Commission committee weighs contracting with Memphis, building new stations to cover de‑annexed areas

Shelby County Committee 2 heard a lengthy presentation and community comment on options to provide fire and rescue coverage after de‑annexations in the eastern part of the county. Cliff Norville, Public Works, and Shelby County Fire officials outlined five options ranging from continuing a temporary leased station (Temporary Station 65) to contracting with the City of Memphis, building one or two permanent county stations, or hybrid approaches combining county stations with Memphis coverage in some neighborhoods.

Norville said the county opened a temporary leased site (Station 65) near Shelby Farms after de‑annexations and squeezed additional companies into existing stations while planning two new firehouses. He said building permanent stations is capital‑intensive: bids for a single new station recently came in at roughly $7.96M and $10M for another site, raising the two‑station total to an estimated…