Fire department to seek ARPA funds for hall upgrades

Sundance Fire Chief Gari Gill about had a heart attack when he saw the estimates to renovate the city fire hall, he said.

Three years ago, he told the council last week, you could have done it for half as much.

Still, the upgrades are necessary, so the approximately $500,000 will need to be found – and, hopefully, that’s where the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will come in.

“We’ll start looking for money,” Gill told the council, stating that he has looked through the upcoming grants available to a fire department but, as of right now, has found nothing for capital construction.

“We’ll just keep plugging away and looking.”

Some of the items on the estimate, he noted, can potentially be done in-house, such as the dirt work.

Mayor Paul Brooks referred to the ARPA funding that is beginning to come available for grants, stating that Governor Mark Gordon has been clear that this money is “once-in-a-lifetime stuff”.

It would be difficult for the city to match a normal half-million dollar grant, he said, so it would be a much better idea to ask for ARPA money.

“If we’re ever going to do it, this is the time to pull the trigger,” he said.

Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz offered her assistance in investigating the possibility with the state.

Discussions turned to the need for renovations, which will see a new addition to create extra space and allow a new primary exit to be added on the south side. The latter will be advantageous because firefighters responding to a call will no longer need to emerge onto the busy highway, while the south is also easier to keep free of ice and snow through the winter months.

Meanwhile, the additional space is much needed, Gill said.

Since the building was first put to use in the 1980s, firefighters need more equipment that’s also bulkier. However, the current hall has very little room to house it.

Since 9/11, there has been an increase in the number of available grants to purchase equipment for firefighters, but, said Gill, “We don’t have room enough to house them.”

“We don’t even have room enough to put in more cubbies,” he added, which will be problematic considering there is another new volunteer joining the department this month.

It isn’t just the equipment, either.

“Trucks got bigger – everything got bigger,” said Brooks.

The addition will allow for storage and also a “very good training room,” said Gill, which is an upgrade from the shoulder-to-shoulder space that’s currently available.

The city will pursue ARPA funding to continue the renovation project.