The Bullock County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on April 17 to buy a parcel at 494 Elmer Phillips Road in Statesboro for $850,000 and to award a $175,965 contract for a metal station building, measures county officials said are needed to ensure local fire protection if the county must assume services in the Statesboro Fire District on July 1.

County Attorney Jeff Akins told commissioners the land purchase contract is slightly revised from the copy on the agenda because the named seller does not yet own the property and the county’s purchase is contingent on “R and R 5 29 closing on said property prior to the closing date of 04/24/25.” Akins asked commissioners to approve a resolution authorizing county officials to sign documents needed to complete the acquisition.

Akins also explained the $175,965 construction contract with Hock Construction LLC and Smith Steel Structures will be awarded under an emergency exception to Georgia’s public-works procurement requirements, saying the county may need a station in place by July 1 and a sealed-bid schedule could not meet that timetable. “The construction project is necessitated by an emergency,” Akins said, summarizing the basis for the exception.

Fire Chief Ben Tapley described how the new site would change coverage. He said the county plans to place an engine at the new Highway 67 station and possibly move the ladder truck to that location so coverage is spread across three sites: the EMS station, Engine 9 in Cletto, and the new Highway 67 station. “So then now we can mirror the response that they have coming out of the city,” Tapley said, and added the city currently staffs “three engine companies and a ladder company.”

Commissioners asked about the construction timeline and site work. County staff said the metal building is intended only to house apparatus at first (no living quarters) and that site work would be performed by county public works while the contractor would handle concrete, steel and assembly. Officials said the contractor expects to complete the metal building in time for certification efforts before July 1 but acknowledged a worst-case finish in August would be tolerable. The board also discussed ongoing negotiations with the City of Statesboro on automatic aid and mutual-aid agreements; county officials said talks are continuing but no agreement is finalized.

Finance staff said the purchase and construction will be funded from SPLOST (special-purpose local-option sales tax) proceeds and interest earned on SPLOST funds. County staff indicated they will bring a formal resolution at a future meeting to allocate interest income and other SPLOST balances to the land and building purchases.

The board made the land purchase motion and the construction contract motion at the meeting; both passed unanimously. Commissioners present earlier in the meeting were counted as six members; officials recorded a unanimous vote on each item.

Why this matters: County officials said the actions are intended to preserve current levels of fire protection across the southern part of Bullock County if the county must assume all suppression services in the neighboring Statesboro district beginning July 1. The purchases also set the footprint for future station expansion as population and response needs grow.

What’s next: Staff will proceed with the land acquisition subject to the seller’s closing, finalize contract paperwork with Hock Construction LLC and Smith Steel Structures, begin site work, and continue talks with Statesboro leaders about a formal mutual-aid or automatic-aid agreement.