Christine Compton
Independent Record, Helena, Mont.
(TNS)
Aug. 7—Even though the levy for a new fire team failed, Helena is moving forward with building a third fire station.
Two fire issues were on the June 4 ballot: a bond for a new fire station and a mill levy for a new staff to man it.
Helena has been looking to build a third fire station since at least 2006, when early evaluations reported the Queen City was outgrowing its previous two stations, which are south of the railroad tracks.
Helena’s fire response times blew past the national average in the past few years, a more recent review said. The national standard for fire response was 6.5 minutes, but Helena Fire hovered around 12 minutes, according to previous IR reporting. Both current stations are south of the train tracks, opposite from where the town is steadily growing.
But while Helena voters approved the new station by less than 100 votes, it shot down the staffing levy at 55% disapproval.
So, what’s a station if there’s no crew? It’s a starting point, Helena Fire Chief Jon Campbell said.
The city is starting the yearslong process of building the fire station now, in the hopes that the means to fill it will come later.
Ideally, the new station will come in two or three years, Campbell said, but it could be closer to six if supplies and contractors aren’t available.
The future of the fire station was broken down at a July 10 city administrative meeting by city Finance Director Sheila Danielson.
First, the city needs to “do (its) homework,” she said.
That means deciding a location, including all the legalities behind getting it ready, Campbell explained. Architectural plans will be done by a third party, partially because the city doesn’t have the manpower.
It also means figuring out how much it would cost, Danielson said. Previous estimates had the cost at $7 million, according to news reports.
While the bond to build the station has already been passed, another bond might be needed if the city spends more than it expects, which would reimburse the city later.
Some fees would have to be spent just to get started, she said.
Once the architects and planners were secured, the city would consult its bond managers to write up the finer details. Then it would get approval from the City Commission to put a bond on the next ballot, using levies until the bond goes through, Danielson said.
As for the new station’s staffing, it’ll be up to the city and voters, Campbell said.
At the July 10 meeting, there was a small buzz about how these bonds and levies would pass.
City Commissioner Melinda Reed wondered if the city could work with Helena Public Schools to time their respective funding requests.
Helena Public Schools had asked for three major levies about a month prior to the June ballot, and all failed. Some voters felt like too much was being asked at once — especially when the weight of the ballot issues fell on property taxes.
The city doesn’t have the money to independently hire an entire firefighting crew, Campbell said. The money will have to come from another source somehow. Too much is in the air to confidently say what the backup plans will be if staffing levies continue to fail.
However, that’s something he and many others are thinking about, Campbell said.
Regardless of how it happens, Campbell was grateful to voters for getting the fire department this far.
“We’ve identified this as a need for 15, 17 years now,” he said. “The city will see the need.”
Christine Compton is a reporter for the Helena Independent Record.
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