Hopkinsville City Council took another step Tuesday night toward constructing the city’s fifth fire station.
Following a closed session to discuss property acquisition, council members voted unanimously to purchase a 10-acre parcel near the Walmart Distribution Center for $2.5 million from DDL 10, a company based in Illinois.
The site is just off Fort Campbell Boulevard on the southern edge of the city limits at 101 Walton Way. Mayor James R. Knight Jr. confirmed to Hoptown Chronicle that the city plans to construct a fire station there.
The site includes a one-story, brick building with 34,543 square foot of space divided among two conference rooms and 24 smaller offices.
In November, the city received a 290-page feasibility study from PFGW Architects on HFD operations and future fire safety needs to address growth through commercial and industrial development, and annexation on the south side of Hopkinsville.
The report recommends the addition of two fire stations, the first costing an estimated $13.4 million and the next at approximately $5.5 million.
Hopkinsville currently has four fire stations. Those are:
- Station 1 (HFD headquarters) on West First Street
- Station 2 on Skyline Drive
- Station 3 on Canton Pike
- Station 4 on Eagle Way
City officials have not yet outlined a timeline for construction of the next fire station.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
