Fire department asks county to be lead applicant for Pine Village station grant; officials weigh audit and match costs

The Pine Village fire department asked the Warren County commissioners to serve as the lead applicant for a grant to expand the department's station and provide warm, temperature-controlled storage for apparatus and equipment.

A fire-department representative (Speaker 8) said the department has equipment valued at roughly $350,000 outside and another $150,000 inside an old station, has already purchased a lot adjacent to the station, and needs a grant administrator and architect to prepare a competitive application. Speaker 8 asked the county to be the lead applicant at "no cost or expense to the county," with the fire department providing required local match funds (Speaker 8 estimated a typical match of about 10%).

Commissioners discussed audit and fiscal impacts. Speaker 2 warned that receiving certain federal funds can trigger a single-audit requirement that may raise the county's audit costs from an ordinary $30,000 to an estimated $90,000–$100,000; Speaker 8 said the fire department expected to cover about $60,000 of that increase if required. Speaker 8 also said the combined cost for a grant administrator and an architect for initial application work would be roughly $13,000 and that the department would front that expense.

Speaker 8 emphasized staffing concerns and the goal of starting a volunteer live-in program, saying, "We are not far away from closing the doors if we don't do something for staffing." Commissioners agreed the first step is an income study (required for the funding program), and directed staff to proceed with the study and to return with any necessary Memorandum of Understanding or agreement language.

Next steps: complete the income study and finalize an MOU so the county can submit the lead-applicant documentation if the application window remains open.