By Preston Knight -- Daily Staff Writer

MT. JACKSON — The town may welcome Mt. Jackson Rescue and Fire back downtown without it ever having to leave.

The grand plan when the Mt. Jackson Volunteer Rescue Squad purchased the former Davis Tire and Auto Care building on Tisinger Road was to have a bigger facility that was closer to Interstate 81, U.S. 11 and South Middle Road, and away from the traffic of Main Street. Then, the squad merged with the Mt. Jackson Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Department.

At that point, the grand plan changed. The new company, Mt. Jackson Rescue and Fire, would occupy the Tisinger Road building once it was expanded. Then, there was growing concern among some residents and Town Council members about having the company move off Main Street, and the company had some worries about lack of access to public water and sewer at the former Davis Auto building, member Gerald Bohus said.

Now comes grand plan No. 3 — construct a 10,000- to 15,000-square-foot building behind the community center on Main Street, where the merged company is currently operating. The Town Council gave the company approval to conduct an engineering study on the costs involved with that plan this week.

"There definitely seems to be a public concern and desire for us to be in the town limits, and we're there to serve the public," said Bohus, chairman of the company's building project. "We're just trying to think of any and all ideas we can."

The idea to operate behind the community center came up at a council finance committee meeting last month. Since then, council members have discussed the idea and are open to having the company at the site under a long-term lease. The town owns the community center property.

"It's very, very, very preliminary," Councilman Rod Shepherd said. "We don't want to build a whole expensive thing at Davis [if there's a cheaper alternative]."

The Shenandoah County Planning Commission has approved a site plan for a 15,400-square-foot addition to the Tisinger Road building. Rescue company president David Brinegar said the project could cost about $2 million.

If the study for the site behind the community center comes in at a lower cost, and there's enough public support, the company could either sell the current Tisinger building or rent it out, he said. When the squad originally purchased it, the merger with the fire department was not in play, Brinegar said. The squad sold its building on Main Street after purchasing the one on Tisinger Road.

Since the merger, the company has been at the old fire hall in less than ideal conditions, Brinegar said. There is one bathroom to be shared by men and women, he said, and for overnight personnel an old classroom acts as a bunk room.

"It's not exactly paradise," Brinegar said. "We're making do."

Mayor Joe Williams sent a memo to Brinegar outlining a number of things that must be addressed in the engineering study. The town's largest and most prolific water supply well is behind the community center, and there must be a 100-foot clear and undeveloped radius around it, it states. Access, stormwater and lot lines are among the other issues.

Bohus said the plan is to remove part of the existing bay area to make way for an entrance to the new building. Also, the community center could be renovated to become an even bigger part of Mt. Jackson, Brinegar said.

"The pros [of Main Street] outweigh all the cons, and even the pros of the Davis property," he said.

There is no timetable on how long the study, likely to be conducted by Racey Engineering, will take.

"No idea," Bohus said. "It seems like there is a curveball every time we turn around."

* Contact Preston Knight at pknight@nvdaily.com