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Fire chief asks Spalding County to back $650,000 burn-training building; commissioners seek site details
Summary
Fire Chief Berg asked the board to fund a $650,000 prefabricated two-story burn-training building to improve hands-on firefighter training; staff proposed using impact fees and fund balance, and commissioners asked for site maps, neighborhood outreach plans and a contract before final approval.
Chief Berg asked the Spalding County Board of Commissioners on May 4 for permission to use a mix of impact fees and county fund balance to buy a prefabricated two-story burn-training building with a preliminary price of $650,000. "We're in a bind" and need the structure to run recruit schools weekly and preserve hands-on experience for incumbent firefighters, Chief Berg said.
Staff noted the county could fund roughly half the cost from impact fees and the remainder from fund balance. Chief Berg said the county's fund balance "as of the 2025" sat at about $9,800,000 and that staff estimates showed roughly $324,300 from impact fees and about $275,700 from fund balance toward the project.
Commissioners pressed on siting and neighborhood impacts. One commissioner said smoke and odor could travel to nearby homes and asked for a map showing proximity to residential areas; Chief Berg said live-fire training would be scheduled on appropriate weather days and that staff would visit nearby residents and explain the science behind smoke behavior. "We would just have to put, you know, every day is a burn day is dependent upon weather," Chief Berg said.
Commissioners also asked whether training infrastructure and equipment were overly centralized. Staff said the proposed site has room for large training pads, an on-site bottle refill station and other features not available at many existing stations; staff added that redundancy would be provided by a planned Teaman Road facility as it is constructed.
On next steps, staff recommended the board "move forward in support of training our officers," but commissioners asked that staff return with a contract, clearer maps of the proposed site and additional data before any final action. Chair (speaker 2) asked staff to provide the outstanding information and indicated the board would consider the contract when presented. "Come back to us with the contract to say, hey," the chair said.
The board did not record a formal final vote on a contract during the workshop; commissioners indicated support in principle and asked that staff provide the requested documents before a final vote.
