Albany, GA, Residents Oppose New Fire Station Near Park

ALBANY – Residents concerned about the encroachment and hassles a fire station would bring to Tift Park and the surrounding neighborhood peppered Albany City Commission members with emails and phone calls ahead of the commission’s business meeting this week.

On Tuesday evening, Tift Park supporters showed up about 55 strong, many holding aloft signs urging the commission to “Save Tift Park.” And it seems to have paid off. During the session, commissioners punted on making a decision and agreed to regroup on the topic in July.

The issue before commissioners was the selection of a site to house Fire Station No. 2, which is more than 70 years old, and also the city’s 911 call center, which is to be moved out of the Dougherty County Justice Center.

Several commission members indicated that they would not vote in favor of the site of Palmyra Road and Seventh Avenue that drew the opposition if it comes up for another vote in the future. The other site up for consideration was a few blocks to the west at North Jefferson Street and Seventh Avenue.

“I think they can go out and find another site,” Commissioner Jon Howard said. “I’ve received a couple of calls. We do have an issue, and if I do decide not to vote for Tift Park, I (also) will not vote for Jefferson.”

The Ward I commissioner said that the elderly residents in the neighborhood should not be disturbed by the noise and traffic that having a fire station there would bring.

“I firmly believe that in this world, encroachment on the citizens is not the way to go,” Commissioner Vilnis Gaines said. “We can find another site if we want to. We should find another site and let our senior citizens live in peace.”

The North Jefferson Street location comes with the drawback that, unlike the Tift Park property, it is not owned by the city and the purchase price is nearly $1 million. The property includes the former Tri-State Florist Supply building as well as two vacant lots and a burned-out building, which is a much larger footprint than would be needed for the fire station.

In making his recommendation to hold off on bringing the topic up for discussion until July, Commissioner Bob Langstaff pointed out that Ward II, where both of the identified sites are located, currently does not have a sitting commissioner.

If the June three-way race to replace former Commissioner Jalen Johnson, who left the commission in March, is settled by that time, it would allow the new Ward II representative to have input and a vote on the decision.

Langstaff said he also had emailed questions to city staff that had not been answered prior to the meeting.

“I don’t like to postpone, but we’ve been talking about this thing forever anyway,” he said. “I don’t really want to make an impromptu decision.”

The replacement of the 1500 Palmyra Road Fire Station 2 has been under consideration for more than six years, Commissioner Chad Warbington said.

“It feels like we could almost eliminate Tift Park, even if we’re not going to put it on Jefferson,” he said. “I got quite a few emails from the public (telling me) absolutely don’t you look at that location.”

Mayor Bo Dorough also acknowledged the residents’ input.

“Many opponents to putting this in Tift Park have called commissioners, and we appreciate that,” he said.

Dougherty County resident Chris McNeese, who showed up Tuesday to voice his opposition, said he was “startled” that Tift Park would even be considered.

“I think they were surprised at the outcry from the public,” said McNeese, who now lives in the Radium Springs area but said he supports the park because of its historical significance. “It wasn’t a win tonight, but it wasn’t a loss.”

The opposition is not to the construction of a new station for firefighters, said Stephen Brimberry, president of the Friends of Tift Park group, who pointed out that his brother was a firefighter who had worked out of that location.

After learning about the proposal for the park, Brimberry mobilized people to make their opposition clear.

“Everybody (commissioner) got a call,” he said. “I was told by one of the commissioners to be here if I could. I reached out to the Rawson Circle people.”

If a fire station were built, it would eliminate part of the park forever, he said. That the commission took a vote without representation from a Ward II commissioner was also “disappointing.”

“It’s green space,” Brimberry said. “Once you take away the green space, you never get it back. We support the firefighters. They need a new facility, but not in Tift Park.”

In another Tift Park-related vote, the commissioners deadlocked on accepting a bid of $164,000 for resurfacing the old tennis courts at the complex. The project also would include converting the area to mostly pickleball courts, with one tennis court retained. Gaines, Langstaff and Warbington voted in favor of accepting the bid, while Dorough and Commissioners Diana Brown and Howard voted no.

One question about the resurfacing is that it might not hold up for an extended period without having part of the existing surface removed and reconditioned.

“We ought to start making investments in Tift Park instead of repairs,” Dorough said of his decision. “We need parking. We need restrooms.”

On the tennis courts, he suggested having a consultant evaluate the courts to determine whether the city can get by with the resurfacing or if a more extensive court renovation is needed.

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