City to put bond issue on Nov. 5 ballot

FORT MADISON – A measure will be put on the ballot this November to allow the City of Fort Madison to borrow up to $12 million to build a new fire department.
A group of firefighters joined Fort Madison Fire Chief Joe Herron in making a presentation in front of the Fort Madison City Council as a precursor to multiple presentations around the community scheduled prior to the election.
The building is planned to go in where the current public works buildings are located in the 2000 block of Avenue L. The building is designed at approximately 26,000 square foot with living spaces, training spaces, decontamination spaces, public entry space with restrooms, a workout area, 12 bays, a hose drying tower, bunker gear cleaning and drying spaces, and a messine for additional storage space.
Herron said the city is a couple years out on construction, but to apply for grants to help build the facility, the city would have to have permission from the voters to show the ways and means to cover whatever isn’t ultimately covered by grants for the work.
“We’re asking for the citizens to give us permission to move forward with it, and to start the grant process and gather up as much money as we can to get this paid for while not applying it to the mill levy for the citizens,” Herron said.
The current fire station was built in 1959 and is the city’s only firehouse at the current time.
Firefighters John Lange said the expansion of fire services to the community requires additional staff and equipment. The department has gone from basic fire suppression, to full hazard control, EMS, vehicle extraction, education, and community training.
He said health and safety of firefighters is also a key priority. Firefighters Justin Cain said firefighters are 100% more likely to get certain cancers and are at a much higher rate than the general public in most cancers.
Cain said the firefighters are subjected to highly toxic environments in house fires and there’s little they can do to mitigate that in general terms, but he said they are also subjected to other toxins in gear which gets contaminated on scenes, but also in diesel exhaust at the station.
The new facility would provide state of the art decontamination. Currently the gear is washed and just hung back in rooms where it can collect exhaust fumes while they are hanging.
The firefighters spend 30% of their lives in the station and are exposed to toxins a good portion of the time. The decontamination areas would be fully vented and separated from regular firefighter routines.
Although the language would allow the city to borrow up to $12 million, they would only borrow what, if anything, was needed to finish the project. Herron said the city is already working with Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission to investigate state and federal grants.
The impact of a $12 million bond in the current levy environment would impact a property owner with a $100,000 home about $9.57 per month or about $115 a year. A $200,000 home would be impacted about $243 annually.
The current rollback by the state on assessed valuations is 46.3%.
Herron said community open houses have been scheduled for the public at the current firehouse at 2335 Avenue L on June 12 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Aug. 24 from noon to 4 p.m., and Oct. 17 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
There is also a Coffee with a Firefighters at Swed & Co on Oct. 26th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Early voting on the proposal starts Oct. 16. Absentee ballots can be requested prior to Oct. 16. Completed ballots must be received by the auditor by Nov. 5.