Athenians have come one step closer to building a new fire station in eastern Athens.

On Monday, county officials presented nine sites for the new Fire Station No. 5 to the SPLOST Site Selection Committee (SSC). The proposed sites meet minimum criteria developed with public input earlier this year and are centrally located at Morton and Old Lexington streets.

This isn’t the SSC’s first rodeo, though. After the county narrowed down the choice of sites last year, public outcry prompted the mayor and commission to restart the selection process.

Carol Myers, 8th District Commissioner and a member of the site selection committee, predicted a repeat of last year’s dispute.

“I think it will come down to many of the same issues. The increased response times compared to the quiet of country life. Those are valid arguments.”

The county says replacing Fire Station No. 5, currently located on Whit Davis Road, will improve response times and improve the county’s rating with the Insurance Services Office, an independent organization that rates fire departments.

The county will give the public a chance to comment on the proposed sites later this month and will present its site recommendations to the mayor and commission in December. The station itself will likely be built sometime in 2026.

During Monday’s meeting, the SSC also announced for the first time in a public meeting the location of the new East Side library.

County officials announced that a private property had been eliminated from the running, leaving a public lot on Barnett Shoals Road near the intersection with Carriage Lane for the new library.