The rain held off and the sun peeked through the clouds long enough for county officials and department leadership to break ground for the new replacement station for Fire Station No. 8 in Stockbridge this past Friday.

  Plans for the replacement station have been in the works since 2017, when county officials discovered that Fire Station No. 8 was in structural disrepair and could no longer be utilized by fire personnel.  An effort led by then newly elected District II Commissioner Dee Clemmons closed the unsafe building and relocated fire personnel to temporary housing until funding could be secured to build the new station.

  For the past two years, Clemmons has worked with county leadership on securing funding to build a new station and this past January, the Henry County Board of Commissioners awarded the contract to build the station to J.R. Bowman Construction Co., Inc. of McDonough for $2,691,000. Architect is Bill Howell with the Howell Group of Marietta.

  Clemmons noted that the station was a long time coming and thanked everyone who had a part in working through this process.

  “Today I am so excited that I am at a loss for words and all I can say is this has been a long time coming, a much deserved groundbreaking, and a much deserved rebuild of Station 8. Words alone cannot express how excited I am today for our community, for our public safety departments, for this Board of Commissioners and for this county to have a new build of Station 8 and I just say congratulations to all the team members,” said Clemmons.  “I’m thankful for our contractor and hoping that it can be completed soon because we’re ready to get in.  So just thank you for today – everybody that supported this effort. It’s been something that I have been working for since day one, so we’re excited.”

  District IV Commissioner Vivian Thomas said she was excited to be part of the ceremony and to support Clemmons in her efforts to replace the fire station.

  “I am just excited to be here today to support Commissioner Clemmons in her efforts.  I remember when she was battling for the money to make sure that this happened, and I thought this little woman is going to get this money and a whole lot more,” said Thomas. “Not only is she getting a fire station, but the design of this fire station is absolutely awesome. It’s going to complement this community so exceptionally well, and I’m excited to see Henry County moving progressively to serve this community.”

  District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson gave a brief history on the original Station No. 8, which he said dates back to 1984 and was built by volunteers.

  “Now at that time, the Fire Chief asked for volunteers to build the fire station. So they were volunteering for the fire station and were building the station at the same time,” he said.

  The replacement fire station is being built on a new location because the former location was too congested with traffic and too small to accommodate the new three-bay design and wrap-around driveway needed to safely maneuver fire apparatus.

  Strategically located between two subdivisions, the new 8,539 square ft. fire station is situated on 3.05 acres located at 975 Jodeco Rd. in Stockbridge. The station will feature three bays, sleeping quarters, kitchen, laundry, common living area, fitness room and staff offices.   Construction of Fire Station No. 8 is expected to be completed by February 2020.