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Hillbilly you will just have to prove your statement. Fins and I can prove ours and we can tell you where the rest of the money came from to pay for the club house. You are taking in the grading bill also are you not?

A correction again. The Fleetwood Fire Department did not cost three million dollars. I have no idea where you got that information. The closest department was constructed in Watauga county seven years for Meat Camp. That department cost an estimated 1.8 to 2 million in 2013. Fleetwood was just completed recently and cost several hundred thousand to one million less than the Meat Camp Department.

Flash, I wasn't criticizing the hose jockey fraternity for going to court. I was only stating facts as to what happened. Hillbilly tried to imply that a judge had nothing to do with the sales price that the fire department got for the old property.

btw flash you dont go to court because the dot's first offer is low you negotiate with their representative until the dot sees you are dead locked and only then do they take the property.

1. The fire department refused to settle with the DOT and went to court to sue for a settlement. A perfectly fair option within all property owners rights when dealing with eminent domain. And a judge ruled on that settlement and issued a price to be paid by the state. So yeah, a judge awarded them money.

2. The new department is built on property that used to have a school on it. This property belonged to the school board. Based on the records of the meetings, the school board gave that property to the fire department. If this is not correct, please tell us how much the fire department paid for the property.

3. Dog never said county tax money paid for the building. The fire department did not have a building fund established in advance, planning for this event. They held a fundraiser to raise money that was hosted at Old West Town. That event did not raise enough to paint the stripes on the parking lot. But I do know where the rest of the money came from.

Underdog, your information is not based on facts so when one does not have the facts and publish the rumors that only leave BS or out and out lies. The Fleetwood Fire Department has been planning for the expense of replacing the old building when/if highway 221 was upgraded, The county had nothing to do with the funding of the new department and the county nor the school board gave any funds or property to the Fleetwood Fire Department. Your belief that the new building costs three million dollars is simply untrue and a rumor, untrue and a lie. There was no judge who was gracious to grant funds to the department. The leaders of the Fire Department hired a capable attorney who was able to represent the department and get fair market value from the property as the DOT first offer was about 25% of the true value. Underdog sorry but your post is not based on facts, but that is how it is.

Poboy the facts dont lie. The fire club drug its feet for years until the state had to take the land and building because the club did not come to terms the state. The judge was very gracious with the amount he awarded the fire club. The club had no idea where they were going to move the club to until they finally made a deal with the state and county on the old school property. And we do have our facts right about the cost of the building.

Having to hold a fund raiser event before they started building doesn't sound to me like they were planning their budget very long.

Tell me why they need like 3 80" TVs?

I just saw this post and I'm a resident in the Fleetwood community and you lip flappers need to get your facts correct before you run your mouth. I know several of the leaders of the fire department and you have it all wrong. This department has always had great leadership as they have planned on the new highway project for years and have planned their budget around this new station for many years and the cost of the new great facility is much less than other new stations in surrounding counties. I think they have done great and planned their new facility out extremely well to serve the community well for many years to come. I know the community is very proud of it and the members of the fire department for planning a facility that will serve us well into the future. They care for the citizens in their community and are always willing to help anyone at any time. They take pride in their services and are seriously devoted to protecting and caring for all their citizens.

Now you know that not all research is done on paper

Lets wait for a fire club member to come forward and confirm the numbers. They should be proud of that price tag.

VFD's are not government agencies. I believe the way they work they are private nonprofit incorporations. So their required disclosures aren't the same as municipal departments. They are supposed to make their records available at request of the commissioners, but the problem is it's not a regular required report. The residents of their districts are supposed to be able to request a financial report, but ive never looked into what the process is. I doubt there is any formal procedure set up. They probably have to attend a board meeting and ask for it. However, it seems that this building was built through donations, so I don't know if it has to be reported the same as money that comes from taxes.

Are they not obligated to give an itemized break down of the expenses? Would that not be public record too? Where are you guys finding this info out? I'd like to see.

Lots of expensive things required by the state for fire departments

Conceding that the numbers are accurate - why so much?