Community leaders break ground on new Chili fire hall/community center
By Valorie Brecht “Very surreal and emotional.”
That was how Lt. Alex Lendved, service director for the Chili-Fremont Fire and Rescue, described the ground breaking ceremony for the new fire hall/community center building.
On Monday, a group of more than 75 community members, area firefighters, local dignitaries and economic development representatives gathered about a half-mile north of Chili on a plot of land on the east side of Highway Y to celebrate a dream that was finally about to become a reality.
“I can’t believe it’s actually happening,” echoed Lendved’s sister, Lt. Erin Martin, who also serves on the fire department and is club president. Lendved and Martin’s father, Simon Fischer, serves as fire chief and their mother, Theresa, is the clerk for the Town of Fremont, making this project truly a family endeavor.
The ground breaking ceremony marked the fulfillment of a project 25 years in the making. In 1999, the fire department contacted Russell Ratsch of Ratsch Engineering and Brubaker & Associates did an evaluation. They had a rough plan drawn up for a new fire hall. The project didn’t go any further at that time, though.
“At that time, it was something honestly none of us thought would ever happen in our lifetime, but hey, let’s get the ball rolling for the next generation and maybe they’ll put it in,” said Martin.
Fast forward to 2013, and the department found out the township would be eligible for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The fire department hired the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission to write the grant, but didn’t receive it. A few months later, however, they received a phone call and were told they were still eligible.
“Alex and I had helped write the first grant, so we were like, ‘Game on. We can do this. How hard can it be, right?’” said Martin. “Well, we found out that even in those short few months things changed. But you know what? We did it.”
The town was awarded a $364,000 grant and it was a 50-50 match (meaning the town would have to pay 50%). However, after a lot of discussion and meetings, the town didn’t accept the grant.
Although disappointed, Martin and Lendved were not ready to let the idea die. They knew they were in desperate need of more space in the current fire hall, with less than half the space they should have for their vehicles. The town garage is out of room, with equipment parked outside, and the town hall building is “literally falling apart,” said Martin. There is also a lack of space for the firefighters’ equipment in the current fire hall, and the trucks have to be taken out one at a time in a certain order, slowing down response time, in addition to other issues.
Martin and Lendved started looking at other grant opportunities last year and decided to check and see if they were still eligible for the CDBG. The fire department was again eligible and this time, the state was offering a twothirds match for up to $1 million. The town board gave the fire department permission to pursue the grant and hired Martin to write the grant.
“So at first we thought, OK, we’ve done this before; we can do it again. No big deal,” said Martin.
Little did she know how much the grant writing process had changed in those 10 years, and as with any government
Please see Chili fire hall, page 19
Members of the Chili-Fremont Fire and Rescue shovel the first few scoops of dirt at a ground breaking ceremony for a new fire station and community center being built about a half-mile north of Chili. Lt. Erin Martin (center, red helmet) took the lead in writing the grant for this project, with the Town of Fremont being awarded a $1 million Community Development Block Grant.
VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO
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process, it was anything but simple.
“It was a lot more than the last few times. After numerous meetings, emails, phone calls and research and driving everyone around me nuts talking about the project, we were able to apply,” she said.
The family even had to travel to Madison at one point to sign one page they had missed a signature on. They started traveling back, only to get to Wisconsin Dells and find out there was one other signature missing. So, they turned around and went back.
In the end, the fire department submitted a 76-page application, in addition to a 54-page environmental review and engineering specifications. Then, it was the waiting game.
“Those were the longest two months of our lives,” said Martin.
But, they finally heard back and the answer was — success. The town was awarded the full $1 million. In August, Town of Fremont residents voted 129-13 to construct a new fire hall/community center. The total project cost is $1,571,896. However, the town of Fremont will only have to pay $421,896, the grant covers $1 million and an additional $150,000 is being covered through private donations.
“We got a 5.5-percent interest rate on a 20-year loan to build the building,” said Lt. Erin Martin of the Chili-Fremont Fire Department. “That will mean the town will have an annual payment of $50,442.17 if we don’t take into account the private donations. With that, the payment will be lower.”
The new building will be 104 feet by 82 feet. It will have plenty of room for the current fire trucks, with room for growth as well. There will be a personnel area, decontamination area, storage space, proper ventilation, a gear washer, showers, training area, office and emergency operations center, as well as a retention pond with a draw hydrant pond side and an equipment bay. The firefighters will be able to clean up inside after attending an emergency scene instead of having to come home in dirty gear. They will also be able to fill a tanker truck inside the warm building instead of having to drive it outside every time.
The community center portion of the building will have a kitchen and gathering space. It will also have infrastructure to allow Mid-State Technical College come in and do trainings for volunteers.
“I didn’t know if it would ever happen in our lifetimes, but it did,” said Fischer.
He thanked many individuals who had helped make this possible, including the town board, Department of Administration, Henry Berry from Ratsch Engineering, grant administrator Craig Johnson, his family, the landowner who had agreed to sell the land at a substantially reduced price, and one other special thank you.
“Most important is the town and community. We owe it to the community to give the best support we can. They supported us and provided us the chance to build this facility, so now it’s up to us to make sure we have the education, training and commitment to provide quality service. We owe it to these people,” said Fischer.
Several local dignitaries also spoke, with a couple of common refrains – the importance of resilience and persistence in fighting for this project, and the commitment of a family to their community.
“How awesome it is to have a family legacy that you fought for. I cannot commend you enough for fighting for public safety and the best for your community. Completely cherish that,” said State Senator Jesse James of the 23rd Senate District. “It takes the community coming together to make this happen, and you knocked it out of the park. Congratulations.”
State Rep. Donna Rozar of the 69th District noted how there were several communities represented at the event, including fire and rescue members from Marshfield, Granton, Spencer and Neillsville, as well as the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
“I love events like this because it shows the strength of this area and the larger central Wisconsin community. Local government is where it’s at because it’s the level where you can really create lasting change. You should all be commended for your resilience and perseverance,” she said.
State Rep. Karen Hurd of the 68th District echoed Rozar’s sentiments.
“Writing a grant is no easy task. It takes a lot of hard work. But it was the persistence of tenacity of particular individuals and your entire community that got you to where you are today,” she said.
Simmons Construction, a general contractor out of La Crosse County, will complete the project.
Chili-Fremont Fire and Rescue members receive a celebratory check for $1 million signed by Gov. Tony Evers. Shown are (l-r) Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, Chief Simon Fischer of the fire department, Town of Fremont clerk Theresa Fischer, Lt. Erin Martin of the fire department, Town of Fremont chairperson Pat Ule, Lt. Alex Lendved of the fire department and Cara Connors, legislative advisor to Blumenfeld.
VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTOS
Different groups of stakeholders who helped with or supported the project got to take a ground breaking picture with the project leaders. Shown above (l-r) are Clark County Supervisor Brandon Hasz, Lendved, Theresa Fischer, Riley Hebert of the Clark County Economic Development Corporation, Martin, Ule, Town of Fremont supervisors Curt Johansson and Allen Mayer, and Simon Fischer.
Shown above are Simon Fischer; Theresa Fischer; Lendved; Blumenfeld; Martin; Ule; Scott Allen, executive director of the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (WCWRPC); Gary Simmons of Simmons Construction; and Henry Berry of Ratsch Engineering. Shown below are (l-r) Craig Johnson, grant administrator from the WCWRPC; State Rep. Karen Hurd; State Rep. Donna Rozar; Blumenfeld; Martin; Ule; State Sen. Jesse James; Chris Severson, vice president of academics for Mid-State Technical College; and Simon Fischer.
