Tax rise to help North Little Rock fire stations

Money will fix wiring issues, cracked floors, leaks, chief says

North Little Rock Fire Chief Gerald Tucker talks Wednesday about one of the many holes that are created by leaks and other problems at the city’s Central Fire Station.
North Little Rock Fire Chief Gerald Tucker talks Wednesday about one of the many holes that are created by leaks and other problems at the city’s Central Fire Station.

Editor's note: This is the second story in a series detailing North Little Rock's plans for funding from a proposed 1 percentage-point city sales tax increase. Today's focus is the one-half percent, five-year portion of the tax that would include fire station improvements.

When Fire Station No. 6 was built in 1964 in North Little Rock's Levy area, it received an award as one of the "latest, greatest" stations, Fire Chief Gerald Tucker recalled.

Today, added wiring runs along walls or is bunched up inside of a closet, the floor is cracking beneath its fire engine, concrete blocks are buckling on walls and there are leaks all around, Tucker said during a tour of the station at 3500 Camp Robinson Road.

"Fifty-three years ago, they didn't put electrical outlets everywhere," Tucker said of the wiring issue. "All of these beams [above the fire engine bay] are cracking. There are three roof leaks in the station. We've had issues with concrete blocks just breaking."

North Little Rock's 11 fire stations would divide about $10 million for building repairs and upgrades over the next five years if city voters approve a proposed 1 percentage-point city sales tax increase on a special election ballot Aug. 8. Early voting begins Aug. 1.

One-half of the revenue from the 1 percent sales tax is to go to capital improvements for fire stations, the police and courts building, and street and drainage improvements. That portion of the tax is temporary, set to last for five years. The other one-half percent will be a permanent tax used to fund city operations and maintenance.

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The city has 163 firefighters who live and work during 24-hour shifts -- one day on, two days off -- in its 11 fire stations. The newest, fully staffed station -- Station 8 at 6550 MacArthur -- was built in 2002.

"Every station has its issues," said Tucker, who was sworn in as the city's new fire chief July 15. "Right now, we've been told to come up with a priority list of repairs and have it ready to present to the mayor."

The list for Station 6 has 24 items, including everything from a paint job and faucet and sink leaks to pieces of concrete blocks "about to fall off" from the station's northeast side. The station is the city's busiest, logging 2,467 runs last year, Tucker said.

The Central Fire Station at 723 Maple St. -- North Little Rock's main fire station, which was built in 1962 -- has a repair list five pages long.

"It's an ongoing list," city Communications Director Nathan Hamilton said of the 11 stations' needs.

Dimly lit living quarters for the firefighters are an example of needed upgrades. At the Levy station, Tucker said, winter winds howl through cracks around the single-pane windows, moving the blinds that cover them. The blinds also fail to block out heat from the sun, so much that sheets hang over them.

"There are two showers, but one can't be used because it floods the downstairs," Tucker said. As far as energy efficiency, he added, "There is none. And when it rains sideways, water's coming in through the windows."

The Central Fire Station has a number of holes in its ceilings and walls where leaky pipes or roof leaks caused damage that needed temporary patching. There is soot from fire engine exhaust that has blackened part of a ceiling in one bedroom, a problem helped by new venting systems for engine exhaust installed a year ago.

The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 35, North Little Rock's firefighter union, has voted to support the tax, though the plans for what repairs or improvements will be made are "real ambiguous," said Local 35 President Lynn Dereuisseaux.

The firefighter union hasn't agreed to a 2017 contract with the city as yet and has a lawsuit against the city to force arbitration for several grievances filed during the past 15 months over what the union contends are "rights and privileges" that have been lost.

The city is willing to engage in mediation, but the city cannot be forced into arbitration, city attorneys argued in court recently. The issue isn't about pay, which cannot be arbitrated, Dereuisseaux said.

"I know it says on the ballot to repair the buildings and work on the fire stations, but we don't have actual concrete plans on which ones will be worked on," Dereuisseaux said recently. "It's real ambiguous as to what the money is going to go for."

Hamilton agreed no specific plans exist yet, but the fire chiefs are "intimately aware of what needs to be done" if voters approve the sales tax.

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North Little Rock spokesman Nathan Hamilton shows how firefighters have creatively covered plumbing issues at the Central Fire Station on Wednesday.

"The station buildings are not in a condition to serve a modern fire department," Hamilton said. "Ten million dollars would go a long way to helping our fire stations."

Metro on 07/24/2017

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