The Hancock Fire Department postponed its additions and renovations plan to 2027 because of time constraints and a change in the floor plan.
The department planned to present its progress at the 2026 Town Meeting in March and begin construction later this year. However, according to Fire Chief Tom Bates, timing was an issue. “The time frame with how warrant articles are decided wasn’t working out. We just ran out of time,” he said, noting the department was still working with the construction manager and its architects to finalize plans. Bates said additional changes are needed.
Second Assistant Fire Chief Paul Towers said the department was hoping to have the project’s funding ready this year, but did not have enough information about a $600,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture rural development grant for the renovations to move forward.
“We submitted an application about getting information for validating the grant, but have yet to get a response,” he said. “The department first needs to meet with the USDA to talk about how the grant will be administered.”
Towers is unsure about what conditions must be met to use the grant. “Without a letter from the USDA setting the conditions for the grant, we can’t provide a price or plan.” He said sub-contractors bid on the project based on the letter’s conditions, and to get hard bids, there needs to be a concrete price outlined in the conditions.
Towers said the project is estimated to cost $1.1 million.
“Because the original estimate was $800,000, the fire department requested an $800,000 grant. However, the grant we were offered will cover 75% of the total project cost up to $600,000,” he said.
He added that the department has to match up to 20% of the total project cost through private donations and taxation. Towers said they have more than $50,000 from private donations, all of which goes to the Hancock Fire Department Association, a non-profit organization. Last year, the town created the Fire Station Addition and Renovation Capital Reserve Fund and put $75,000 into it, he said.
Warrant Article 20 proposes adding another $75,000 to the fund. If the article passes at the March Town Meeting, the reserve fund will have $150,000.
“If we get the additional $75,000 added to the fund, we’ll have $200,000 between town contributions and donations to allocate to the project,” Towers noted. That amount would cover about 18% of the USDA grant match if the project’s final cost is $1.1 million.
Whatever amount the grant doesn’t cover, Towers said the town will have to make up the difference through private donations and taxes. Despite the estimate, the final amount is still unknown.
Another obstacle the project faces is a major change in the floor plan, according to Towers. “Instead of building two separate additions, we’re going with one major addition,” he said. “It will be a metal prefabricated addition to the building’s west wall. The original plan called for two additions, one on the west and the other on the south wall.”
Towers said that adding a single addition rather than two would be cheaper and faster.
The department expects to present final plans at the 2027 Town Meeting.