February 27, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
The Temperance Hall Fire Station is getting a newer truck thanks largely to USDA Community Facility Grant funding.
During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the county commission adopted a $33,800 budget amendment covering the purchase of the truck at $27,655 and the remainder of the grant but all except for $2,800 of it will be reimbursed to the county through the federal grant program.
The truck, a 1996 International Model 4900 with 22,000 miles, is being purchased online through govdeals. It will be stationed at the Temperance Hall Fire Station. The fire hall itself is also undergoing some upgrades including the installation of a new roof, guttering, block repair, etc.
This is the third fire truck the county has been able to purchase through this grant program according to County Mayor Tim Stribling. The first truck, a 1992 model with 17,000 miles, was purchased from the City of Smithville last April for $30,000 and located at the Cookeville Highway Fire Station. The second truck, a 1993 model with less than 25,000 miles was purchased in October for $25,000 from a fire department in Connecticut to be located at the new Four Seasons Fire Hall when it is completed.
“A couple of years ago we received two grants from the USDA amounting to $88,800. The local match on the grants was $57,800. The way this works is we (county) have to spend our local match first ($57,800) and any amount above that up to the full grant amount of $88,800 will be reimbursed to the county ($31,000) through the grant program. To date we have spent $55,000 for the two fire trucks and will be spending another $27,655 for the third truck. We will still have left to spend $6,145 to finish out the grant,” said County Mayor Stribling.