STARKVILLE – Starkville Fire Department is making a second run at a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant in hopes of staffing and reopening Fire Station 5.
Aldermen on Tuesday approved allowing Fire Chief Dewayne Davis to apply for a $821,099 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, which would provide funding to hire 12 firefighters.
“It will be very helpful to get Station 5 back open,” Davis told The Dispatch.
The grant would cover the salaries and benefits for the needed firefighters over three years.
Davis said any additional costs would fall on the city.
“There will be additional costs that go along with that, such as turnout gear,” Davis told the board during a Friday work session. “The grant covers just basic firefighter costs. It doesn’t cover the lieutenants and sergeant ranks … so the promotional costs would be an additional cost.”
Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk said those extra expenses, along with the city’s required 25% match, would cost Starkville about $345,000, according to Davis’ estimates. After three years, the city would be responsible for either maintaining those positions or letting them go.
“Actually in year three, there’s a pretty significant jump in the amount that the city has to provide in terms of additional match,” Sistrunk said. “And then in year four, the city becomes fully responsible for it, and I believe … we may have to guarantee that we keep those positions for a period of time.”
Davis estimated it would cost the city nearly $1 million to retain the 12 firefighters after grant funding ends, Sistrunk said.
Sistrunk acknowledged the help the grant would provide the department, but it is a long-term commitment, she said.
“It depends on whether the board thinks that’s the best use of those resources,” she said. “Given our current revenue streams, I think it would be very difficult for us to do that without having to increase revenues from somewhere.”
If awarded, the city would have 180 days to recruit the new firefighters. During the Friday work session, Mayor Lynn Spruill asked if recruiting the staff is feasible given ongoing staffing challenges.
“The hiring of the 12 is problematic in itself because we continue to have some turnover that kind of puts us in a deficit in terms of our current desired staffing level,” she said.
SFD is budgeted for 54 firefighters, Davis told The Dispatch, and is currently three short.
Davis said the department is working to improve its recruitment program, including looking at a higher pay scale.
“We’re actually trying to build the pay to where we can attract certified guys instead of people just off the street,” he said.
The station on West Garrard Road was built in 2010 using grant funds, but since then, it has only been partially staffed, if at all. Fire Station 5 ceased operations completely in 2022 due to a lack of personnel. The city applied for the same grant opportunity last year but was rejected.
Spruill said the city has explored alternative uses for the building during its closure, but none that deviate significantly from its original purpose. The building will remain a fire station, she said.
“We’ve talked about using it, and I also talked about maybe sharing it with the county in some kind of way for fire service, but other than that, no,” she said. “Nothing different than what it’s designed for.”
In other business Tuesday, the board:
■ reappointed Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins as vice mayor and Sistrunk as budget chair for the remainder of the board’s term;
■ approved appointing Cynthia Alderman, Nancy Ball, Emily Corban Camp, Melita Henderson and Vicki West Harrell to the municipal election commission;
■ appointed Dan Shipp and Emily Morris to the board of adjustment and appeals in Wards 3 and 7, respectively;
■ appointed Kelly Prather to the planning and zoning commission for Ward 3;
■ accepted a $14,700 quote from Pyro Shows for the July 4 fireworks celebration at Cornerstone Park that begins at 5 p.m. on Friday.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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