By Stephen Hudak
The Orlando Sentinel
PAISLEY, Fla. — Roy Hunter can celebrate now.
As the loudest proponent of a fire station for one of Lake County’s most remote neighborhoods, Hunter, 79, struggled to find words to express his joy this week when the County Commission voted to award a $1.3 million construction contract for the project.
“The main thing is the safety and peace of mind for people out here,” said Hunter, who resides in a double-wide mobile home on 5 acres near the Ocala National Forest. “If something happens out here, we’ll know we’ve got help coming quickly.”
He wiped away tears as he talked about the “blessing” of a firehouse.
Lake County firefighters sometimes arrive at an emergency in Paisley more than 15 minutes after receiving a 911 call, a gap three times longer than the targeted response time, Public Safety Director Gary Kaiser said.
Hunter, a fixture at County Commission meetings, has championed the project for years.
“He deserves credit for his determination,” Kaiser said. His staff has applied for nearly $4 million in federal grants to defray construction costs of new firehouses for the communities of Altoona, Astatula and Paisley.
According to U.S. Census figures, about 4,800 people reside in the northeast Lake communities of Astor, Forest Hills, Lake Mack, Lake Kathryn, Paisley and Pine Lakes, all of which may benefit from the firehouse.
Deputy Fire Chief John Jolliff said construction could begin in 30 days on the new fire station, which will include separate quarters for a Lake-Sumter Emergency Medical Service crew and deputy sheriffs who patrol the area.
The firehouse should be open by next summer, Jolliff said.
Kaiser said the Paisley station will plug a gap in the county’s fire service, which has transformed in recent years from volunteer crews to a paid, around-the-clock staff.
“As the volunteers have essentially evaporated from our landscape, we’ve tried to fill the holes, and Paisley was a great big one,” Kaiser said. “It’s always been a difficult area to get to.”
The new firehouse will be on County Road 42 on a parcel of land that had been part of Ellis Acres, a wooded preserve the county acquired in June 2007 for $2.66 million with funds from a special property tax for public conservation lands.
The building, nearly identical in design to the 7,700-square-foot fire station the county built in Lake Jem in 2008, will cost about $500,000 less because a desperate construction market has inspired more competitive bids.
All 27 construction bids were below Lake Jem’s $1.9 million price tag, Kaiser said.
Copyright 2009 Sentinel Communications Co.