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Brooksville offers 3 acres for fire service; county, city and schools agree to keep talking over 5‑year reversion clause
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Summary
Brooksville has a developer‑dedicated 3‑acre parcel near Powell Road/US‑41 intended for fire service; city and county officials agreed to continue negotiating use (substation, ambulance, training or headquarters) and to seek a joint letter of intent after concerns that a five‑year reversion clause is too short without development triggers or financing.
Brooksville has offered a 3‑acre parcel in the new Springside Crossings development for fire service, but county and city officials left the matter unresolved on April 22, agreeing instead to continue negotiations over the dedication’s terms.
Lisa Hendrickson, Brooksville’s city manager, told the joint meeting the developer would dedicate three acres north of the entrance road and east of U.S. 41 concurrent with the first final plat. The parcel was secured in an earlier development agreement; Hendrickson said the city wants county input on what kind of fire‑related use — a headquarters, a substation, an ambulance/satellite, training facility or a full station — would best serve the growing corridor.
The city said the developer does not want the parcel to remain vacant for more than five years. County Fire Chief Paul Hassamier said countywide priorities and existing capital plans make construction of a full station at that location unlikely in the next five years; he pointed to other sites he called higher immediate priorities, including the I‑75/State Route 50 corridor and the Atlanta/19 growth area. "We have a CIP project for a headquarters and other near‑term station needs," Chief Hassamier said, noting the department is recruiting and running trainee programs to staff future stations.
County Administrator Rogers said the five‑year reversion clause is tight given permitting, design and funding timelines, and urged negotiating a trigger tied to rooftops or development activity instead of a strict calendar deadline. "If we can get a rooftop trigger — when X percent of units are in the ground — then the clock starts, that would be a better path," Rogers said.
Several county commissioners and the Brooksville mayor said they favored keeping the parcel available to public service rather than returning it to the developer, but they differed over a firm five‑year timeline. Mayor Tanner said she supported collaboration and urged both bodies to be creative about interim uses such as a training site or low‑impact headquarters functions; she also emphasized the parcel’s strategic location on 41.
The bodies agreed on next steps: city and county staff will draft a joint letter of intent to the developer stating their commitment to continue discussions and to explore substation/training/ambulance uses in the near term and longer‑term options if and when funding and rooftops make a full station feasible. Officials also discussed negotiating a longer reversion period or a development‑triggered reversion clause during that process.
No formal commitment was made to construct a particular facility or to transfer ownership; officials said any capital project would require additional planning, a realistic financing plan and, where needed, future board approvals. The county said it will evaluate interim low‑cost options that could increase response capacity without the multi‑million‑dollar outlays a full new station requires.
