By Ian Berry
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Copyright 2007 Chattanooga Publishing Company
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. — A proposal to turn 35 acres at Enterprise South into a firefighter training center has met with skepticism from Hamilton County commissioners.
The plan was approved Tuesday by the Chattanooga City Council, and County Mayor Claude Ramsey told commissioners he recommended it, saying his decision represented a “little bit of a shift in my thought.”
“That does not mean I’d change my mind on some of the other things suggested out there,” Mr. Ramsey said. “Enterprise South is still an industrial park.”
He said he was “resistant” to the idea until learning that it would take millions to clean up the site and that it would be roughly 20 years before that specific area of Enterprise South could host industrial activity.
But Commissioner Richard Casavant said he is reluctant to put something at the site that would cost the county money instead of generating revenue.
“I can be educated, I guess,” Dr. Casavant said. “But I’m not there.”
Chattanooga Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Adams said there are “several problems with the property,” including a landfill, tanks and a sinkhole that has split an old rail line that used to run on the site. But for their purposes, the site is perfect, he said. For instance, the sinkhole area could be used for extrication exercises, he said.
“It’s almost like it was designed for us,” Chief Adams said.
He said the area is perfect for “trench rescue” and to create a “rubble city” in which emergency responders could learn to rescue people trapped in confined spaces.
But another concern, voiced by commissioner and former Chattanooga Fire Chief Jim Coppinger, was about a future price tag of as much as $30 million.
“I am concerned about where you’re going to get funding,” Mr. Coppinger said. “This is going to be an extremely expensive venture down the road.”
Mr. Coppinger said that if the firefighter training center is going to be a regional facility somewhere down the line, he would like to get other regional governments involved. He said he would like to see more of a strategic plan and long-term objectives.
Fire Chief Wendell Rowe said it was likely firefighters eventually would have to come back to the county for funding, but that for the next three years, the expenses are covered.
Potential industrial partners could help pay for the project, Chief Rowe said, and he would like to establish a fundraising committee. He said he would like to model the project after a $30 million facility in South Carolina.
“I don’t necessarily agree that we won’t be able to generate revenue for this site in later years,” he said.
The facility would be available to county volunteer fire departments and municipal departments, officials said.
Local firefighters now train on Amnicola Highway at a center that officials say is inadequate for their needs and close to some gas facilities. Officials said the proposed facility at Enterprise South could better serve them and other firefighters in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia.
Dr. Casavant and Commissioner Fred Skillern said they were concerned that once the facility here was occupied, it could become an obstacle to future development.
Mr. Ramsey and commissioners agreed to have fire officials back for another meeting.
“There ought to be answers to your questions,” Mr. Ramsey said. “We can consider it from there.”