Two members of the Fayette Board of Aldermen last week indicated they will not support the Howard County Ambulance District’s request to rezone a lot on the corner of Williams and Cooper streets for conditional use to build a new ambulance base.

As was previously reported by the Fayette Advertiser, the district purchased three lots at 205 South Williams Street on Nov. 21 for $153,920. The property sits about two blocks south of the current ambulance base at the Keller Building. The district wants to keep its current facility and add a new building to house up to two ambulances and provide living quarters for crews working 24-hour shifts.

Neighborhood residents addressed the matter at a public hearing held by the city council on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Complaints included inadequate road width, sewer issues, and neighborhood aesthetics.

Members of the ambulance district’s board of directors, along with director Frank Flaspohler, were on hand at the council’s most recent meeting held on Tuesday, Feb. 10. However, no plans have yet been drawn up for the new building. Questions about whether conditional use zoning—if granted—would stay with the property if it were later sold by the district were also repeated.

“There is a lack of good knowledge to make a good, informed decision,” resident Ed Lammers told the council last week.

Southwest Ward Alderman J. B. Waggoner apparently agreed. “That’s why you don’t see it on the agenda,” he said.

Waggoner was one of two aldermen who, at least currently, object to the rezoning bid. He noted that no engineering plan currently exists, beyond a few basic details provided by Flaspohler.

The change was approved by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission but requires council approval before taking effect.

“If you don’t know what the actual use case is, how can you say it’s conditional or not?” Waggoner asked during the council members’ comment period at the end of the meeting. “I’m kind of baffled that it came out of planning and zoning without any kind of plan.”

Waggoner also said the council needs to protect RS1, the designation for residential zoning, more than ever, noting that housing remains a top issue for the city.

East Ward Alderman David Frees also indicated he will not vote to approve a zoning change after he was contacted by a neighborhood resident. “I have not found a single person that lives in that neighborhood who was for it,” he said. “At this point, right now, what I know, I would not even consider voting yes.”

Flaspohler explained during the council’s Jan. 27 meeting that the ambulance board hoped to secure the zoning change before incurring design and engineering expenses. He also told Alderman Grafton Cook and Mayor Greg Stidham in an email exchange that the district could easily sell the land, for which it has already received several offers.

Flaspohler said the district will likely hold a public forum regarding the matter.

The Fayette Board of Aldermen meets regularly at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month in City Hall. Meetings are open, agendas are published in advance, and the public is invited.