GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – A massive shot in the arm for Clay County’s growing infrastructure needs as the county opened new Fire Station 20 in Green Cove Springs on Tuesday.
This is a much-needed service in Green Cove Springs, which is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.
If you’ve always thought of Green Cove Springs as that little town in southern Clay County, that’s now a dated perspective.
Because with the First Coast Expressway through Clay finally coming to a close, thousands of homes are being built here faster than almost anywhere in Florida.
“All the outskirts of town have construction going on,” The roads are growing. Tough to get around right now because of construction," Clay County resident James Crites said.
It’s why Crites showed up to the grand opening of the new fire station.
This is Clay’s most recent massive attempt to keep up with an area that’s rapidly building new schools, neighborhoods and businesses, where Fire Chief Lorin Mock says they can now improve response times if there’s an emergency.
“This is part of a number of stations that are coming as part of a $65 million bond that the board of county commissioners approved a few years ago and we’re building others. Unfortunately, we weren’t there right when the growth hit, but we’re going to be there on the back end to make sure we can fill it,” Mock said.
But it’s not just the fire department that needs growth. County leaders said they need to grow the Clay County Sheriff’s Office facilities and consolidate.
The words County Commissioner Betsy Condon used when I asked about CCSO – (*GRAPHIC OF THIS QUOTE IN SOME FASHION*) – “in 20 some odd buildings and we really need to consolidate”
County Commissioner Betsy Condon said Clay is no longer a small county and you can expect more large projects like the massive Green Cove Springs fire station.