ATHENS, SHOW UP THIS TUESDAY AT CITY HALL (301 College Ave) 6:00PM TO ASK THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION TO DENY THE LAND AQUISITION ON OLD LEXINGTION RD. EMERGENCY RESPONSE, TAXPAYER DOLLARS, FAMILIES AND LIVESTOCK ARE AT RISK! 

GO DAWGS!

CONTACT MAYOR & COMMISSION BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

THE MONEY CONCERN: The Athens Clarke County Mayor and Commision are considering buying a piece of property in East Athens on Old Lexington Rd. for almost 4X's it's property value, with taxpayer funds. Fire station no. 5 requires a new build and relocation, but the land being considered and the amount being offered are completely inappropriate. The 7.52 acres was appraised at $112,800 ($15,000/acre) and the offer being made by the county is $487,000 ($64,760/acre). This project requires less than 3 acres, but the county wants to purchase 7.5+ to allow for "flexibility" and future expansion. The overpurchase is just to move the project along and is a result of project fatigue. The alloted funding for the project does not expire and there is no existing deadline for the completion of the project. Neighbors were given no notices in the mail and approprite signage was not posted at the site location. If the Mayor and Commission vote to purchase the Old Lexington Rd. property, this would be a grave misuse of governemnt dollars. It would break the trust of both Athenians and those living outside of the Athens area. Support this petition to ask the Mayor and Commission to DENY the land purchase agreement on Sept. 2nd and help protect the accountability of government spending everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REPLACEMENT FIRE STATION NO. 5 UPDATED PROJECT INFORMATION See pg. 6-7 No. 8 for a ridiculous price comparison to land value on the westside of Athens when the land under consideration is on the eastside. 

See pg. 9 for voting options for Tuesday Sept. 2 at City Hall

See pg. 11-17 for the land option agreement Mayor and Commission will be voting on Sept. 2 at City Hall 

PROVIDE PUBLIC INPUT TO MAYOR AND COMMISSION BEFORE SEPT. 2

THE EMERGENCY SERVICES LOCATION CONCERN: The site in question on Old Lexington Rd. is not considered the most ideal location for the replacement firestation. It was not identified in the first round of site selections and only became a potential site, later, once the site selection criteria was changed and an extreme amount of money was offered to the land owner. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), at the request of Athens Clarke County Fire Department (ACCFD), released recent findings that take into account the importance of future population growth rates, call volume analysis and structure hazard levels. IAFF ACCFD 2025 FINDINGS Those in support of this petition do not oppose the Athens Clarke County Fire Department and support both the ACC first responder community and the project to replace and relocate fire station no. 5. However, the location under consideration is a BAD IDEA operationally. The current radius where various sites have been considered and opposed for years now, only takes into account call response time. This means that if you move a fire station into the country, more rural area, you may end up with a station that is closer to some underserved locations that rarely need firestation services, but you are pulling the resource away from where all the calls are regularly happening and away from where the county if growing (where are the people are and where they are continuing to move and develop). You are also pulling the resource station away from medium and higher hazard zones like commercial developments, apartments, garden style homes, grocery stores, schools etc. When you don't factor into the radius for stie selection the call volume, you choose and area (the Old Lexington Rd. area) based on a more central location on a land map, but you are not choosing an area nearest to the people who most often require the services and nearest the greatest need. Additionally, the location and overall radius currently under consideration does not take into account the future growth of the county. According to the IAFF report IAFF ACCFD 2025 FINDINGS, the county has grown 60% from 2019-2024. The Mayor and Commission should consider where the population growth is occuring and what this means for the future. Promising neighbors that this will be "a small station" with only "a few calls a day" completely disregards where the the future growth rates are happening and how this will impact call volume over the next, 10, 20, 30, 40 years. Replacing and relocating station no. 5 makes sense, but the current radius for site selection does not. Slightly moving the radius and opening up better site selection options, in a final, third-round, takes into account the long-standing community outcry in this area, while still accomplishing ACCFD's goal to improve call times to the underserved areas in Southeast Athens. More importantly, shifting the radius would ALSO factor in the highest areas of growth for the future, the areas that regularly require services and the high hazard zones, meaning that it's a WIN-WIN for all residents. The result from shifting he radius means more people and areas that require more resources would be reached faster. Additionally the Old Lexington location is off of a two-lane road with hills and curves that wouldn't allow for emergency vehicles to access multiple routes. The IAFF report suggests building fire stations on main roads or near main intersections to increase response time and accomodate the vehicles and first responder drivers which is simultaneously better for the community as a whole. Support this petition to request a new site selection location that shifts the current radius toward the people and the need, ultimately providing for improved call response times to the southeast area, while improving long-term safety and emergency response overall!

THE PEOPLE, TREES, ANIMALS AND LAND CONCERNS: The properties adjacent to the Old Lexington Rd. site under consideration are zoned Residential Agricultural (RA). Building a fire station here would bring a large pavement footprint, a fueling station that would service county vehicles, fumes and emmissions from idle engines,  traffic, water contamination concerns (properties on well water), drainage issues, sound pollution that would harm livestock and more. This is not the case for other locations, but agricultural zones should requie additional considerations. ACC staff confirmed that adjacent agricultural properties and their way of life were not considerd and that data collection and research on these unique circumstances did not occur when identifying the Old Lexington Rd. location. One of the families adjacent to the site have lived on the property for 42 years and have a history of farming, which includes cattle, horses, chickens, and even emus. The family has kept honeybees and sold honey for profit, sold pecans from the pecan trees, bred purebred labrador retrievers and rehabilitated birds of prey for Athens Clarke County and surrounding counties. The close proximity livestock, wildlife, other animals and trees, such as 40+ year-old hardwoods, as well as, fruit trees, and grapevines (muscadine and scuppernong) are not being taken into considertion. According to an article provided by the University of Georgia's Agricultural and Natural Resources Extension Office, the sudden noise that a fire station in close proximity would bring to the area, would cause harm to nearby livestock UGA Agricultural Extension Office Resource. The horse pasture on the adjacent property is less than 300 feet away and was not measured in calculations concerning neighboring proximity. Fire stations can produce a noise level of up to 80 dB at 300ft. The article confirms that the sudden noise poses a threat of flight response, biting and kicking in horses, making it dangerous to anyone riding a horse, boarding a horse short-term or owning horses on the property (see Figure no. 3). At 75 dB and greater, cattle has a decreased feed efficiency and sudden flight response can cause damage to fencing (see Figure no. 4). Old Lexington Rd. has a history of cattle and livestock posing a threat to drivers when they escape. The article also discusses a decrease in egg production from sound pollution and a negative impact on honey bees. Other Old Lexington Rd. neighbors also have livestock, gardens, and greenhouses. Neighbors in this location have also expressed concerns about small children who live beside the property and play in the driveway directly next to where the station and fueling station would be built. There have also been concerns raised by neighbors on Old Lexington Rd. about medical diagnoses in the area, such as veterans with PTSD, elderly with sleep apnea, and a child with autism. Shoal Creek, and other creeks run directly through the adjacent properties. The adjacent properties are downhill and notorious for flooding. There are significant concerns regarding the paved footprint that a firestation would bring to this location and the negative inpact on the soil. A fire station in this location would harm the animals, trees, land and families living directly next door or on Old Lexington Rd. Support this petition to ask the Mayor and Commission to DENY the Old Lexington Rd. land purchase and be a voice for the neighbors, animals, wildlife and land that can't speak up without you!

WHO IS IMPACTED AND WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF THE ACC MAYOR AND COMMISSION ON SEPT. 2, 2025:

Athens Clarke County (ACC) residents will be severely and negatively impacted by a decision/vote by the ACC Mayor and Commission on Sept. 2nd, to purchase land at 4730 Old Lexington Rd. Athens, GA, for the purpose of relocating and building replacement fire station no. 5 to include a fueling station. The purpose of this petition is not to oppose the project to replace fire station no. 5, but to request that a better location be chosen, based on the below facts and findings.

GOALS OF THIS PETITION: 

1. Share facts, reason and concerns with the intention to help educate the public, ACC residents and staff, specifically, the ACC Mayor and Commission regarding WHY the current location under consideration (4730 Old Lexington Rd.) is a terrible location for a fire station and fueling station.
2. Share facts, reason and concerns with the intention to raise awareness as to the WAY the process is being mishandled. After so many years, the newest site location is now being rushed with a lack of transparency to ACC redients, under a false sense of urgency. 
3. Collect support in opposition to a fire station being built anywhere on Old Lexington Rd., especially, the 4730 location, because a shift in the radius for site selection and a new location would better meet national emergency response standards and better serve the community as a whole. 
4. Request that the Mayor and Commission DENY the option purchase agreement for 4730 Old Lexington Rd. at the Sept. 2 City Hall meeting and find a different, better suited location for the replacement for fire station no. 5. 
5. Request that concerned members of the public show up to attend the Sept. 2nd meeting at 6PM at City Hall (301 College Ave.) and verbally request that the Mayor and Commission DENY this location, if so obliged. Attendance is valuable, whether one chooses to speak or not. Numbers Matter! 

Please Note: Those supporting this petition fully support the Athens Clarke County Fire Department (ACCFD) and the ACC fire fighter and first responder community, but strongly oppose Old Lexington Rd. as a location for a fire station for very important reasons. Please see below for further details. 

FIND A DIFFERENT LOCATION THAT: 

• Aligns with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) professional recommendations and key findings for ACCFD, which was recently published (at the request of Athens Clarke County Fire Department) and should be taken into consideration now, before the 4730 parcel is purchased. 
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  Follows the IAFF’s professional guidance that a new station in Athens Clarke County is better suited “at/near the intersection of Lexington Rd. and Johnson Dr.”, not on Old Lexington Rd. 
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  Considers a better use of taxpayer dollars than land acquisition 3X’s above market value and considers fair and reasonable market value pricing before making an overpriced offer on a site that is not well-suited for a fire station. 
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  Accounts for the predicted growth rates in the county and considers the existing growth rate patterns.
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  Factors in the greatest safety needs for the masses, considering high-volume call areas so that these areas don’t suffer from repeat longer response times. 
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  Factors in the high-hazard areas, such as apartment buildings, duplexes and high concentrated living areas, which require closer proximity and additional resources than single home, low concentrated areas in the country.
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  Considers the long standing ACC residents living beside the 4730 parcel and their quality of life, way of life, and future ambitions for their families to be able to inherit valuable farm land generation after generation.
  Provides the proper information collection process and data points as it relates to fueling station leaks, fumes and emissions, potential dangerous chemical exposure, and the light and noise pollution’s negative impact on nearby animals. 
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  Provides the proper information collection process and data points as it relates to fueling station leaks, fumes and emissions, potential dangerous chemical exposure, and the light and noise pollution’s negative impact on honey bees, other wildlife and permit hunting. 
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  Provides the proper information collection process and data points as it relates to fueling station leaks, fumes and emissions, potential dangerous chemical exposure, and the light and noise pollution’s negative impact on nearby plant life, to include close-by grape vines, fruit trees, hard woods and the adjacent greenhouse, some of which are nearly 50 years old and less than 100 ft. away from the 4710 property line. 
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  Provides the proper information collection process and data points as it relates to the negative impact on daily lives of adjacent and nearby neighbors living with medical diagnosis, such as, veterans with PTSD, senior citizens with sleep apnea and a child with autism. 
  Calculates nearby accessory structures when considering the so-called “dwelling” of adjacent neighbors and the privacy invasion that will occur at accessory structures, like the pool with a restroom, the garage with an attached bedroom, work stations and storage units which were all excluded from measurements relating to neighbor’s proximity living space to the 4730 parcel.
• 
  Takes into account the young children that play freely beside this location and the easement driveway that is part of the 4730 parcel. 
  Is not built on a hilly, curvy street that is hard to see at night, and only allows for emergency vehicles to turn in two directions. 
  Is built on a main road or near a main intersection for faster response times and to account for the need of alternate emergency routes, as recommended by IAFF.
• 
  Includes transparency, notices to the public and neighbors and proper signage from the early stages of land acquisition consideration so that residents have the appropriate opportunity and timeline to voice concerns and seek feedback. 
• 
  Is based in logic and consideration on behalf of the ACC residents and isn’t just looking for a quick fix from a buyer who decided to sell 3 months ago, because ACC is offering so much above asking and agreed to buy more land than is needed for this project. 

THE OVERALL SITE SELECTION PROCESS FOR REPLACEMENT FIRE STATION NO. 5 HAS BEEN LONG AND TEDIOUS FOR ACC STAFF AND THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION. BUT, THAT IS NO EXCUSE FOR THEM TO MAKE A BAD DECISION NOW, BASED ON LIMITED INFORMATION AND ABSENCE SUFFICIENT TIME FOR ADDITIONAL DATA COLLECTION. 4730 OLD LEXINGTON RD. IS AN INAPPROPRIATE SITE FOR A FIRE STATION AND IF THE LAND IS PURCHASED, IT COULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE PLANTS, ANIMALS, LIVELIHOODS, AND LIFE AND DEATH SAFETY CAPABILITIES IN ATHENS CLARKE COUNTY FOR DECADES TO COME.