City Council approves budget increase for Ross Bridge fire station
The addition of $4,809.59 was unanimously approved for the construction of Hoover Fire Station No. 10 during the June 15 Hoover City Council meeting. The total cost of construction will be $2,084,609.59.
Much of the added funds went to the application of a flame retardant that must be added to the foam insulation of the fire station’s attic, which was required by city code, according to Hoover Battalion Chief of Operation Ben Allison.
The completion of the station has also been delayed by 19 days. The station is now scheduled to be finished on August 13.
The construction of the fire station has already been delayed 5-6 weeks, according to Hoover City Councilman John Lyda. But Allison said he thinks it will be delayed further because of issues with application of Stucco products to the exterior of the station.
Residents of the Ross Bridge community have requested the new station for more than a year. Many of the homes in the Ross Bridge community are more than five miles away for the nearest fire station, leaving them unprotected by Insurance Service Organization standards. With the addition of the new station, members off the surrounding community will see their insurance rates lowered.
“I think it is a wonderful thing to have fire and rescue personnel located within our neighborhood,” said Jeff Boyd, Daniel Corporation vice president of residential development. “It gives a very short response time for emergencies and helps homeowners insurance rates to remain as low as possible.”
Residents of the Ross Bridge community will also see their emergency response time reduced by as much as five minutes, according to Allison.
"In an Emergency Medical Service call, where someone has a heart attack or have witnessed a heart attack, you have about four to six minutes to make something happen,” Allison said. “Being a lot closer gives them a better opportunity to facilitate a good outcome ... Five minutes means a whole lot."
The council also:
• Approved the recognition of June 14 as National Flag Day and the week of June 14 as National
Flag Week. Buildings of the City of Hoover will have the flag on display during that week.
• Voted unanimously to deny declaring the property at 2233 Tal Heim Drive a public nuisance
because of the overabundance of grass and weeds.
• Approved request to Alabama Power Services to provide electric service for traffic signal
installations at Chapel Lane at Al Seier Road, Ross Bridge Parkway at Shannon-Oxmoor Road,
and Ross Bridge Parkway at Deer Valley Elementary School.
• Approved a sales tax holiday from Friday, August 7, at 12:01 a.m. to Sunday, August 9, at
midnight. Exemptions on these days include: articles of clothing $100 or less; a single purchase
of $750 or less of computers, computer software or school computer supplies; and school
supplies of $50 or less per item.
• Approved a liquor license for El Gringo at 1843 Montgomery Highway, Suite 105.
• Approved the annexation of 2929 Monte D’Este Drive and 1701 Kestwick Drive into the City of
Hoover from Jefferson County.