COVINGTON, Ga. — A positive update was given on the Fire Station 8 project in Newton County during the 2017 SPLOST Committee meeting, held Monday night, Nov. 18.

An estimated 4.23-acre tract of land was purchased for the project, located on Gum Creek Road in Covington, which was a "good site" for the new station, according to Lloyd Kerr, county manager. 

"We picked out this spot because it will serve the greatest number of people within a 5-mile radius," he said. "We can pretty well cover the north end of the county."

He added, "It's large enough so we can expand if we need to."

The next step in the development process is to create a design team, according to Jeff Prine, project manager.

"We are at the very early stages of this particular project," he said. "Matter of fact, I actually sent to Randy — in purchasing — this morning, the RFP (request for proposals) that we are putting on the street, with these documents, to seek out a design-build team to help us build this."

It is predicted by Feb. 5, 2020, a design-build team will be on board. The design phase is predicted to be completed by May 2020.

The current site plan, which is a concept and subject to change, has a visitor parking area — located outside the secure parking area — and features a drive-thru concept, allowing the firetrucks to drive in and out of the base without having to back up. 

The building floor plan, also a concept and subject to change, will feature a "clean station concept," which will eliminate the cancer-causing contaminates on the equipment, according to Prine.

The total budget of the project is $2.051 million and will be funded from SPLOST 11, SPLOST 17 and the 271 Fire Fund — a fire tax used for maintenance and operations. 

The Fire Station 8 construction is predicted to be completed by February 2021.