Champions department may leave Greenwood Forest spot

"The consensus of the board is that we will not build on the Greenwood Forest property since there is a large group opposed to it," said Bill Wald, board president of Harris County Emergency Services District 29, the taxing entity that funds the Champions fire department. "The chief (Hilland Hardy) is looking at other locations, and we will take action when he finds the appropriate property."

Wald said a decision could be made at the fire district's next board meeting Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Champions Area Volunteer Fire Department fire station, 12730 Champion Forest Drive.

Land sale opposition

Greenwood Forest residents who opposed the sale of the three-quarter-acre property next to their clubhouse said they are relieved to hear the news. Residents who wanted the fire department to stay in their subdivision, say they are disappointed and will not give up on efforts to keep them here.

Chief Hilland Hardy, who lives in Greenwood Forest, said the situation may be too far gone to resurrect.

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"Negotiations have broken down to a point where the homeowners association is not willing to move toward the culmination of the purchase, and we've got to move on it so we're going with a plan adopted two months ago — to secure property in a different location and move on," Hardy said.

Hardy said he is looking at several properties — one on Duncan Road looks promising — and once a site is purchased, the department will move forward with plans to build a 26,000-square-foot fire station with facilities designed to meet administrative and equipment needs for the next 20 years or so.

The fire district would pay the estimated $3 million cost for the land and building using proceeds from an existing 5-cents-per-$100 property tax. Property owners in a the 9-square-mile emergency services district, bordered by Bammel-North Houston Road on the south, Strack Road on the north, the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks on the west and Stuebner-Airline Road on the east, pay those taxes.

A neighborhood divided

Corky Norred , president of the Greenwood Forest Homeowners Association, said he has not yet talked with the chief or district president about their decision. Norred said the board remains open to a deal, and until they are officially notified, will continue gathering input from residents on where they stand on the issue.

"What concerns me more than anything is the way the neighborhood has been torn apart, no matter what happens with this issue," Norred said.

Norm Bunch, a Greenwood Forest resident who along with about 20 neighbors led a petition effort against the land sale, said the oppositional group is happy with the department's decision.

Bunch said group members have worked tirelessly in the past month informing Greenwood Forest residents about the land sale, and collected about 420 petitions from those who wanted the homeowners association to keep the land next to the clubhouse. He said they did not oppose the fire department, just the homeowners association's plan to sell the site without at least taking residents vote on the issue.

"The fire department is doing what is right," Bunch said. "This situation was tough, but things will be better for everyone. We will go to their next board meeting to put a period on the end of the sentence and thank them."

Voices of support

Rose Jones, a Greenwood Forest resident set to launch an effort to rally residents who wanted the fire station to stay in the neighborhood, said she was disappointed to hear news of the fire district's decision to give up on the Greenwood Forest site. She said she has talked to several residents who want the fire department to build next to the clubhouse.

"I would not blame the district if they did not buy it, but I am not certain if this is the final decision," said Jones, who resigned from the Greenwood Forest Homeowners Association board last month. "I don't know how its going to turn out."

Greenwood Forest resident Liz Stovall said residents who want the fire department to stay were just not as vocal as the opposition group, but that may change once they learn about the fire department moving out of the subdivision.

"This is very unfortunate," Stovall said. "A lot of people don't realize the magnitude of what has happened here."