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Fire Department Building Buy Delayed

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By NICOLA M. WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS - When visitors arrive at the city's fire department, there is no special entrance or screening process before they can go straight to the fire chief's office and the other firefighters on duty.

That's a security problem in a post-Sept. 11 world, Chief Keith Williams said.

Monday night, Williams presented the city council with a plan to buy a vacant office building at 38056 Daughtery Road as a possible site for the offices of the fire department's top brass.

In addition to providing more security for the fire department, the building, on the market for $395,000, would provide much-needed storage space, Williams said. He pointed out that the city had planned to spend $400,000 down the line to build an addition to the current fire headquarters, at 6907 Dairy Road.

That sounds good, most city council members said Monday. But Councilman Clyde Bracknell and Councilwoman Celia Graham expressed concerns about the cost and separating the top administrators from the rank-and-file.

"My concerns are, we just bought the fire truck, which was $600,000, that we have to pay over quite a few years, and we don't know exactly where the money's going to fall after the election," Bracknell said, referring to the Jan. 29 referendum on property taxes. "All these figures look good, but somewhere along the line, we've got to pay it. It's like charging on your charge card: It's free until you get your bill."

Councilmen Danny Burgess and Kent Compton seemed to initially like the sounds of the proposal because the city already had planned to spend $400,000 on the remodeling project.

Still, the council delayed any action on the matter until after the election. The first meeting in February is slated for Feb. 11.

In other news, the council:

• Recognized Lt. David Harris as the city's firefighter of the year;

• Recognized Glen Clegg as the fire department's new administrative fire chief. Clegg has worked in various fire departments since 1985 and most recently as the EMS captain in Plant City. He will earn $54,000.

• Moved forward with a land-use change that would allow the Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. to build a retention pond near its 20th Street facility. The land is designated for residential use; to build a retention pond, the land must be zoned for industrial use. It has another public hearing scheduled for Jan. 28.

Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.

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