Galesburg volunteer fire chief urges county help after station mold, seeks grant match for new building

Galesburg Volunteer Fire Department Chief John, speaking to the Neosho County Board of Commissioners on June 3, said the department’s fire station has a mold problem and structural water damage and urged the county to consider helping with matching funds if the department wins a federal grant to build a new station.

The department has received more than $200,000 in donated equipment and grants since 2023, John told commissioners, including contributions from local townships, the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office and area residents. He said an air quality test last summer returned a mold count of 980,000 parts per million and that contractors estimate about $100,000 to remediate mold and another $70,000 to $80,000 to fix the water intrusion.

“The highest part of that mold count is actually the mold that they use to make penicillin out of,” John said, adding that staff with allergies found the building “very unhealthy and very unsafe for our firefighters.” He said the department is pursuing a Community Development Block Grant that would cover roughly 90% of a new building and that an estimated finished building would cost about $160,000 to $180,000 (dried-in shell and concrete included; interior finish work remains). The grant, he said, would cover up to $200,000 with local match requirements.

John described the department’s plan to build a modest, functional public-safety facility with space for five apparatus bays, a modest administration area, and room for deputies or ambulance crews to operate temporarily during storms or other incidents. He said most of the department’s calls — about 90–95% — are in rural parts of the county outside Galesburg city limits.

On radios and the county pilot fund, John said Galesburg previously invested roughly $17,000 in repeaters and radios, and that his department bought additional radios expecting a county reimbursement. When communications staff requested serial numbers, John said he learned the county might treat the devices as county property. He said his membership unanimously preferred to either: (a) accept the funds as a donation and retain ownership, or (b) have the county purchase and own all radios so the county would also compensate for radios the department already bought.

John asked the commission to consider a county contribution for the grant match should the Community Development Block Grant application be successful and said he would return with firm cost estimates and grant paperwork. He also invited commissioners to visit the station and upcoming training events, and noted a potential $25,000 fire-protection payment from the nearby wind project remains unpaid and would be appropriate for local safety needs.

Commissioners did not make a formal commitment at the meeting. John said he would follow up with specific grant paperwork and numbers and requested the county clarify the intended ownership and long-term role of pilot-fund expenditures on radio equipment.

The department’s requests included: further review of the mold remediation and building-cost estimates; clarification of county ownership vs. donation terms for radios bought using pilot funds; and consideration of county matching funds for a Community Development Block Grant application if the department is invited to apply.

Ending: John said he would return with formal grant documents and precise cost estimates for the commissioners to consider before the county commits any matching funds.