New fire station funds awaiting August vote

In March, Tuscumbia Mayor William Foster traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt about acquiring funds for a new fire station for the city.

Foster gave an update on the status of the funds during the April 14 meeting of the City Council.

Following another trip to D.C., Foster said Sen. Tuberville and Sen. Britt have both set aside funds from their budgets for the project.

The funds from Tuberville would cover the new station, while money from Britt would be for a new fire truck and other equipment for the new station.

(The budget/money) has to be approved by a vote in August,” Foster said. “So, it’s just sitting there for now, and we will know in August. Both of them have put in right at $4 million in their budgets for Tuscumbia.”

Foster said the city has yet to receive any funds in the wake of the Feb. 15 tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage.

He said the Council hoped to receive some funds from the Alabama Department of Transportation but said that aid would have been road specific, and ALDOT declined the request.

Tuscumbia has already failed to receive any aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as the damage done did not meet the agency’s monetary threshold.

Foster said Tuberville is working on a means to cover the cost of utilities repair, and the city recently declared a state of emergency in the wake of the storm in order to speed up insurance payouts for traffic lights.

“Hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll have more on disaster funds,” Foster said.