford Fire and Rescue Board of Directors member Carroll Lineberger.

The Board of Directors established a contingency plan to allow the department to effectively take over service for all three areas without impacting service rates.  The plan was also aided by an anonymous donor that is giving the department three acres off Pebble Bay Drive and Burris Road in the central region of Denver’s district.

Bost said the property is valued between $200,000 and $300,000.

The three areas serviced by the Denver Fire Department will get the same or better service than they have now, Sherrills Ford Fire Chief Keith Bost said.

They will also get the benefit of Sherrills Ford’s lower insurance rate of 6 compared to Denver’s 9, which will reduce home insurance rates by 30-35 percent in the affected areas. Bost said all areas will have a response time of less than 5 minutes.

Bost said the new department will cost about $1.4 million to complete.  His estimate includes $600,000 to build a station, another 800,000 for two trucks and $116,000 per year to pay for three firefighter positions.  He said that’s if the department gets brand new trucks.

Sherrills Ford Fire and Rescue will pay for the new station with the fire tax money that would have gone to the Denver department.  Bost said it will give the fire department an additional $164,000. The department also has $500,000 saved that was intended to go toward a new station on Monbo Road.  The Monbo Road station, which construction would have started in a year, will now be postponed two or three years in order to build the new station in Pebble Bay, Bost said.

Bost expects to move forward with plans Thursday morning by securing the proper building permits and clearing of the land. He said the permanent station would be 2,500 to 5,000 square feet.

“It’ll be something nice,” Bost said.  “We’re not going to just throw something up.”

Bost said he has contacted garage companies and builders known for constructing buildings quickly.

Lineberger said the department may be operating out of a garage for a few months, but what counts is that the service will be there.  

“A pretty building is not going to make us operate any better,” Lineberger said.

The temporary structure may not meet insurance requirements. However, he has confirmed that insurance ratings will not be impacted so long as the department is in the process of building a permanent building that would.

Most fire departments spend six to eight months pricing fire truck specifications and bidding a truck,  Sherrills Ford has to compact the process into a month.  Fortunately, he said Sherrills Ford Deputy Chief Justin Butler has priced and bid at least seven fire trucks in his 13 years with the department.

“Our goal first goal is service,” Lineberger said.

Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire and Rescue will host a drop-in informational session about the change in service tonight from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.