Trumansburg firefighters in line for potential additional funding

The village of Trumansburg is preparing to apply for state funding that could help build a new fire hall for the Trumansburg Volunteer Fire Company. Village Mayor Rordan Hart discussed the potential grant application at the first village board of trustees meeting of the year on Jan. 9. 

The village would be seeking $1 million from the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHES), either to build a new fire hall or to retrofit the volunteer company’s current facilities. The expansion and renovations project has been on the table since at least 2016, when consultants estimated that a potential retrofit of existing facilities would cost around $1.6 million. Whether the village will build out a new building or further outfit existing facilities would depend on other federal funding, Hart said.

Consultants with MRB Group, an organization with offices across upstate New York that has helped write grants for other projects in Trumansburg, would be in charge of submitting the application to DHES. The grant application is due April 30 at 5 p.m. 

The board of trustees unanimously agreed to pay MRB a fee not to exceed $4,800 to submit the grant application.

“I think this is great,” said Marcia Horn, a village trustee.

The grant program, dubbed “Volunteer Fire Infrastructure and Response Equipment” (V-FIRE), is a state-funded $25 million initiative that supports enhancement of the security and safety of the citizens of areas across the state by providing critical funding to strengthen volunteer fire departments and districts. Applicants are eligible to apply for up to $1 million in funding if they meet the following criteria:

• They are a fire company or department staffed by an all-volunteer crew. 
• They are proposing projects for construction, renovation or purchase costs for critical facilities (buildings, training facilities, etc.) that support fire operations.

“The village qualifies based on their criteria,” Hart said. 

Hart noted that the village is also in consideration for federal funding through a Congressional appropriations request. The village’s fire company could receive up to $3 million toward a new fire hall during the next Congressional budget cycle. 

“That is assuming they ever put together a budget,” Hart said, commenting on the tense budget negotiations in the House of Representatives that Washington, which insiders say could  lead to a potential government shutdown.

 “[Our budgetary ask] is not part of continuing resolutions to keep the government funded and open. Our request would be part of the next actual federal budget that is done.” 

Hart also noted that the village would have three years to decide how to spend the state’s money. He estimates awards could be disbursed in the fall.

“If we are included in that [federal] budget and are awarded this grant, then we’ll be roughly halfway to the Cadillac version of the new facility,” Hart said of the proposed fire hall. “My thought is maybe that we would be two-thirds of the way toward a scaled down version of the facility.” 

Hart also spoke about the possibility of retrofitting the existing facility. 

“I cannot see the department going another three to five years under the current conditions,” he noted. 

The mayor estimated that the retrofit costs estimated by consultants back in 2016 could now be upscaled to $2.5 million.

“The feedback back then was that it was too much for the village to spend,” Hart added. “But post-COVID and with a 400 square-mile service area for EMS.… I think you never want to put yourself in a position to get voted out of office for one decision — but if there was one, I think that would be a hill to die on.”

The Trumansburg Fire Company serves the town of Ulysses and the village of Trumansburg.

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

Public hearing notice
The town of Ulysses board of trustees will host a public hearing at its Jan. 23 meeting for the purpose of considering the public’s recommendations for how to use the town’s remaining allotment of the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at 10 Elm St. and can be accessed via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/183862745.

D&D and RPG at the Ulysses Philomathic Library:

The library will host afternoon sessions of Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games for teens and tweens every Wednesday starting at 3:30 p.m.  No experience is required.