Prescott Fire Station remains in budget with $67,000 post- grant cost

MOUND CITY - At the urging of County Clerk David Lamb to beat the budget publication date, the commissioners worked late in the day Monday and stayed on preliminary cuts that totaled a county mil levy of 50.097 and a fire budget of 3.595 mil. The total equaled a 2.49 mil levy increase.

Lamb informed the commissioners that part of the decrease in mils from the original eight mil increase came from a mortgage registration fee from KG&E Westar Energy of $85,000. Lamb said $65,000 was used to decrease the mil levy and $20,000 went to the windfall account to help build it back up.

He also informed the commissioners that several department heads had found other money they could reduce from their budgets, including the County Clerk's office of $500 from capital outlay, $5,000 from the sidewalk grant fund of Economic Development and $500 from the Leadership project, $2,500 from Planning and Zoning from personnel due to a grant paying for some labor and $2,400 from Mapping for a summer intern.

Also helping to cut the budget by another $60,000 was the restructuring of the Linn County Health Department. The cut only reduced grants available to the county by $20,000 but will, over time, reduce the amount of carryover in the budget.

After further discussion, Lamb asked the commissioners what amount, if any, they would like to see funded for the Prescott Fire Station. He said, "It would be cheaper to build a four-bay with no extras than the three-bay with add-ons."

Commissioner Vicki Leonard said, "It's difficult to make a decision without knowing the grant amounts." She referenced that there may be another $20,000 available on the $70,000 grant received from USDA to build the station.

Leonard continued to question the decision to build the station when she said the county could take free land and put up a metal structure for approximately $50,000. She referenced an advertisement from Diebolt showing a 40'x60' metal barn for $29,000.

Later, Commissioner Mike Page said his firm just bid a fire structure in Garnett where the building alone cost $50,000. He said that amount did not include plumbing, electric or many other items which would add another $50,000 to the price.

Page also said that the free land being offered to the county had no infrastructure associated with it, adding more to the price.

Leonard said that though trains do block the highway for 20 minute periods many times, the county could look at two fire stations - one on the east side and one on the west.

Fire Board member Tom Kemper said that the tracks can't be used as a reason and that with two stations it would ask for problems. He said responding firefighters wouldn't know which station to go to and it would put too much on the dispatch center to determine which station should be used.

Leonard said, "It is not common sense to put a $300,000 metal shed up on that property."

Kemper responded that the fire station serves more than just Prescott; it also responds to highway incidents and backs up Pleasanton.

Leonard maintained that the Fire Board is asking the commissioners to guess at the budget since the commission did not know how much the grant funds would total.

Kemper said the fire board got the commissioners three to four bids but the difference would be the $20,000 from USDA.

Page then reiterated that the commissioners would not be making a decision on the fire station until they knew the exact grant funds involved. He then gave a brief history of what steps had been incurred to get the commissioners to the point of making a decision and said, "Now it's how you view the grant. I view it as our federal tax dollars collected and sent back to our community. They won't reduce our taxes if we don't take the grant." Page continued that grant dollars are similar to farm subsidies; not taking them won't reduce taxes, they just go to other parties.

Leonard continued that spending that kind of money on a building is why businesses go bankrupt and there's trouble in cities and the state.

"I'm not begrudging anyone a fire barn, but I'm looking at the logic of spending that much money," said Leonard who stated she's hearing lots on the barn from constituents. "I don't disrespect our firefighters; I disrespect the lack of information."

"We've all been working diligently to get the price down," said Commissioner Herb Pemberton, "I'm not hearing complaints from that district except from a few and it's always the same few. We're trying to do what is best for the public and safety of the citizens of Prescott. If the cost is going to break someone, I don't want to do it - I'm looking at saving lives."

After more discussion, Leonard stated that the four-bay station without extras would cost $46,600 with the $90,000 grant or $66,768 with the $70,000 grant. Options such as offices would add another $10,000 to $15,000 to the price.

Lamb told the commissioners he had set aside the original amount of $67,000 after the grant to cover the four-bay station using the $70,000 grant figure.

Leonard stated she was not opposed to putting that amount in the budget.

Further discussion ensued that involved cuts to the Sheriff's budget. Following heated discussion between Sheriff Barry Walker and the commissioners on vehicles in his fleet, the commissioners approved the 2.49 mil increase but said further cuts may come next week.