The city of Morehead has been working toward constructing a new fire station for more than a decade, and now that a property has been selected, officials said the project is picking up steam.
The Morehead City Council unanimously voted to pass the first reading of a bond agreement to finance the new station, meaning officials are preparing to select a construction firm and start cost estimates.
Jeff Anderson has served as the Morehead Fire Chief since 2009. He said their current facility is too small to provide adequate privacy and safety, and as the fire department has evolved over the decades, so has its needs.
“One single restroom for males and females both was a big agenda item for me. No office area, so I didn’t have an office. And now that we have full time firefighters, there’s no place for them to stay,” said Anderson.
Anderson said these issues have made a new facility long overdue, but they have also been focused on getting a location as central to the city as possible.
“It’s driven by growth and the need of an old building that was- used to be partially a car wash in 1970 when it was made a fire station,” said Anderson. “Getting a station downtown and within half a mile of where we are was priority.”
The new fire station, expected to open in 2026, will be across from the Rowan County Courthouse and next to Trinity Christian Church on West Main Street. Officials with city planning added there were many other variables to consider when picking that location, including proximity to the current station, space for fire trucks, and traffic flow.
Ground-breaking on the new fire station site is anticipated around the summer of 2025.