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Additional money still needed for upgrades or new station in Columbus
Columbus Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) Chief Richard LaCourse announced the receiving of a $1 million grant that will be utilized to upgrade the current fire station or construct a new one, Monday, July 28, during the Columbus City Council meeting.
Texas Legislators in the most recent session allocated around $630 million in additional funding for the Texas A&M Forest Service. The funding included $192,291,000 for volunteer fire department grants, including this grant which CVFD originally applied to in the previous session two years ago. Limited to one year starting Sept. 1, CVFD’s grant works on reimbursement, requiring the funds to be first spent. However, the grant’s funds will not be enough to fully finance a project. La-Course said that he and a planning board are investigating the cost and feasibility of upgrades to their current station or the construction of a new station.
“It all depends on additional funding in the future. If we get additional funding from other sources, it may be in a new location,” LaCourse said. “With the funding we have now in place, for sure our station.”
The planning board includes LaCourse, First Assistant Fire Chief Sidney Chollett, Second Assistant Fire Chief Josh Chollett, City Manager Donald Warschak, former fire chief Dusty Dittmar, Bruce Tesch – a retired firefighter and Columbus Community Industrial Development Corporation (CCIDC) president, Fire Captain Anna Schultz and Kyle Burris – a firefighter and in the construction industry. LaCourse reported that the board has met several times and is speaking with two architects to understand the total cost of the project.
“This is a one-off thing. We are not going to get any more money from … that grant. We’re going to have to get [the remaining funds] from other sources to complete this project,” LaCourse said. “…This is going to have to be a core project because this is a very large project even for us.”
CVFD’s project will not be able to rely on county assistance as Texas counties are not obligated to provide fire services. According to Mayor Lori An Gobert, Colorado County has already expressed strong reluctance to assist fire services, citing the obligation. Gobert said that the city and other departments plan on contributing but had no estimation for the amount.
“We plan on contributing to it, but until the fire department comes up with a plan and we know exactly what their plan is, we don’t really know what it’s going to be,” Gobert said. “… There’s some variables in it because they haven’t decided if they’re going to try and move or if they’re going to stay where they are and rehab it.”
A new home
LaCourse estimated the construction of a new fire station to be between $3.5-4 million. A new location would ideally be within the triangle of Fannin Street, Walnut Street and Milam Street. He explained that a new location would likely result in the demolition of the current station due to the cost of renovation but that the final decision would be up to the city.
“We are looking at different properties, talking with different owners,” LaCourse said. “It’s hard to find a place for a reasonable price, and we want to be in a good place for the city too.”
His estimation is based off of two fire stations under construction in the county in Garwood and Frelsburg. The Garwood station will be a simple building and lies in the county’s jurisdiction, which does not face stricter regulations from municipal ordinances. La-Course said its construction would be just under $1 million, not including the cost of the land. The Frelsburg fire station costs around $1.7 million but will be constructed on already owned land.
Home makeover
For renovating the current fire station built in 1931, LaCourse reported that a feasibility study in December 2021 estimated a cost of $2.4 million. In May 2024, the fire station received a $25,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority to install a fire sprinkler system. However, the department had to provide $16,950 in matching funds. LaCourse said the main issue with renovation is the 18-inchthick concrete structure of the building.
“Unfortunately, the 1931 version of our station was built like a bomb shelter. Which you would think, ‘Oh, that would be good,’ but in our case, it’s bad because the walls are poured in place concrete,” LaCourse said. “That means that the roof, the walls, the center walls, the flooring are all one piece of concrete.”
He said that any modifications would require a jackhammer and saws to make changes to the walls. LaCourse also listed the lack of parking and the tight maneuverability for the fire trucks as other restrictions for the current station. Overall, LaCourse said he wished they had the opportunity to plan more before receiving the grant.
“We are uncertain on what we are going to do. We are just basically in the beginning stages of this and the grant we got,” LaCourse said. “…We’re going to have to take action
