The city of Jennings is looking to buy the former James Ward Elementary School property on Wilbert D. Rochelle Drive to relocate Fire Station No. 2.

Council members this week authorized Mayor Henry Guinn to negotiate the purchase of the land to relocate Fire Station No. 2. The station, which is located adjacent to the fairgrounds on La. 26 south, needs extensive renovations and repairs.

“Fire Station No. 2 sustained quite a bit of damage from Hurricanes Laura and Delta,” Mayor Henry Guinn said, adding that the insurance claim was denied twice which resulted in litigation

The city reportedly received $428,300 as part of the settlement while the cost to do the repairs exceeds $600,000, according to Guinn.

The fire station building, which was built several years ago, is owned by the city, but the land is owned by the Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury.

“The lease ends in six years, so it doesn’t make business sense to spend in excess of $600,000 on a new fire station when you potentially may not get a land renewal underneath it,” he said.

No purchase price was discussed for the former school site as the city is still in early negotiations on the purchase. The property is reportedly appraised at $77,000.

“My preferred site is to stay put where we are at, rehab that facility and enter into an agreement with Fire Station 2 because having two fire stations in the city is a complete waste of taxpayer money, but we haven’t be able to convey that to Fire District 2, so before I would encourage the council to spend $600,000 on a fire station I would say you need to own the land.”

Guinn and Fire Chief Ashley Navarre have been looking at available land to relocate the fire station. The land has to fall within two miles of the main fire station located on North Broadway Street, Guinn said.

Properties considered include the old KJEF radio station on La. 26 south, but the land has environmental issues, he said. They also looked at land off Scott Street, but the city would have to build a road to access the land which would increase the cost of the project, Guinn said.

A third option would be nearly five acres of the former school property which is owned by Janine Coleman.

Coleman has owned the property, which has been deemed unsafe and in need of condemnation by the city, since 2021.

Guinn said the old school building is in deplorable condition and would have to be demolished and the land cleared with the cost incurred by the taxpayers. An environmental study will also need to be done on the property.

Guinn said the city would use about 2-3 acres of the five-acre site for the fire station. Plans include a new fire station and separate fire training tower.

Not much thought has been given to what will be done with the excess land, he said.

Resident Angela Lehman urged the city to consider using the remaining property for public use. She also asked city officials to consider the people who will be most affected by the fire station’s location.

“Has anybody gotten feedback from the community as far as what is going to be the feedback to have a fire station put in the middle of their neighborhood,” Lehman asked. “If anyone has ever lived near a fire station, fire vehicles go out for all kinds of emergencies and it’s 24/7, so it does kind of disrupt the neighborhood to some degree.”

Guinn said there are no plans to use the remaining property at this time, but welcomed future discussions on use of the property

Councilman Johnny Armentor likes the idea of having the extra property.

“It’s good that we are going to have extra room because I personally feel the fire tower that’s at Fire Station No. 2 now is too close,”  Armentor said. “It needs to be spread out a little bit away from the fire station.”

The extra property could also be used for extra parking for meetings and training, he said.