By Jolene Farley
Beaver Creek Mayor Al Blank is confident a new fire hall will be built in Beaver Creek in the next year.
The town has been exploring the possibility of construction for a few years now, according to Blank.
The city had "a ballot when the whole thing started" to raise the mill rate to fund the project.
The increase provides about $15,000 per year in revenue for the project, and Blank said funds collected the last few years will amount to a sizable down payment.
A special committee, including three Beaver Creek firefighters, two City Council members and one Beaver Creek Township Board representative, has been formed to pursue the project.
Beaver Creek Township has expressed an interest in sharing a facility. If that happens, the new facility would use both the land under the Beaver Creek Township Hall and the current fire hall.
"We are trying to come up with a plan that would be agreeable and still affordable," said Blank. "Nobody denies we need a fire hall; it is just how to go about doing it."
The fire department and city of Beaver Creek want to consolidate as much storage as possible into a strictly utilitarian building, according to Blank.
At one time an architect was retained by the Beaver Creek Fire Department, but plans were so elaborate and the price so "out of hand" they were discarded.
The current fire hall was a used building when the fire department moved into it more than 20 years ago.