The Monroe County Board of Commissioners and Oglethorpe Power teamed up this morning (Monday, Dec. 12) to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Smarr fire station on Ray Hartley Road just west of I-75.
About 50 persons were in attendance at Monday’s groundbreaking with representatives present from the Development Authority of Monroe County, the Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, and Monroe County Emergency Services (MCES) in addition to numerous representatives of Oglethorpe Power and Monroe County Commissioners Greg Tapley, Eddie Rowland, John Ambrose, and George Emami.
The new station will be built on four acres of land donated by Oglethorpe Power to Monroe County in October 2022. The new station will replace the former one on Evans Road that burned down in November 2021.
District 3 Commissioner John Ambrose, Oglethorpe Power President/CEO Mike Smith, and MCES Chief Matthew Jackson were the speakers at the 10-minute ceremony.
Commissioner Ambrose gave special thanks to three Oglethorpe Power staffers in particular for assisting him in working out a deal for the property. Those staffers included: Director of Land Management and Facility Services David Penn, Government and Community Affairs Manager Sydne Smith, and Community and External Affairs Manager Davis Warnell. He also thanked Monroe County Manager Jim Hedges for remaining diligent on making sure an agreement came to fruition.
“I can’t say enough about how great Oglethorpe Power was to partner with us and share it (land). And we hope to work together in the future more on it,” Commissioner Ambrose said. “All I can say is as a commissioner this is one of the best things that’s happened in my eight years as commissioner.”
Smith said Oglethorpe Power is one of the nation’s largest cooperative power producers and one of the largest energy producers in Georgia, supplying energy to 38 electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) around the state. Three of the 38 EMCs service Monroe County, including Central Georgia EMC, Southern Rivers Energy and Flint Energies.
“We’re ecstatic about donating this land to the county and to the fire department,” Smith said. “It’s a great thing for neighbors to do to neighbors.”
Chief Jackson said fire/EMS personnel are slated to be on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the new Smarr fire station, which will house a fire engine and a ladder truck. Chief Jackson said the convenient location just off the Rumble Road exit of I-75 will allow for faster response times throughout Monroe County.
Chief Jackson said, “Our biggest thanks of all is to Oglethorpe Power for their generous donation and for being such a huge community partner in helping to keep Monroe County safe for our residents and businesses.”
At the conclusion of the formal ceremony, representatives from each of the entities in attendance shoveled dirt at the fire station site using gold-colored shovels. A substantial portion of the four-acre tract has already been clear cut over the past several weeks by a crew headed up by MCES volunteer firefighter/EMT Alex Harrison.
Original source can be found here.
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