White City Firehouse

White City will use KAN STEP for new Firehouse & Emergency Building

The City of White City will use volunteer labor from the community and $135,579 in KAN STEP funding from the Kansas Department of Commerce (Commerce) to build a new firehouse and emergency building.

Currently the City parks fire trucks and an ambulance in a 40' x 60' garage behind City Hall. The trucks are parked inches apart and must go out in a certain order to clear the doors. The City will construct a new 3,960-square-foot, four-bay fire barn/emergency building to house the equipment. The City also intends to purchase a new pumper truck to put in the building. The total cost of the project will be $222,648, which includes $87,069 in volunteer labor and a KAN STEP grant of $135,579.

The Sparkplug for the project will be Jerry Rodgers. The Grant Administer is Donna Crawford of Governmental Assistance Services; the Architect is Donnie Marrs of DMA Architects, Salina. The Kansas Rural Water Association provides the Inspection Services and Technical Assistance.

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.