‘Give it a shot’: Brocton seeks grant for fire department building
OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen The Village of Brocton is pursuing a grant to improve the Brocton Fire Department building.
Brocton Mayor Craig Miller, a volunteer firefighter, listened to comments from Fire Chief Bill Hussey and EMT Dave Hazelton at a recent Village Board meeting.
OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen The Village of Brocton is pursuing a grant to improve the Brocton Fire Department building.
Brocton Mayor Craig Miller, a volunteer firefighter, listened to comments from Fire Chief Bill Hussey and EMT Dave Hazelton at a recent Village Board meeting.
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BROCTON -- The concept of spending money to make money has a minor tweak to it in the village of Brocton, but the idea is still the same. What was described as a "drop in the bucket" could lead to a major reward for the village.
The Brocton Village Board approved an agreement with Municipal Solutions to pursue grant funding to apply to the Village of Brocton Fire Hall and Community Center. The minimum cost of the agreement is $5,000, however, the Village believes the service will yield a major return.
Grant funding up to $1 million is available through the grant application process, due in April of 2024. The cost to contract Municipal Solutions to prepare a grant application could potentially be covered by some of the funding received from the grant it yields, which would reimburse all costs to the Village of Brocton.
Four members of the Fire Department -- Village of Brocton Mayor Craig Miller, Village Trustee Bryan Woleben, former Trustee Dave Hazelton and current Fire Chief Bill Hussey -- were involved in the discussion at the recent meeting before an approval to contract grant application services through Municipal Solutions.
"It can't hurt. We've got to give it a shot," Woleben said upon his motion to utilize village reserve funds to contract grant application services through Municipal Solutions.
The debate was centered around which route to take with potential grant funding should it be received. The grant application will be applied to fire departments, but the village also has hopes of improving the community center attached to the Fire Hall. Village Trustee Drew Ransom pushed for the community center to be the focus of any potential grant, while Hussey and Hazelton urged the Board to pursue funding to apply to the Fire Hall and garage.
"I guess however the grant is written up is the determining factor of what you're looking to use the money for," Village Clerk and Treasurer Scott Jagoda said. "That's up to whoever wants to decide how they do it."
Jagoda added, "They have to be dealt with at some point. If we can get it paid for, that would be great."
CPL: Architecture-Engineering-Planning, formerly referred to as Clark-Patterson-Lee, conducted an engineering report on the Fire Hall a year ago. Municipal Solutions has a working relationship with CPL.
Ransom seconded Woleben's motion to approve the agreement with Municipal Solutions. The Board voted unanimously in its favor.
Also at the recent meeting, Hazelton, an Emergency Medical Technician, urged the Board to create a separate account designated for Emergency Medical Service billing now that the village has a contract with Chautauqua County EMS. The village is reimbursed by the county for providing its services.
Hazelton noted state officials have said it is "critical" to readily identify financial figures associated with billing. "The only way to do that is to have it in its own account," Hazelton said.
Miller responded, "I think Dave is right. There needs to be some way to keep that segregated so that whatever the funds get used for, at least you know you can see a total of what you have available."
The Brocton Fire Department responded to 415 total calls in 2023, including 33 calls in the month of December.
"We appreciate all the volunteers in the department," Miller said.
Hussey stated the department is also planning for the upcoming eclipse this spring, with an eye on potential emergency shelter locations at local churches.