McMinnville officials have given tentative approval for an expansion request from Warren County Rescue Squad. 

“I make a motion that we take this on as a project of the city,” said Alderman Stacey Harvey. “We know we’re going to do it, as long as everybody says yes. We can determine amongst ourselves how we are going to finance it. Can we agree that the city can take this on and it not be a donation, as it was proposed? I think that helps us keep our message constant.”

That statement was made Tuesday during a city Building and Grounds Committee meeting. Members met to consider a request of $62,485 from Warren County Rescue Squad, an estimate given to expand the building to house a rescue truck.

The “message” was the city’s desire to cut back on monetary allocations to nonprofit organizations, a communication sent during the 2022-23 fiscal year budget discussions and subsequent cuts.

In the case of the Rescue Squad building, the city owns it and this expansion could be considered a capital project and not a donation. 

“If we build this thing, we are going to have to get bids,” said Alderman Everett Brock, who added the city would have to amend its budget to fund construction. 

City administrator Nolan Ming said the requirement to bid would be removed, if the project is undertaken by city employees.

Harvey, the owner of Superior Walls of East Tennessee, offered to donate the walls. 

“I’ll do the walls,” he said. “I’ll do what they need all around. I’ll donate that. So, that puts it down to concrete and framing. Simple enough. I’ll give that to the city.”

Rescue Squad Chief Chad Hillis says the expansion is necessary to house a new piece of equipment.

“We want to expand because we have an opportunity to purchase a large, heavy rescue piece of equipment from Rutherford County at a very good deal,” he said. “We want to expand our services to help area volunteer fire departments and the city, if they need us. It has a working cascade system upon it that can fill bottles on scene at a structure fire.”

A cascade system is used to fill self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) bottles. The breathable air in SCBA cylinders is critical during structure fires. In addition, a cascade system can be used to power air tools.

The truck will be housed off-premise if it arrives before an expansion can be complete.

Building and Grounds Committee members unanimously approved the measure. It will be sent to the full board for consideration.