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 $19M — significantly higher than earlier budgets. The county’s Fire Department operates as an enterprise fund funded by user fees; Norville told commissioners the enterprise fund is currently in a negative position and that the county lacks the cash to build both stations without new revenue or repurposed local appropriations.

Option 2 — contracting with the City of Memphis for automatic aid for Bridgewater, Rocky Point and Cordova South — would provide faster, already‑staffed coverage. Norville said the city’s quoted price was about $1.3M per year (the number may be under revision) and that Memphis stations already surround some of the areas. He cautioned that a contract would be subject to price increases over time and would not eliminate the county’s longer‑term need to construct permanent stations in East Shelby County.

Hybrid options were also described: build a county station near Rocky Point/Cordova South while contracting Memphis to cover Bridgewater, or pursue a new site near Houston‑Lehi/Walnut Grove for a future county station while contracting Memphis for other areas. Norville described constraints including leases, available land, and the county fire enterprise fund’s reduced balance after pandemic‑era cost increases.

Community members and commissioners asked for more time to review the five options. Patricia Possel asked for a two‑week deferral to allow residents to study alternatives. Committee members — including Vice Chair Avant, Commissioner Sugarman and others — said the options were complex and wanted additional detail about costs, fund impacts and service effects. Commissioners requested: (a) a clearer breakdown of the impact on fire fees for county residents; (b) projected operating costs to staff any additional stations; and (c) how any contract price with Memphis would vary if the city revised its wage costs.

The committee voted to defer consideration and directed administration to return with more detailed cost comparisons and funding scenarios at the next committee meeting (scheduled Feb. 19). Multiple commissioners emphasized the urgency because the current lease for the temporary station approaches expiration and because the county is planning new stations on land it already owns (Micro Soccer Complex) for the southern response area.

Public Works said it has identified about $15.6M in local option sales tax reserves that might partially fund one station, but acknowledged a funding gap to complete two stations. Norville and finance staff told the committee that, because the Fire Department is an enterprise fund, capital for station construction cannot use CIP debt service without broader taxing authority; the department must accumulate cash or identify alternate local sources to proceed.