Brighton advisory board recommends Riverboat application

BRIGHTON — The second meeting of the Brighton Fire Board Tuesday night led to a 5-1 vote in favor of applying for a Riverboat Foundation grant and preparing a lot for a new $250,000 building kitty-corner from the fire station. If it gets built, the new facility would house emergency rescue equipment and eventually larger fire trucks which the current station can’t accommodate.

The motion represents the first formal policy recommendation from the city’s newly established fire advisory board. But with City Council Representative Cathy Rich as the lone no-vote, the suggestion may be denied by municipal elected officials at their July 17 meeting.

Rich said upkeep costs at the new building may be too high for the city to afford, and asked for more information before voting on the motion. Specifically, she asked for cost estimates on a smaller building alternative, an assessment of long-term budget implications, and advisory board discussion of trust-building policies recommended by dispute mediator Patrick Callahan in January.

The city council member said the advisory board was “jumping the gun” with its motion Tuesday night.

“We are not making decisions based on all the information that the city has to consider … Why are we rushing through, to pull something together in just weeks?” Rich said at the meeting. “We need to have more accurate numbers than we’re dealing with, we need to have a good recommendation, and start building the trust. Otherwise, it’s just like you’re telling them to do something, the council doesn’t have all the information they need.”

While the proposed plan would include six bays in the new building, Rich suggested starting smaller and building additions on later to save money in the short term. She argued that early commitments would waste tax dollars if funding for the new building didn’t materialize.

“Our income is not increasing,” she said. “We are losing people right and left, which is money we lose from our tax dollars, and the money we get from the townships is not increasing. We have to live within our means. We want to have good equipment and replace it when the time is right, but it’s going to be a struggle with the money that we’re dealing with.”

Opponents argued such a delay would push the timeline too far back to qualify for a grant. The Washington County Riverboat Foundation’s fall grant application window is open from Aug. 1 to Sept. 19 this year, according to an email from foundation Executive Director Patty Koller.

Fire Chief Bill Farmer said there were no downsides to applying for a grant and offering matching funds from already-made informal pledges. Those add up to $75,000, split between the nonprofit firemen’s association ($20,000,) the emergency response department in town which also wants a spot in the building ($10,000,) and a contribution from the city fire fund ($40,000.)

That would leave WCRF to fill roughly 70% of the project’s costs, although Farmer said he hoped in-kind labor from volunteers and other community contributions could offset the projected $250,000 expense.

“If we don’t get a grant, we won’t build a building,” Farmer said. “I’m not going to waste fire department money.”

With a plethora of free dirt from nearby roadwork and construction prices climbing every quarter, board member Doug Moothart, Brighton Township’s representative to the group, said the time was ripe for land preparation and grant-seeking, even if it may not see WCRF approval.

“I’m in favor of fixing that lot over there while you’ve got the dirt and the manpower to do it,” he said. “If we don’t get the grant, we have a nice lot that, maybe next spring, we’ll try again.”

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