City approves new lease for fire station

MT. PLEASANT The city can move forward on fixing a mold problem at the towns fire station with the approval of a new lease agreement.

The city commission green-lighted an updated 50-year lease Tuesday with the Maury Regional Airport Authority and terminated a previous contract with Maury County. The lease comes with a renewal option after 50 years, and the airport retains ownership of the building.

The city fire hall, 1158 N. Main St., is on property the airport owns. The fire department and EMS personnel vacated the fire station in November because of growing mold problem. Operations were relocated to a facility at 1540 Trilogy Lane.

City Manager Michelle Williams said the county built the fire hall in the 1980s, and the airport owns the land. The county also used to run the EMS service, but now Maury Regional Medical Center does.

City officials wanted to make sure who owned the building before proceeding with the mold remediation.

We didnt want to put money into something that we were not sure who owned and how long we would lease, Williams said. We decided that we need to figure this out.

Williams previously estimated that fixing the mold problem would cost the city about $100,000. The city and MRMC will pay for correcting the mold problem with a 75-25 percent split, respectively. MRMC will also pay 25 percent of utility and other bills for both the temporary and currently vacant fire facilities, Williams said.

The city is seeking a USDA Rural Development Loan and Grant opportunity to help offset repair costs, but that pursuit is still in its beginning stages, Williams said.

City Attorney Tom Hardin said the Airport Board would have to approve the measure for it to be finalized. Upon approval, the lease will go into effect on Jan. 1, he said.

The Maury County Regional Airport Authority board will meet Thursday night and discuss the matter, Airport Manager Paul Turner said.

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City approves new lease for fire station