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Input Sought On Hillsborough Fire Station Relocation

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By DAVE NICHOLSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 21, 2009

PLANT CITY - County officials will hold a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3 on a proposal to relocate a fire station from Springhead to Bealsville in eastern Hillsborough.

The Springhead Fire Station, at 4503 Coronet Road, is in need of about $500,000 in renovations. County fire officials are pondering the possibility of instead building a station at Bealsville Park, at 5009 Nesmith Road, at a cost of about $1 million.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said the Springhead station was originally built to serve volunteer firefighters. The county now has four paid firefighters there 24 hours a day, and the accommodations are not very good, he said.

Also, Plant City has annexed to within a quarter-mile of the Springhead station, and fire officials are wondering whether it wouldn't be better to build in the Bealsville location about 2 1/2 miles away, he said.

At the meeting, county staff members will discuss the details of the project, answer questions and receive public input.

The meeting will be at the Bealsville Recreation Center, 5009 Nesmith Road

Yeakley said the county hasn't made the final call on the relocation, and public comments will play a role in the decision.

"Usually we don't get a lot of opposition," but the county wants to hear from residents, he said.

For information, call Steve Valdez at the Public Works Department at (813) 272-5275.

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