A new fire station that aims to service the far eastern reaches of Hays County is on the horizon.
By a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Hays CISD board of trustees approved a long-term lease agreement with the Hays/Caldwell Emergency Services District (ESD) No. 1 (Chisholm Trail Fire Rescue) for land on which to build a new fire station.
The lease agreement will allow emergency services to be provided in areas on Highway 21. The lease establishes a two-acre tract “for the annual consideration of one dollar payable at the beginning of each year,” according to lease documents.
“As you all are aware, in the area between High Road and (Highway) 21, there are exceptionally limited fire services available,” Hays CISD Chief Operations Officer Carter Scherff said. “In fact, they come from quite a distance for them to get to us.”
Currently, the Kyle Fire Department assists Chisholm Trail with services to Uhland and Niederwald. Kyle Fire Department, known as ESD 5, also provides ambulance service to those areas as well.
ESD 1 is not ready to build within the next six months, according to Hays CISD officials. However, they will have five years to build the fire station before the contract will be terminated.
The new station is slated to be located on Highway 21 near the new Uhland Elementary School and the district’s new transportation facility. Both the campus and the facility are projects within Proposition 2 of Hays CISD’s $252 million May 2017 bond package, which was approved by voters.
The lease will not generate revenue for the district, but the primary interest is in providing emergency services to district facilities and students out there.
“From the school district’s standpoint we can definitely see the need for a fire station out there. We’re very supportive of that, and we’re happy to lease the land,” Hays CISD Public Information Officer Tim Savoy said.
This action is consistent with the district’s history of leasing land for emergency service needs.
Hays CISD offered a similar two-acre lease to ESD 5 for ambulance and fire services next to the Hays CISD administration building, according to Scherff.
It is a continuing lease, so long as it continues to serve as a fire station.
