The Owen-Withee-Curtiss Fire District Board met on Wednesday, April 23, in part to discuss the future of the fire stations. Since there were new members on the board, a representative from CBS Squared went over what they had done so far in regard to the feasibility study. He said they did an assessment. The Curtiss station is charging the district rent. The Owen station is outdated and out of room. Their recommendation is to build a new station on the east side of Owen. The finalized plan has a meeting room, radio room, and office space in the middle with truck and ambulance bays to either side. The second floor has a sleeping area, mechanical room, weight room, and training area. There will be an extra bay that will be used as a wash bay at the start. The building has room for expansion. The estimated cost of the new building is $3.27 million taking into account tariffs and contingencies.
He said that CDBG is starting to opening up grant funding again, but only for what was under contract by the end of last year, and they are hoping that FEMA and the USDA will start funding grants again this summer. CBS Squared meets with these organizations monthly and will be aware of when grant funding becomes available, although fall will be the earliest opportunity to apply for a grant.
Appraisals will need to be done on the city lot they are looking at along with the current Owen building. Board member Jason Thornton asked if the city were willing to do a land swap for the current station, could the difference in value be used toward the match. The response was yes.
The cost of doing the appraisals and soil borings on the land would be around $9,000.
A question was also asked about whether there is grant funding available to purchase a building. The response was no.
Thornton said they can’t afford to buy the Curtiss station, fix the Owen station, and still have money for equipment. He said that Curtiss is on the far end of the district. He wondered what a loan payment would look like versus what they currently pay in rent for Curtiss and utilities and maintenance for both buildings.
Art Petke asked if there were other possible locations besides the one on the east side of Owen. Linus Snyder said it was a no brainer to construct a new building if they got a grant and their 20 percent was about the same amount as purchasing the Curtiss station. Thornton suggested that they present the request for the land on the east side of the city to the city council at their next meeting and open up a discussion. A motion was made and approved to have Thornton look into the city of Owen property options, whether the city would give it to the fire district, sell it to them, or do a swap for the current building.
They also looked at the financials for 2024 and approved making an additional payment on the engine. If they can do two payments this year and two next year, it will be paid for.
Fire Chief Travis Serocki reviewed fire and EMS runs. They have had 30 fire calls and 138 EMS calls so far in 2025. He also talked about the need to replace SCBA equipment in about five years. He said they have one new firefighter. They did an in-house EMT class and most have passed the test for the national registry.
They discussed the amount of money that is lost to EMS for Medicare and Medicaid calls. They are looking at a new program that will help reimburse some that cost. They also need to think about replacing an ambulance as it takes three years to get one once it is ordered.