Glascock considers acquiring two Boone County fire stations

Interim City Manager John Glascock said he wants the city to consider acquiring two Boone County fire stations to cover growing parts of town.

Glascock mentioned the plan during his budget address Friday morning. He said he wanted leaders at the Columbia Fire Department to discuss possibly taking over Boone County Fire Protection District stations 12 and 14, located at 908 El Chapparal Avenue and 3900 Scott Boulevard respectively.

The city has long sought land for fire stations in the east and southwest parts of Columbia. Some parts of the growing residential areas have no city fire station within several miles.

“We owe it to the community to be as efficient as possible with our resources,” Glascock said.

Fifth Ward councilman Matt Pitzer, who represents southwest Columbia, said he liked the idea of negotiating with the county. A deal to buy land at Scott and Route KK for a new fire station fell through, he said, when the city and seller Beacon Street Properties could not come up with a clean title for the sale. By working with the county, Pitzer said the two sides could accomplish many things.

“There’s a lot of different ways to cooperate and I think the good news is that the city and the county are finally working together to find some positive solutions for everybody,” Pitzer said.

Sixth Ward councilwoman Betsy Peters, who represents parts of east Columbia, said the city needs a fire station to serve that area of town and the blossoming subdivisions on the edge of it.

“Our current fire stations are stretched thin in regards to Old Hawthorne and the Vineyards,” Peters said. ” Hopefully, we can work something out with BCFPD.”