Beatrice City Council to Consider Acquiring Property for New Fire/Rescue Station

BEATRICE - The Beatrice City Council will hold a public hearing Monday night on proposed acquisition of seven parcels of property along South 6th Street….that would be used as the site of a new Beatrice Fire and Rescue station.
The proposed acquisitions involve agreements between the City of Beatrice and Robert and Debra Houseman, H2 Rentals LLC, MRW Rentals LLC, the Mark Clausen Living Trust and Garold Kleveland.
The properties are located at 312 South 6th, 321 and 323 South 7th, 606 Scott Street and the south side of Bell Street, between 6th and 7th. The city council will also consider a resolution for condemning property to begin eminent domain proceedings on three parcels along the north side of Scott Street, between 6th and 7th. Resolutions for appraisal services and environmental testing will also be considered by the city council.
City officials have been seeking a site for the new fire station that includes an entire city block. The properties would provide a site that sits along U.S. Highway 77.
The new station would replace the long-time fire department and rescue headquarters located in the lower level of the Beatrice Municipal Auditorium….where cramped space means firefighters must stack several vehicles into a limited number of bays.
Last November, Beatrice voters approved an additional half-cent of local sales tax, providing revenue to pay off a planned fire and rescue station bond issue. Collection of the additional half-cent of sales tax, began April 1st.