Maine department floats station $1.4M plan

By Eric Russell
The Bangor Daily News (Maine)

HANCOCK, Maine — The Fire Department has been exploring construction of a new station to replace its cramped, aging facility, but town leaders said they want more information before asking taxpayers to shoulder any costs.

Fire Chief Chris Holmes said Monday the department has worked with an architect to create plans for a new building projected to cost about $1.4 million. It would include a three-bay garage, office space, a kitchen and a large meeting room that would be available to other town organizations.

"As a department we know what we want and what we need, but it's just a matter of finding a funding source," he said.

When the plans were brought recently to the town's budget committee, Holmes said members were receptive to the idea itself, but not necessarily to the prospect of borrowing a huge sum of money.

"The town wasn't ready at this point to put this out to the voters of Hancock," administrative assistant Stacy Clement said Monday. "It's a lot of money, for any town, truthfully, and we'd like to see a little more information, particularly what the operational costs for a new station would be."

Holmes maintained he was by no means discouraged from pursuing the project further.

"When we got done meeting with them, they said, 'Don't give up,'" the chief said.

The idea to replace the facility on Cemetery Road near the Hancock Grammar School has been percolating for about five years, Holmes said.

"We're all volunteers, so trying to do stuff when it's not your full-time job takes a little longer," he joked.

The fire station, which will be 50 years old this year, was built solely by volunteers, including Holmes' grandfather, on donated land and with donated materials.

This time around, though, that doesn't seem like a viable option.

Holmes said he has been actively seeking grants at the state and federal levels, but he also understands how competitive that process often is.

"A lot of grants are determined by per-capita income, and Hancock tends to be on the high side," he said. "But we have a lot of options still open."

Plans for the new fire station likely will be presented and discussed at the town's annual meeting on May 12, Clement said.