The Carroll County Board of Commissioners is excited to announce that the groundbreaking of the replacement of Fire Station 9 in Villa Rica took place on August 29, 2023, and was met by much excitement by all those in attendance. The new site for the replacement station is located at the former site of the Georgia State Patrol Post 4 at 746 West Bankhead Highway.

Station 9 built in 1981 serves as the busiest station in Carroll County answering a total of 1,444 calls since January 1, 2023, a stark difference to the Southend of the county where Station 4, located in Roopville has answered 204 calls since January 1, 2023. As the Northern end of Carroll County continues to grow the need to build a larger more efficient fire station became a top priority for the Board of Commissioners, particularly District 2 Commissioner Clint Chance who serves as the representative on the board for much of the citizens who live in the northern portion of Carroll County.

In 2021 District Commissioner Clint Chance and Carroll County Communications Director Ashley Hulsey met with citizens during numerous townhall meetings and discussed the need for a new fire station to replace station 9 as the project would need to be paid for through SPLOST funds. This decision was left up to the voters who voted in favor of the SPLOST referendum in March 2021, giving the Board of Commissioners the green light to move forward with planning of the replacement station. Commissioner Chance has expressed throughout the process of speaking with citizens in the area that he was excited to have a station that would accommodate the growing community and support the first responders of the fire service by having an efficient design that will provide both safety and comfort to the staff that provide around-the-clock services to Carroll County.

Carroll County Chairman Michelle Morgan put forth a plan to keep this project in the forefront and knew how important it was to include key individuals in the process to help make design and logistical decisions throughout the many phases of planning before groundbreaking and construction begins. Chairman Morgan put together a construction committee that consisted of Commissioner Clint Chance who served as the Chair of the committee, Carroll County Fire Chief Chuck Barnwell who served as Vice Chair, and Carroll County Deputy Chief Dave Wade, Public Works Director Danny Yates, Firefighter Lieutenant Cody Mayfield, and Carroll County Fire Administrative Specialist Michele Mahaney. Each individual serving on the committee brough forth a wealth of knowledge and experience that assisted in providing guidance and ideas by communicating with Caliber 1 Construction, Georgia & West, Inc. (Engineering, Land Surveying, Land Planning), and Rickman Architecture Design who have done a phenomenal job in making this dream become a reality for the citizens to benefit from for decades to come.

Commissioner Chance said of the groundbreaking, “I was fortunate enough to serve as the Committee Chair for the design team and believe this station, once completed, will set the benchmark for Fire Rescue Services in the West Georgia Area. Thank you to the Taxpayers of Carroll County and the men and women who serve as first responders – this facility is being proudly built for you!”

“We are very excited to see the progress of the new Station 9 being built. This station has always been the busiest station in Carroll County Fire Rescue. With state-of-the-art training amenities the personnel assigned to this station will be able to better serve the community. We can’t wait to open the station when construction is complete.” Fire Chief Chuck Barnwell said in a statement.  Chairman Michelle Morgan advised, “What a great day to finally be able to officially move dirt on the grounds that will house the new replacement fire station 9 that all of us have looked forward to. I am grateful to all those who came out to celebrate this joyous occasion. Thank you to the City of Villa Rica officials, Caliber 1 representatives, Georgia & West, Inc. Staff, Rickman Architecture Designs staff, the Board of Commissioners, and most importantly the personnel from Carroll County Fire Rescue whose smiles could not be contained as they shoveled dirt from the site that will soon house their new home!” Morgan continued, “I also want to recognize the hard work put in by the construction/design committee as I know they met for many hours, went through lots of designs from what the station would look like to the types of equipment it would house, this is not an easy task and requires a lot of dedication, time, and effort, and everyone did a wonderful job that Carroll County can be proud of.”