Morrill Fire Station / Comm Building

Morrill receives KAN STEP award for combination fire station - community center

The City of Morrill has been awarded a $399,665 KAN STEP grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce to construct a new combination fire station and community center. The City of Morrill is located in Brown County in northeast Kansas. The new building will be constructed on the south side of Roxanna Street.

Morrill's present fire station has limited space and is unable to house the city's fire equipment. Trucks are stored in various buildings throughout the community. That often slows the response time of the volunteer fire department. In addition to having an inadequate fire station, the city is without an adequate community meeting facility. The KAN STEP grant will pay for a new 9,044 square foot facility with an estimated retail cost of $765,046. This inludes volunteer labor worth $362,381, a land donation by the city in the amount of $3,000 and the KAN STEP grant of $399,665.

The overall dimensions of the Morrill Fire Station/Community Center are 90 feet x 120 feet. The section housing fire equipment will be 71 feet x 62 feet.

Dan Hall with BG Consultants, Manhattan, is the architect. Grant administration will be proivided by Donna Crawford of Governmental Assistance Services, Lawrence. The volunteer "sparkplugs" for the project are Charlie Gruber, Greg Duryea, John Rebant, Bob Baumgartner, Dan Gruber, Bob Herbster and Andrew Baumgartner. The Kansas Rural Water Association will provide inspection services and technical assistance to the volunteers.

KAN STEP is a self-help program that enables small communities to make major infrastructure improvements. Local people volunteer labor and services or "sweat equity," while the Kansas Department of Commerce provides funding for materials and technical services. An acronym for Kansas Small Towns Environment Program, KAN STEP gives small Kansas communities an opportunity to do projects they couldn't otherwise afford. The funding is provided through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.