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Planning, designing and fundraising for a new Seward Township Fire Department (STFD) emergency services building has been underway for a number of years.
Tuesday, retired Fire Chief Kevin McSherry, representing STFD, along with Seward Township Trustee Aime Hoffman and Baker Tilly Senior Manager Shannon McLeod approached the Kosciusko County Commissioners about applying for an Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) grant for the new facility.
The current fire station was built in 1978. It has four bays one-truck deep and can’t fit any more trucks into it. It doesn’t have floor drains and the station is landlocked, among its issues.
“We are asking your permission to apply for an OCRA to build a new emergency services building, otherwise known as a fire station, that will hold ambulances and even a sheriff’s vehicle, if he wants,” McSherry told the commissioners. “We started this project over two years ago, and it just takes quite a while to get the wheels turned, I guess.”
McLeod explained McSherry contacted her about six weeks or so ago and asked her if there might be any grants out there to help them construct the building as it’s quite an expense. He provided her with some information.
“Seward Township, in and of itself, from OCRA’s standpoint - in order to qualify for an OCRA grant, at the service area, has to meet a national objective, and that national objective would be a benefit to a low- to moderate(-income) population. Seward Township, based upon the Census data, does not qualify. However, when I looked at their entire service district, it doesn’t do the entire township and it kind of goes into the others. And when we outlined it, it looks like it could potentially qualify based upon data that I pulled from other block groups in that area. Now, that’s not a guarantee,” she said.
The reason they approached the commissioners Tuesday is that they’re going to have to do an income survey of the service area, McLeod said. To do an income survey, they will have to obtain a list of all of the residential properties in the area that the STFD provides service to. Those properties will be entered into a data base, randomized, and surveyed. McLeod estimated they will have to survey 50 to 60 households.
“In turn, given the fact that we’re up against the 11th hour, because our grant cycles start here in the fall, more than likely myself and my staff will be doing door-to-door survey. When we go to the door, we tell them exactly who we are, why we’re there and there’s two questions we have to ask them: How many people are in your household? They say ‘two,’ I give them a number, I say, ‘Is your number above or below this figure?’ And, hopefully, they’ll be willing to say. If they’re not, it’s not required, we’ll just scratch them and we’ll move on and replace them with people on a replacement list,” she stated.
Once the income survey is completed, in the event that they do find - after it’s all calculated - that at least 51% of that population meets those low- to moderate-income guidelines, that will allow for the STFD to apply for OCRA’s Public Facilities Grant.
“This is going to run exactly like what we did with Turkey Creek (Township). Unfortunately, they (STFD) can not apply on their own behalf, it has to be a city, a town or a county government. In turn, that’s why we’re here asking, would you be open to considering applying on their behalf?” McLeod said.
If the county is willing, after the income survey is completed, she said they then would apply. It’s a two-phase process. A proposal would be due about Oct. 4, and the full application would be due Dec. 13. The volunteer fire department can apply for up to $750,000, which she said would be a really nice “piece of the pie” for the project. “It is an all or none type of situation,” McLeod stated. The grant awards should be made in February/March 2027.
She told Commissioner Bob Conley, who serves this year as the commissioners’ president, he would have to be involved in the process to some extent. There will have to be two public hearings, one of which Conley will have to attend. One public hearing will be at the fire station itself in order to serve that population. Forms also will have to be signed by Conley.
“Once we are awarded, the grant agreement will be signed and there will be a subrecipent agreement, and then they (STFD) would, in turn, be in charge of taking care of all the - they have to have an architect on it, that will do all the plans and specifications. It will have to go through a public bidding process, open bids. Those will be reviewed, and then a recommendation will be made. And then they (STFD) would be the one that would enter into the contract with that. They also would be the one providing the local match,” she continued.
The fire department is not requesting any dollars from the county. The grant funds would flow through the county auditor’s office.
McLeod said the income survey will be a cost to the STFD of about $3,000 to $5,000, so she wanted to get the project in front of the commissioners first to make sure the commissioners would be willing to help them move the project forward before that money was spent.
Commissioner Cary Groninger asked if there was any stipulation with OCRA on how many open grants the county could have at one time.
McLeod said there is. A county can have three open grants and apply for a fourth.
“But each grant, before you can apply for another, it has to be under construction. So, right now, if the application was due tomorrow, you wouldn’t be able to apply because Turkey Creek isn’t under construction. But, Turkey Creek is planning on accepting bids - I think by the end of September - and we hope to have that contract signed by the middle of October, so in turn, since our application is not due until Dec. 13, then that opens that window where we could apply. And as soon as it’s under construction, you’ve still got two more slots, and Turkey Creek should be a very quick project once it gets going. In fact, I think we should be done by the end of March, probably about the time that they (STFD) would be starting construction,” she elaborated.
Groninger made a motion to support the application of the grant. Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell seconded the motion, saying, “What a great benefit for a small community.”
The motion passed 3-0.
