Cumberland Trail Fire Chief Tim R. Hall admits the current financial climate in the country is not the ideal time to be going to the voters, seeking additional funding.
But that’s what it’s come to as the fire district put a 6-mill replacement levy on the ballot for May 2, an increase of 1-mill on the current levy in place.
Hall and the leadership at Cumberland Trail have done their due diligence in seeking other options for funding before having to come to the citizenry. Additional options became available after St. Clairsville council and city leadership opted to turn ownership of the main fire station on S. Marietta Street to the district.
“When they gave us the building, that put us in a position to seek different grants and funding,” Hall said. “We met with USDA officials about grant funding, as well as low-interest loans that will go out to 40 years.
“There’s also the state fire marshal’s revolving loan grant and we’ve applied for congressional dollars in the past.”
The funds generated by the additional 1 mill, if approved, will go primarily toward a needed remodel and upgrades at the S. Marietta station.
The original plan called for $1.5 million for the remodel, back in 2015 when the district first approached the then-council about acquiring ownership of the station.
Twenty additional feet were added to the front expansion, along with a hose training tower in the back of the facility. Otherwise, the plans remained the same. But, with inflation costs, the estimated project costs increased from $1.5 to $3.7 million.
That’s why even if the levy passes, the district will continue to seek additional funding elsewhere to help maximize the dollars.
“We’re cautiously optimistic, but if successful, we’re still going to do our due diligence for the residents and if we can get something to offset the levy dollars, we’ll do so because we understand that people are struggling with the inflation,” Hall said. “The last thing we want to do is add millage to the levy.”
Needed Upgrades
The current 5-mill levy generates roughly $2.9 million annually. Should the 6-mill replacement pass, that number will increase to $3.4 million.
A home valued at $150,000 will see an increase of roughly $5 per month.
In addition to the expansion and remodel at the station, the money will help in debt payment on building improvements, as well as aid in staff retention plus filling vacant positions with new staff.
Upon taking ownership of the building, Hall noted the district put together an internal committee, with representatives from each shift, as well as the part-time ranks, to determine areas of the station to target.
The current bunk room, shower facility with its single shower, and kitchen are needed upgrades.
At full staff, the station houses between 8-9 firefighters, operating in 24 hours on, and 48 hours off shifts for the full-time staff members; anywhere from 8 to 24 hours for part-timers.
After a call, a line will form for the singular shower stall, which is far from convenient. At its previous max, the station technically had two “showers” available, as what amounted to a camp shower was erected in the far right bay during the height of COVID, out of necessity.
The new plans call for a three-shower stall room, separate from the laundry, and separate from two bathrooms across the hall.
The upstairs will feature multiple bunk rooms, a vast upgrade from the current one-room bunk house on the second floor. The kitchen will be expanded and moved upstairs, along with the dining room, which will now be separate from the day room.
The present training/meeting room shares space with the station’s fitness equipment in the main area of the second floor.
These will be moved downstairs and separated, along with separate offices for the chief, assistant chief, and fiscal office.
The community room will also feature Murphy beds and seating for 40 plus, so in the event of inclement weather, citizens can be temporarily housed comfortably inside the district station house.
“We can’t take in all city and township residents, but this room will have Murphy beds, seating for 45, plus full generator back up so we will have a place to temporarily place residents.
“Our committee went through to determine our needs, not our wants, and the shower, the bunk room, the kitchen facilities, those were areas of need.”
Hall said he and committee members toured other fire stations to get ideas for the renovations. They saw many things they’d like to have, but again, the focus was on needs, not wants.
Without naming names, Hall mentioned there was one firehouse that had tiered, stadium-style seating in the station’s audio room? An in-house movie theater, who wouldn’t want that? But that’s not the plan here. The plan is to make needed additions.
One moment of generosity has already helped the department. The house next to the station on S. Marietta previously owned by Susan Ozolins was donated to the district, free of charge. Along with it came a patch of green space that butts up against the present parking lot, behind the station. The house will be demolished and utilized as green space, but the parcel of land behind the station will help add to the parking spaces since some of the current parking spaces will be taken up by the proposed addition of the training tower.
The Training Tower and Staffing
One big change between the original 2015 upgrade plans and now, is the addition of the hose training tower at the rear of the facility.
In addition to offering great training opportunities without having to trek to Wintersville, or even the state fire academy in Reynoldsburg, its presence may also aid the citizens in the district with their homeowner’s insurance costs.
The station’s current Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating is a four, but that could drop down to a three with the addition of the tower, along with other internal improvements already made.
“A better rating means better insurance premiums,” Hall said. “And we believe we can move to three thanks to our internal controls and the (addition) of this tower.”
It can also be utilized by other area departments, especially those who frequently partner with Cumberland Trail for mutual aid—departments like Barton, Lafferty, Neffs, and Wolfhurst.
That tower will also provide an added future bonus down the line. The district’s current ladder truck was purchased in 2009 and has many years of service ahead of it. But, because of the dimensions of the current firehouse, the district could only purchase a 70-foot ladder truck.
Nearby departments in Wheeling and Martins Ferry have space capacity and own ladder trucks 100 feet or longer.
If the levy passes and the tower is built, when the current ladder truck needs to be replaced, the district can purchase a ladder truck of comparable size, allowing for a greater range of use.
Lastly, levy funding will help Cumberland Trail retain firefighters and help fill open positions with new staff members.
Local departments and districts likely will never compete with big metropolitan areas for salary, or the breakdown of fire vs. EMS calls.
But CTFD would like to be competitive, salary-wise, at least within Belmont County. At present, it’s below. Assistant Chief Dan Grady noted that Cumberland Trail loses 2-3 members yearly to better pay at competing departments.
The fire district provides for 23 full-time employees, plus the district’s CARES director. There are currently 22 part-time members of the district.
Between Cumberland Trail’s two stations, they have a minimum of seven staff on duty at all times, with a preference for nine. The increased funding will help ensure that is a possibility.
That number of employees is needed to handle the ever-increasing number of calls fielded by Cumberland Trail on a yearly basis. In 1990, CTFD fielded a total of 1,197 calls. That number gradually increased and first cracked the 3,000 call mark (3,044) in 2018 and, in 2022, broke the 4k barrier with 4,184—3,232 EMS calls to 952 fire calls.
Hall is hopeful, given the fire district’s importance to the community, the citizens will come out on May 2 and show their support.
These moves are needed, but Hall said not to just take his word for it. Stop down and see four yourself.
“Come see our bunk room, our offices, our one shower room, and the wash bay shower we had to use during COVID,” Hall said. “We can agree to disagree. I want everyone to exercise their right to vote, either way. But, if you disagree, at least give me the opportunity to come to see our facility, see what it needs, see the wages we’re paying our men and women and what we’re trying to do here.”
