Van Buren gets gift of 29 acres

Van Buren this week received a donation of 29 acres, a part of which will be used as the site for the city’s fourth fire station.

Mayor Bob Freeman said William and Sharlene Gaither of Dallas signed the deed this week transferring the land to the city. The value of the land is about $650,000, he said.

Fire Chief Jerry McAdoo said earlier that the Fire Department would need 3 to 5 acres for the new fire station. The land is between Arkansas 59 and Oliver Springs Road in the city’s growing northeast section, Freeman said.

The land once was part of the Gaither family farm, he said.

Freeman said the rest of the acreage could be developed in the next two or three years for walking trails or other public uses.

The new fire station and a new firetruck are expected to cost no more than $2.9 million. The station will have a crew of six to nine firefighters, McAdoo has said.

The money for the project will come from a 1 percent sales tax Van Buren voters approved in July. Money from half of the sales tax proceeds will be used to finance the station’s construction and the other half will pay the firefighters and the station’s operating costs.

Work on the new station is to begin this year, Freeman said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 01/05/2013

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