Committee approves preconstruction funding for regional fire training facility, forwards participation to Board

The Brentwood Ways and Means Committee voted to approve the city’s participation in the Central Core Fire Training Facility project and to amend the fiscal year 2024 budget to cover preconstruction costs of $40,562.50. The motion, moved by Alderman Theiss and seconded by Alderman Gould, passed on a roll-call vote of 4–0.

The vote comes after a departmental update that state ARPA grant awards remain undecided; a state official told local partners decisions were delayed pending the governor’s signature on the state budget. A fire department representative said FEMA reimbursements have provided some capital relief but the ARPA outcome was still pending. “We still do not have an answer on the ARPA grants,” the representative said during the discussion.

Committee members and staff discussed timing and budgetary implications. City staff said the fire department has included the project in its capital improvement plan across 2025–26 and that the amount before the committee is limited to preconstruction costs (site surveys, testing and design). Committee members pressed staff for a clearer accounting of which items FEMA will reimburse and what portion of previously deferred capital can be restored by reimbursements before the Board of Aldermen takes final action.

An amendment introduced during the meeting clarified that the committee’s approval covers preconstruction planning funds and that the Board of Aldermen would be expected to vote on the city’s formal participation at its July meeting. Committee members noted a permit deadline tied to the project timeline: “We have to have a permit by the end of July 2025,” a city representative stated.

Next steps: the committee forwarded the preconstruction funding and the question of full participation to the Board of Aldermen for a July vote; staff said they will provide a rough estimate of FEMA reimbursements and remaining capital needs ahead of that meeting.