LAURINBURG — The county could begin construction on a new fire substation during the first quarter of 2017.
The station would be located behind the water tower on U.S. 401 off Purcell Road at the southern edge of Laurinburg. It would expand the breadth of the South Central District served by the Laurinburg Fire Department.
It is one of two substations the county plans to build to help lower homeowners’ insurance rates in the northern and southern parts of the county.
Commissioner Bob Davis said the county wants to have the first substation completed within a year. Because the city of Laurinburg owns the property, the municipal governments will need to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that would have the county would pay for the building, while the city would pay for improvements to the site.
“I hope to begin construction by February or March at the latest,” Davis said.
The county is waiting on the results of a soil survey to let work crews know how to construct the station. The substation is expected to be a pre-engineered steel building with concrete flooring adequate to bear the size and weight of fire trucks.
The timeline for the substation on the north side of town is a bit more protracted. County leaders said they need to replace and upgrade more fire equipment first.
“The fire equipment replacement plan is all part of that same plan that created a fire tax from two or three years ago,” Commissioner Guy McCook said. “We’ve got a schedule for most of [the equipment] that’s going to be replaced.”
Davis said the facility in the north end of the county could start soon after the southern substation is finished.
“Six months to a year after we build this one,” Davis said “That all depends on the availability of funds.”
But critics have accused Scotland officials of moving too slowly on the projects.
Richard Thomas of Laurinburg recently spoke at a county board meeting to express his displeasure with the delay. He said that a presentation was made in 2014 that there would be three-cent increase in the Fire Tax to be used within a year to establish a substation in the northern and southern parts of the county. The increase in the county fire tax — from two cents to five — was the first in 16 years. The tax generates about $351,000 annually.
Thomas said that two years later, there are still no substations. He added that he has not received the insurance reduction that he was promised.
“We are not complaining about the fire tax because we have to have fire departments,” Thomas said. “At least, we can see where our money is going. This increased tax was implemented about 28 months ago. We’re not getting any relief, just paying more.”
Phil Morgan of Marston said both fire substations need to be built and operable by the middle of next year so fire insurance ratings can come down. When the fire commission proposed the fire tax increase in 2014, the projected yields included two unmanned substations that would place all county homes within a five-mile radius of a fire station and a maximum insurance rating in any area of Scotland County at a 6. ISO ratings in all fire districts outside of Laurinburg, Laurel Hill, and Gibson range from 8 to 10.
Morgan said he supported the fire tax increase because “it is a safety thing.”
“You’re two years behind,” Morgan told commissioners. “These stations need to be built soon. I know you all get a lot of criticism, but this time, it is justified.”