Members of the Owen-Withee-Curtiss Fire District met with the Village of Curtiss on Monday, October 27 to discuss the future of the Curtiss Fire Station.
Curtiss trustee Carl Swarr expressed his thanks for the sacrifices of the fire district to overcome fires. He said the building cost $2 million. They were asking the fire district to purchase the building for $635,000, down from their previous offer of $750,000. He said the assessed market value was $730,000. It would have to remain a fire station for at least 20 years.
The district was of the understanding that the building had cost $1.3 million. Fire district member Art Petke, who attended by phone, asked how much property was included? Did the sale price include the parking lot and the pond? He questioned if there were any other responsibilities with the purchase other than paying the utilities. Curtiss DPW Larry Swarr said there was 2.4 acres. The village has a well that would continue to belong to the village and is on a 100’ by 100’ chunk of land. Fire district secretary Grace Dale said they would also be responsible for insurance on the building if it was purchased.
Petke said he was in favor of the purchase. Fire district member Jason Thornton said that would be $79,000 for each municipality. He didn’t feel a new building would cost as much. They would pay less in loan payments and interest on a new building and wouldn’t have to pay rent on the Curtiss Station or utilities for two buildings. He added that the fire station in Owen is in need of some serious updating. He said the fire district can’t buy the Curtiss Station and either update Owen or build a new facility there.
Fire District member Dan Goessl said they need to know the bottom line on what a new fire hall will cost. Thornton asked Curtiss how long the offer was good for. Betty Rettig responded 30 days. Thornton asked if they could still rent after 2027 and what would be the cost. DPW Swarr said that depended on how long an agreement was wanted. Papers were handed out showing the rent would remain at $26,000 per year for up to three years. Thornton said how long they would rent was dependent on how long it took to get a new building built. Rettig said the village was willing to work with the district, but needed to know what they were doing.
Petke didn’t like the idea of an even swap with the city of Owen, the current fire hall for land to build on. He said they could make a quicker decision on this offer. Mark Klein agreed. Petke said Curtiss would still be paying into the association and the district shouldn’t throw them completely under the bus. Klein said Curtiss would pay $23,000 for their assessment and one-eighth the cost of a new building. Right now they are making money as the district is paying more in rent than Curtiss’ assessment. Goessl pointed out that the land swap would look better for the grant match. Petke wanted to know if grants were available to purchase the current building. The answer was no.
Bob Wilczek said if they do the land swap, the value of the building goes against the match. Assuming an 80/20 grant, the district would only have to come up with around $300,000 after using the building toward the match. Goessl said that would be about $40,000 per municipality versus $79,000.
Rettig said they could add on to the Curtiss building, but Thornton said both the Curtiss and Owen buildings are landlocked. Goessl also noted that it would be better to stay in the center of the district rather than at the far end. Petke brought up ISO ratings and said if they leave Curtiss, both the village of Curtiss and town of Hoard would be at a disadvantage. He said the Curtiss building is already here and they can be using it immediately. He asked what the timeframe would be on a deal with Curtiss and added the cost to each municipality was important. Goessl said nothing was going to be decided at this meeting. Curtiss said they would wait for an answer until the end of the year.
Thornton said they need to sit down with CBS Squared and talk to a bank to find out the exact cost of a new building. Rettig said the rental contract could be extended until a new building was completed if that is what they decided to do. Linus Snyder suggested a one-year agreement. Goessl said he was hoping for an agreement that made everyone happy. Petke suggested having a decision in six months to give the district time to work out the details. He also said that loans can be added on the tax levy. Rettig said Curtiss was flexible and the price wouldn’t change. The district still has another year on their agreement with Curtiss.
Fire district member Mark Nosko suggested trying to make a decision within six months so Curtiss would know what the district was doing. Petke and Klein felt they shouldn’t take Curtiss’ offer lightly. Goessl said they would let Curtiss know as soon as they figure it out. They need to know what grant money is available and any extra costs that might be involved. Thornton said they need to pay CBS Squared to write the grant, that if they are going to move forward, everything needs to be ready to go when the grants open up in the spring.
Fire Chief Travis Serocki said it is very hard to staff two fire stations and that none of the current firefighters live in Curtiss. He said they need to have at least four people available for a truck to leave the station. Fire district member Jane Stoiber asked if only having one station meant they could get rid of equipment. The answer was no, they need back-ups. Thornton said if everything was under one roof, everyone could respond to one station. Serocki pointed out that the district is 12 miles wide and that if the only station was in Curtiss and a fire was on the west end of the district, they would have to travel to Curtiss and then travel 12 miles to the fire.
Petke then brought up the idea of consolidating with another district.
It was pointed out that the problem is having more staff. Years ago, people used to volunteer, but young people today don’t. There is about 500 hours of training currently required for firefighter/advanced EMT.
Snyder said the issues are financing, staffing, and updates to the Owen fire hall. Petke said if personnel is a problem, consolidation might be the only option. Goessl said they need more answers from CBS Squared before they can make a decision. Another meeting was set for November 13.