At its Thursday, September 23, work session, Council unanimously approved a long-sought ordinance approving a Special Use Permit for the renovation and expansion of the Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department's existing fire & rescue facility at 910 West Washington Street.

Lynn Rita, architect for the project, noted that plans call for keeping the existing bays for equipment, constructing a one-story addition on the east side of the building to provide for more operational space, and a two-story addition on the west side for offices and residential space. The new residential space will be large enough to properly house both male and female fire fighters, Rita noted.

The exterior of the existing building will also be improved, she noted, with new brick and plank siding. New reflective asphalt shingles will make the building easier and cheaper to heat and cool.

The station's parking lot will be expanded to forty-seven spaces and a cistern will be buried under it to collect rain water to fill the department's tanker trucks, wash the apparatus, and provide irrigation for landscaping.

Propane tanks for cooking, and the existing emergency generator and fuel pumps will be relocated to the rear of the building. Before construction is completed, the department will provide the Town with its views on the best and most cost-efficient approach to a warning system to warn motorists that fire equipment is leaving the station and entering Route 50.