Chances dim for new fire station in Williamstown
Toolbox
By David Delcore TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: June 17, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN – They may only have a snowball's chance at a fully involved structure fire, but town officials say they'll press ahead with plans to apply for federal funding to pay for a new firehouse.
After reviewing the criteria that will be used to evaluate an estimated $30 billion in requests for a pool of money that tops out at only $210 million, members of an undaunted selectboard agreed this week to roll the dice and take their chances.
Why not?
Their money – all $11,000 of it – is already on the table, having been paid to a consultant retained to prepare the yet-to-be-submitted application for a federal fire station construction grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Chairman Stan Corneille said that fact alone argued in favor of submitting an application that he freely conceded was a colossal "crapshoot" given the criteria that will be used to rank thousands of similar requests for the same pool of money.
"We should give it a shot," Corneille said. "We've committed some money and I think we need to apply."
Corneille argued the board "owed it to the taxpayers" to follow through, understanding that only an estimated 100 of the grant applications will be funded nationally and Williamstown doesn't seem to fit many of the review criteria that have been established for rating applications.
Those criteria focus on a broad spectrum of issues, ranging from call volume and population served – both predictably small numbers for a tiny volunteer fire department that serves a rural central Vermont community – to the recent increase in joblessness in the area affected.
The latter criterion is a reflection of the federal government's desire to use the grant program to help stimulate the economy, putting bedroom communities like Williamstown at a decided disadvantage right out of the gate.
The criteria suggest the department will give the "highest consideration" to applicants that own or have already acquired land where the proposed station would be built. That isn't the case in Williamstown, where the board has identified the location – a 1.88 acre parcel owned by Selectman Larry Hebert — but has not yet acquired the property for Hebert's $160,000 asking price.
That sale is contingent on the town receiving a federal award, but the board was told this week that federal funds would not cover the cost of property acquisition and voters have not yet been asked whether they are willing to buy the land from Hebert.
"That could be a problem," Corneille admitted.
Still, while Corneille said Williamstown's odds were "not terribly encouraging," he was among those who suggested the board finish what it started by submitting an application before the July 10 deadline.
Selectman Rodney Graham agreed.
"Pulling the plug isn't going to save us any money," said Graham, who offered an equally dismal assessment of the town's chances after reviewing the criteria.
"In reality, I don't know if there's one percent chance that we get this grant," he said. "Everything is against us."
Hebert, who would like to sell the land he owns across from the Pump 'N Pantry to the town, was somewhat more optimistic.
"There are some things we don't meet in this thing, but there are a lot of things we do," he said.
Hebert urged the board to retain the services of a general contractor to fine-tune the proposal.
"The more ducks you've got in a row, the better chance you've got to do this," he said, expressing his desire to work with E.F. Wall & Associates of Barre.
Although E.F. Wall recently submitted the low bid for the work, board members balked over a non-refundable $4,000 preconstruction fee.
That concern hasn't gone away.
"Most of us do support submitting an application, but we don't support spending any more money prior to submitting an application," Corneille said.
Board members instructed Town Manager Garrett Earls to contact representatives of E.F. Wall and discuss the possibility of eliminating the non-refundable fee. Meanwhile, the board agreed to meet with firefighters tonight to discuss ways to strengthen the application.
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