March 19, 2022
The Southern Jackson County Fire Protection District and Board of Directors will host a groundbreaking ceremony on March 25, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. to celebrate the upcoming construction of a new Fire Station No. 3. The ceremony is open to the public and will be held at 1101 SW Wyatt Road, Blue Springs, MO.
Site preparation will begin in the next few weeks and construction of the 8,700-square-foot station will begin once the site preparation is completed. The new station will have two drive-thru apparatus bays with additional bunk rooms and workspace.
The southern portion of Blue Springs served by the Southern Jackson County FPD has seen tremendous growth in the last few decades, and it isn’t slowing down! The new state-of-the-art facility will provide much needed space for the crews and a new ladder truck and ambulance will be added to the existing apparatus to help with the increased service demand and provide for quicker response time in an already busy part of our District.
This station construction has been an important part of the consolidation effort that voters approved in August 2020. The land under the station was provided as part of an agreement/partnership with the City of Blue Springs. When completed in late 2022, the new station will provide a modern facility to help serve all of Southern Jackson County FPD, including the rapidly developing southern portion of Blue Springs.
We are asking our voters to support us at the April 5, 2022 Municipal Election to re-affirm the tax levy which we believed would be continued at the previous voter-approved rates. Those rates are $0.7400 for General Revenue and $0.3000 for Ambulance Revenue. Much to our surprise, when the tax rates were set by the State Auditor in September 2021, the District was not allowed to collect the voter-approved rates based on the State Auditor’s interpretation of the consolidation statute. Its decision resulted in the District receiving $539,000 less in tax monies as it did when they were two separate fire districts – Prairie Township and Lotawana.
Reaffirming the voter-approved tax rates as purposed during consolidation will allow for the continued process of bettering our service to constituents by allowing for the hiring of firefighters to staff the new station on Wyatt Road, and moving forward, staff an additional station in the southern portion of the district in the very near future.
This effort has the support of your local Southern Jackson County firefighters and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3133.
If any of our citizens have questions, please contact Chief Bill Large at 816.525.4200 during normal business hours (M-F 8am to 5pm).
Thank you for your consideration as we strive to provide the citizens of our community with best possible service as we look forward.
Bill Large, Fire Chief
