Hood County weighs nearly $9 million in volunteer fire department equipment and station requests

Hood County Commissioners on March 31 heard requests from nine volunteer fire departments for new apparatus, breathing air equipment and station work and were told the package could total about $8.9 million to $10 million once quotes are updated.

The special-called meeting in Granberry centered on a spreadsheet of department requests compiled after a June workshop. Jeff Young, who presented the lists to the court, asked commissioners to treat radio replacements as a later project, saying the county’s emergency management coordinator intends to budget for some radio replacements only if a planned radio-core project moves forward. "I'm going to ask that the radios be considered down the road," Young said.

Why it matters: many of the county’s apparatus are well past their expected service lives. Staff told the court that five tankers and five pumper-tankers ordered in December 2023 remain on order and are expected to arrive around June or July; counties and vendors are currently projecting multi-month to multi-year lead times for emergency apparatus.

Department requests and chief priorities varied. Granberry asked for two pumper-tankers, six SCBA packs, six bottles and 30 masks; Chief Matt Hoan said one of the trucks would replace engine six and another would equip a planned second station. North/Northwood County (represented by Lieutenant/Board Chair Scott Bullington) asked to rechassie an older rescue ("we believe that in itself would be about $112,000") and proposed a substation on Highway 51 to reduce long response times in a growing corridor.

Several departments described building or finish-out needs in addition to rolling stock. Crescent said it has completed a two-story shell but needs concrete approaches, interior finish and sleeping quarters; Indian Harbor reported a completed boat and is asking for an enclosed boathouse (quotes shared in the meeting ranged from about $150,000 to $210,000 depending on scope). County staff cautioned that many of the vendor quotes on the spreadsheet are more than a year old and will need updating.

Cost and next steps: county staff provided two headline figures from the working spreadsheet: a total of roughly $6 million for some requested items without radios, and about $8.9 million when broader requests are included; commissioners and department leaders noted the figure could rise to about $10 million after quotes are refreshed. Staff and the chiefs agreed to collect current vendor quotes and to update the spreadsheet; Young said he would circulate the revised list to commissioners. Miss Matlock (county finance staff, referenced at the meeting) was mentioned as a contact regarding financing and the possibility of structuring a tax note similar to one used for prior truck purchases.

Operational notes: chiefs stressed the stretch on the county’s older refurbed trucks (many are approaching 25 years) and emphasized continuing safety and training needs, including cascade/auto-fill air systems and additional refill capacity. Several departments also asked to retain or acquire county-owned reserve vehicles after new apparatus are placed into service.

The court did not take formal funding votes at the session. Commissioners asked staff and chiefs to return with updated, dated quotes, a clarified scope that separates radios from other gear if needed, and a clear list of which departments will receive the apparatus that are already on order.