Council Approves Bond for Fairview Church Road Firehouse Addition; Opponents Cite Tax Concerns

Harrison County Council on Monday adopted Resolution 2026-03 to fund an addition to the Fairview Church Road firehouse that will add sleeping quarters and allow firefighters to remain at that station around the clock. The measure passed after two rounds of floor votes, with the final adoption succeeding 5–2.

Harrison Township Fire Chief Jon Saulman told the council the addition is intended to improve response times and readiness. He cited a recent structure fire in which, he said, a "three-minute response time saved antiques and other valuable items." Saulman told the council that three firefighters currently staff the Fairview station for half a day and then return to the main Corydon station, and that seven of ten recent structure fires were handled from the Fairview location.

Councilwoman Holli Castetter opposed the bond, saying it would increase taxes for "businesses and homeowners" and urging the department to reduce non-fire calls through efficiency measures. Castetter moved to deny the resolution; the motion (seconded by Jennie Capelle) failed 2–5. Councilman Richard Gerdon then moved to adopt the resolution; that motion (seconded by Sherry Brown) passed 5–2. The council recorded Capelle and Castetter as the two dissenting votes and Kellum, Blackman, Brown, Gerdon and Nix as the affirmative votes.

Chairman Kyle Nix noted there is a public comment period on the bond through April 20 and that taxpayers may remonstrate against the bond issuance until May 21. The council did not set a funding increase amount in the meeting minutes beyond approval of the bond resolution itself; specifics of the bond size and repayment schedule were discussed in the resolution paperwork presented by the fire chief.