Mantua council green-lights pursuit of $700,000 CIB grant and approves $20,000 for a fire engine

The Mantua Town Council voted to pursue a $700,000 Community Impact Board grant aimed at funding maintenance facilities and fire-station renovations and approved a separate up-to-$20,000 purchase to secure a used fire engine this fiscal year.

The decision followed a staff presentation that outlined two CIB application options: a larger combined town-hall/police/fire/maintenance package (presenters estimated roughly $1.7 million) and a narrower option focused on maintenance and fire-station upgrades that the presenter and multiple council members judged more likely to attract funding. Councilmember discussion centered on competitiveness, grant scoring factors and the county's mineral-revenue outlook.

Fire-department leadership told the council their volunteer force faces aging personal protective equipment, outdated radios and limited transport capability, and urged an incremental build-out. "We need to have our own fire department," the fire-department representative said, pressing the case for the town to reduce recurring charges from neighboring agencies.

The council also approved a $20,000 authorization to pursue a used fire engine now and directed staff to include an additional $20,000 for an ambulance search in next year's budget. The fire representative noted that neighboring agencies have begun charging for responses, and cited a $2,300 per-call fee the town may face from some neighboring ambulance providers.

Council members emphasized contingency planning if the grant award is smaller than requested, including pursuing phased projects or loans. Staff was directed to submit the CIB application using the smaller ($700,000) request and to return with refined cost estimates and matching-fund plans.

The motion to pursue the $700,000 grant and the motion to authorize the short-term engine purchase both passed by voice vote.