Growing pains in Canton have prompted town officials to pursue
federal funding.
CANTON – Wayne Dube hopes to get the Fire and Rescue Squads out of the flood zone.
Too often, heavy rains have either flooded the municipal building that houses the two emergency squads, or had the potential to cause problems.
On Saturday, a public hearing was held to get resident comments as part of the requirements for a application for a federal Community Development Block Grant.
About 20 people turned out. No one objected.
Dube is wrapping up data collection needed for the grant application that must be submitted by Friday.
“Our biggest reason for wanting a new station is to get out of the flood zone, but the town is growing and the station is sized for growth,” he said.
Canton’s population has grown from 951 in 1990 to 1,121 according to the 2000 census.
“The town is growing,” said Selectman Sue Gammon. “We can go forward or backward. We have good people working hard. Canton is the gateway to the River Valley.”
Selectman Tammy Richardson also offered her support of the fire department’s plan.
As proposed, a new station, at 80 feet by 52 feet, would be almost 5,000 square feet and include six bays. It would be a wood or metal building with vinyl siding.
It would have plenty of room for the ambulance, the four fire trucks, a boat and a brush fire truck, said Dube, along with a training room, men and women’s bathrooms and showers, a dispatch office, a second training room that could be used for an emergency shelter, a small kitchen, storage space and a place to wash firefighting clothing after a fire. Now, volunteers must take such clothing home with them to wash.
And the brush fire truck, boat and some of the fire fighting equipment are stored in the homes and garages of several volunteers. Whenever there is a fire or rescue squad meeting, trucks must be moved out of the current building to make room for chairs and people.
Dube hopes that the new station will serve as a command center and become recognized as a Red Cross shelter. Perhaps a helipad for a Lifeflight helicopter could be built at the site in the future, he added.
Dube is asking for $250,000. Community development grants also require a 20 percent match by the town. Dube said he believes much of the $50,000 town match could be made up of in-kind work, such as the cost for drawing up the plans, fill, labor and materials.
Letters asking for such donations were made available at Saturday’s hearing.
Dube is hopeful that the funds will come through. He said the community development block grant process generally focuses on one need each year, and this year’s money is for fire stations.
He said only one other town in the state, Mars Hill in Aroostook County, has applied for funding a fire station.
During the community development grant process four years ago, Canton received money to build a highway department garage.
The fire department has focused on a site near the highway garage about a half-mile south of the intersection of routes 140 and 108 for its new station.
Although federal money isn’t available this year to move the municipal offices, such funding may be come up in the future.
If the fire station is funded, the town may also look into applying for a grant that would extend the water and sewer lines approximately 800 feet to the new building.
The town will know in January whether the application has been accepted.
In the meantime, Dube is looking for four or five people to work with him on the station’s development. So far, rescue squad chief Dolene Goodrow and deputy fire warden and fire department lieutenant Jim Dyment have volunteered.
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