KINROSS TWP. — The Kinross community came together on Monday, May 12 to discuss what will happen to the township’s fire department after a recent fire hall millage proposal was denied by voters.
The township board held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the issue and receive community feedback.
When the Kinross Township Fire Department was established in 1979 as a volunteer fire department, it was based out of an unused building at the local airport.
The fire department is now being told they must vacate the aviation terminal of Chippewa County International Airport by November as the airport is planning to repurpose the building.
With a new home for the fire department needed, the township included a millage proposal in both the May and November elections to build a new fire hall.
In November 2024, the proposal asked to borrow $3.75 million through a series of tax bonds, and was voted down 758 to 614.
The May proposal asked for an amount of $3 million instead of $3.75 million, but still did not pass. According to unofficial results, the proposal received 242 no votes to 180 yes votes.
According to the township, the construction of a new hall that meets the standards and requirements of the fire department would cost around $2.8 million to build.
This is based off of an estimate that was given to the township by their chosen construction company months ago.
With two failed elections on the books, the issue is becoming a priority for the board as without a plan in place they will not be able to keep the emergency services of the fire department running past November.
During Monday’s meeting, community members asked questions and gave their opinions in the public comment section, while board members answered their questions as best as they could.
Residents gave several reasons for why they did not vote for the proposal, including that the ballot language did not give them all the information they wanted on how exactly the money would be spent and worries that the cost could increase during the project and taxpayers would be on the hook for the extra funding.
Board members clarified that the money would be used exclusively for the construction of the new building and the cost would be unable to increase past $3 million.
Some residents said they voted against the ballot measure because of the high cost, as they believed it shouldn’t cost that much. While no one argued that there shouldn’t be a fire department, some questioned the need to build a new fire hall from scratch. Some people asked if it was possible to use other empty township buildings to temporarily house the department.
Board supervisor Mark Rice said the price they were given was the minimum requirement to maintain the standards of a fire hall, and the board also said there were no township-owned buildings that are available to use that are capable of holding the department’s equipment.
Board member Caleb Rader added that the cost of renovating an existing building to house the department would cost almost as much as building a brand new building and would still not be a permanent solution.
“It seems like a lot of money to waste on a temporary solution, said Rader. “You still have to renovate a gigantic building. It’s going to cost a ton of money to remodel and it’s only going to be a Band-Aid for a year or two.”
Members of the Kinross Fire Department who were in attendance expressed frustration that there has never been a real fire hall building and the lack of community support in building one.
“Kinross has never had a fire hall that is truly theirs. Previous boards have kicked the can down the road,” said Arnulfo Ortiz, Sr. “I pay taxes and I am willing to pay whatever it takes, money means nothing to me.”
As they discussed possible solutions to the issue, the township board also expressed a desire to see more people from the community get involved with discussions.
As Rice pointed out, the township held several meetings over the past few months discussing the fire department problem and those meetings got very little, if any, attendance from the community.
“It’s important that we as a community come together to support the township, and it’s rough when less than a dozen people show up every meeting and it’s the same people every time,” said Rice. “We’ve had four or five town hall meetings to discuss the fire hall, and the total number of people who attended all of them does not add up to the people in the room right now. This is information we’ve already had the opportunity to discuss and find solutions to.”
At the same time, residents complained that they weren’t informed about the issue, with many claiming they were not even aware there was an election with local ballot items taking place.
The May 6 election saw only 15% of registered voters in the township participate.
By the end of the meeting, board members agreed that their next step should be to get more quotes from other construction companies to possibly find a cheaper solution and ensure that the community is better informed about the situation before the next election.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Kinross community discusses future of fire department, funding concerns for new fire hall
Reporting by Brendan Wiesner, Sault Ste. Marie News / The Sault News
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