The Owen-Withee-Curtiss Fire District held a short meeting on Thursday, June 26 to get an update on grant funding and decide next steps on a possible new fire hall. Current legislation would authorize $750 million in fire station construction grants administered by FEMA, according to the representative from CBS Squared. He also gave the board members information that said replacing all the fire stations that are at least 40 years old would cost at least $143.1 billion. He said that the DNR would like a wetland delineation due to wetlands on a portion of the site being looked at. The area could be used as pond overflow in his opinion. Board member Jason Thornton said the city of Owen had agreed to not sell the property to anyone else before January 1, 2026 and that they also gave permission for the boring work to be done. The city would like a letter of intent from the fire district.
CBS Squared said that there would be costs associated with the preliminary work. The estimated cost for soil boring is $6,500, for the environmental study $4,500, an appraisal of the fair market value of the city of Owen land and the current fire hall $2,500, and $3,000 for a preliminary plan. The board wondered if the city would split the cost of the soil boring and environmental study as they would still have the information available if the fire district doesn’t build there. CBS Squared felt the city could use the information if they ended up selling the property to someone else. The Town of Hixon wanted to know why they would spend the money without knowing what the city wants for the land. CBS Squared also said the cost of the wetland delineation would be $5,000. The board approved doing the soil boring, which will be paid for from savings.
In the meantime, CBS Squared will work with the city and their engineers on an agreement that clarifies who will do what, the cost of the land, and who will pay for what.