Volunteer labor in use at new Uniontown station

Thursday, December 14, 2006
Tribune photo/Jason E. Silvers This new 6,000 square foot facility in Uniontown will soon be the home of a new fire station to be used by Bourbon County rural fire and first response personnel. The new building is being built entirely by local volunteers, and is being financed through a $384,719 Kansas Department of Commerce KAN STEP grant, while volunteers are contributing about $268,000 in labor services for the project.

UNIONTOWN -- A much-needed new fire station in Uniontown, being built entirely by local volunteers, is expected to solve several problems for first response personnel in rural Bourbon County, officials said.

The new 6,000-square foot facility is currently under construction near the corner of Fifth Street and Sherman, at an estimated cost of $653,219. In February of this year, the city of Uniontown received a Kansas Small Town Environment Program (KAN STEP) grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce to construct the new 100-foot by 60-foot facility, which will replace a smaller, aging, dilapidated fire station currently located near Uniontown City Hall.

"It will be a big asset to the city," Uniontown resident and rural Bourbon County firefighter Mike Vanzant said. Vanzant, a seven-year Uniontown resident, has been a firefighter for nearly two years.

"It will help the city for a long time," he said. "There's more than enough room for everybody to have training."

Bourbon County District No. 3 Coordinator Delwin Mumbower, who coordinates fire response efforts in Uniontown and other portions of the county, said the completion date for the new fire station is unknown, since its completion is dependent on when volunteer crews can gather to finish remaining aspects of the project. Next week, walls on the new building will be aligned and rafters will be installed, Vanzant said. The more volunteers the city can get to complete work, the faster it will be built, both Vanzant and Mumbower said.

Mumbower agreed with Vanzant, saying the new facility will be a big relief for fire and first response crews who have been working out of a building that does not provide enough space.

"It's going to be great," Mumbower said. "I think it's a nice location too in central western Bourbon County."

The new station will also improve response time for rural firefighters and emergency responders during a crisis situation, Vanzant said. The building will contain three fire truck bays, one ambulance bay, a large meeting room, a training room, a kitchen, an upper deck and several storage rooms.

To finance the project, local volunteers contributed more than $268,000 in labor services, while the KAN STEP grant is providing the remaining $384,719 of the total project cost. Uniontown city officials began the process of applying for the grant in 2005, and the city was officially awarded the grant in February of this year, Vanzant said. Construction on the new facility began this summer.

Dan Hall of B G Consultants in Manhattan is the architect for the project. The Kansas Rural Water Association will provide inspection services and technical assistance during the building's construction process.

The KAN STEP program has successfully used "sweat equity," or volunteer assistance to help communities reduce costs of water systems, community centers and fire stations, according to the KRWA Internet site. The Kansas program is the only one in the U.S. that is constructing buildings.

The community development program is designed to help communities with an acknowledged community improvement problem. A minimum of 40 percent savings of typical retail costs must be shown through the self-help process, the Web site said. Types of facility improvements that qualify for the grant include water or sewer systems, and buildings. Eligible buildings include senior centers, community buildings, and fire stations. The program is designed to benefit low and moderate income people, the site said.

As of this month, KAN STEP has 32 projects completed, and 16 projects currently under contract or under construction. The total value of those projects is more than $21 million, the Web site said. Due to the fact that local residents donate labor to build the facilities, that cost has been reduced to a little more than $12 million, resulting in a more than 50 percent overall cost reduction, the site said.