CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Fire Department is moving into one of its newest fire stations, which sits on an inlet of Lake Wylie.

It is state-of-the-art with high-end appliances and a boathouse for a future fire boat. But, it is not in the city of Charlotte and may not be for a long, long time.

Is that a waste of millions of taxpayer dollars, or, as the department maintains, a good example of planning for the future? NewsChannel 36 reporter Rad Berky investigates.

"Am I in Charlotte right now?" Berky asked, standing in Station 38.

"Right now, no," said Charlotte Fire Department Deputy Chief Rich Granger.

Station 38 is a brand new firehouse off Shopton Road, paid for with Charlotte city tax dollars. With a boathouse in the back, it's on a cove of Lake Wylie where the hope is to dock a fireboat one day.

Right now, there is no boat. And Station 38 is home to just four firefighters who ride one engine.

The Charlotte city limits are across the street. The station was built with the anticipation that the city would one day annex that area.

"One day all of this will be yours?" NewsChannel 36 asked.

"That's correct," Granger said.

The area closest to the station is an exclusive lakefront community called The Sanctuary where million-dollar homes sit on lots ranging from two to 13 acres.

The land where Station 38 sits was donated by Crescent Resources, the company that built The Sanctuary, and they didn't want just any old firehouse here.

"This is the gateway to The Sanctuary. They wanted a good looking building that matched the type of home they built out there," Granger said.

Station 38 has a faux-stone façade, a shingled roof and even copper gutters. The cost: $3.8 million. That's $600,000 more than an average new firehouse.

Granger, who is in charge of building new fire stations, says the extra costs were primarily, but not exclusively, due to the addition of the boathouse.

"So it may cost a little more upfront but if you amortize the cost of the firehouse out over time, we're planning for that 50 or 100 year building, and over that time this is going to cost us a lot less to maintain," Granger said.

For their down time those four firefighters get a lounge with a large, flat screen TV that Granger says is the only model available that can also accommodate teleconferencing for training sessions.

There is a gym overlooking the cove where Granger says firefighters are encouraged to stay physically fit and work off the stress of the job.

So far this year, the firefighters have answered 900 calls for assistance.

And then there is the kitchen -- a kitchen any chef would admire, with shiny, stainless steel cabinets.

"We pay a few dollars more upfront for the stainless steel but I'll never have to come back and ask for more money to replace it," Granger said.

But do four firefighters really need a Viking range with a double oven?

"It may be big for the four guys here now, but there is a good chance a ladder company will have to be here in the future because of density," Granger said.

That word "density" brings us back to the question of annexation and whether there will ever be enough people living in the area to meet annexation criteria -- primarily The Sanctuary, which might want to one day be an official part of the city of Charlotte.

Even Granger grudgingly had to admit there are nowhere near enough residents now to meet the population standard.

"How soon do you think there might be enough?" NewsChannel 36 asked.

"In the current housing market I think it's anybody's guess," Granger said.

In fact, right now, only one area is up for annexation this year that would be served by Station 38. It's called Berewick, located back up Shopton Road towards Charlotte.

Just last week the City Council held a public hearing for people living in that neighborhood. All of those who spoke, including resident Shelly Young, were against annexation.

"People are suffering," Young said.

They cited the higher taxes they'd have to pay to the city when times are already frighteningly tight. They asked that this round of annexation be deferred until the next time in two years.

"The delay would decrease the chances of more families foreclosing on their homes because of the additional financial burden," Young said.

The council members, some of whom seemed to lean in favor of delay, will vote later this month to annex or not.

Meanwhile, Granger says he and the department are confident annexation will happen, and Station 38 will be ready.

"We don't build firehouses for exactly what is annexed. We build firehouses for the future," Granger said.

Annexation happens in two-year cycles, so the future for Station 38 might not come until 2011 or even later.

Follow-up: City councilor questions annexation after NewsChannel 36 report