Lakeville authorizes fire chief to seek federal grants, swears in new EMS staff

The Lakeville Select Board on Dec. 16 authorized Fire Chief Tom O'Brien to apply for two federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants aimed at replacing apparatus and funding firefighter safety and survival training.

Chief O'Brien told the board that AFG applications for towns this size require a 5% match and that operational periods have recently been extended to two years, which eases timing of municipal matching and capital planning. He said the apparatus grant would carry a roughly $30,000 match on an example $700,000 vehicle, while the training grant’s match is small enough to be absorbed in the department’s operating budget. "If we get a grant award in the spring, we could return at the following town meeting to place it under capital," O'Brien said.

The board approved a motion to authorize submission of the applications and voted by roll call to provide the requested authorization. Members asked staff to identify where any required matches would be budgeted if the grants are awarded.

Chief O'Brien also introduced two recent hires. Paramedic Kate Munger, the department’s first non-suppression paramedic, and firefighter Jerry Paul — a Navy veteran with previous local fire experience — were sworn into their positions. "She's already making her mark here in Lakeville," O'Brien said of Munger, and the board welcomed both to town service.

In the discussion that followed, the chief described a departmental strategy to lower long-term operating costs by procuring multi-purpose apparatus that can perform several functions (for example, ladder trucks that also serve as engines) rather than maintaining separate single-purpose vehicles.

The board’s vote gives the chief permission to finalize and submit the grant applications; any award would return to the board for acceptance and appropriation as required.