FOLEY, Ala. — Glen Lakes subdivision continues to move closer to having its own fire station.

During last week’s Foley City Council work session, Foley Fire Chief Joey Darby announced that the department is ready to go to bid on the project.

“As far as groundbreaking, when the bids come back we’ll set the date,” he said, forecasting it to be this fall.

As previously reported, a sign went up last month at the location, which is situated at the intersection of County Road 20 and Fairview Drive.

Fire Station 3 is set to serve the Foley’s most populated subdivision that houses more than 500 residents. The endeavor was first brought to the City Council in June 2012 by Glen Lakes residents David and Sue Vosloh after they approached Darby about the possibility of donating land in the southwest Foley subdivision to the Foley Fire Department if a fully-manned fire station would be placed there. Darby brought the proposal to the Council, who authorized a survey of the land on which the future site sits.

Then last November, Darby returned to the Council, explaining that Vosloh had been out of town and with his return this fall, it was possible to move forward with the project. That move, he added, included survey revealed that the land in question was housed on two parcels of land and that only the southwest corner would be needed for the fire station.

In December, Darby reported to the Council that he brought the venture to the Foley Planning Commission and continued work on the project found that 0.33 acre was needed for the fire station, adding that the land, which would draw on the Wolf Bay Watershed, was valued at $30,000.

The architect just provided Darby with the facility’s second plans earlier this summer.

Upon completion, the Glen Lakes Fire Station is expected to staff nine full-time firefighters at a cost of $600,000 to the city. In addition, the venture could shave 10 minutes off the Foley Fire Department’s response time to the Glen Lakes area.