The proposed location of a new Cleon Township fire station is located on Imhoff Drive in Copemish.

This story was updated on Sept. 2, 2022 to reflect the accurate time period of when the American Rescue Plan Act funding was approved for Cleon Township's fire and township hall building project. 

CLEON TWP. — The Cleon Township Fire Department is another step closer to obtaining a new fire station and township hall. 

Mark Griner, Cleon Township fire chief, said the project was approved for American Rescue Plan Act funding last month toward the creation of a new fire station and township hall building. 

“Basically five of the seven commissioners approved $150,000 of Manistee County ARPA funds to support the Cleon Township Fire Station,” Griner said. “I understand the two commissioners that did not support the motion, they had valid reasons.”

Griner said one of the no votes was from county commissioner Eric Gustad who objected because of the process of deciding ARPA funds while the other vote of opposition came from commissioner Margaret Batzer who was concerned about ARPA funding requests for workforce-related child care services. 

“Both of those are valid concerns and I understand,” Griner said. 

The county was awarded $4.77 million through ARPA. 

Eligible applicants included 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, school districts, units of government and other tax-exempt organizations that serve Manistee County residents.

The plan is to have one building divided into different areas for the township hall operations, secure voting equipment storage, fire station and other specified rooms. 

The new structure will have a garage portion to allow for about seven emergency vehicles. Part of the facility will also have a fire department locker room, shower rooms and fire station office. 

Griner noted that having a facility that has dedicated spaces toward fire department activities is also important for recruiting new volunteer firefighters at a time when departments are struggling to have enough people to be able to respond to emergencies. 

He said there has only been one time in the last 12 years  he has been with the department when there was a structure fire that wasn’t a total loss because the department needs to wait until enough firefighters arrive on scene to safety begin response efforts. 

The fire department covers Cleon and Springdale townships.

Prior to the primary election, Griner had noted that the current fire hall is “not structurally sound.”

It also needs a new roof, siding, windows, doors and insulation, he had said. 

Voters approved the Cleon Township Fire Department bond for the new fire hall and township hall on Aug. 2. The 0.8820-mills bond is expected to raise approximately $650,000 over a 30-year period.

Griner also said the Cleon Township Board approved a measure to allow the architect contractor to finish the plans for the new building. 

He said the department is currently in the pre-application stages of seeking a $650,000 rural development loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. 

So far, the department is banking on $100,000 from the fire department’s reserve funding, $200,000 from the Cleon Township general fund reserves and $150,000 from the county’s ARPA allocation. 

Griner’s hope is that the department would be granted the $650,000 rural development loan and that the bond will be used to pay off the loan. 

The project is estimated to cost about $1.1 million. 

The department had a visit from an archeologist on Tuesday who sampled the proposed site of the new hall on Imoff Drive in Copemish. 

Griner said he was grateful to the commissioners, Cleon Township’s voters who supported the measures and others who have helped with the project so far. 

He said the construction process is expected to take about nine months. 

I mainly grew up in Gladwin, but have moved around living in other states and even in Japan for a time. I attended Mid Michigan Community College and Central Michigan University where I studied journalism, cultural anthropology and Japanese language and culture. I have won a list of Michigan Press Association awards in categories like investigative enterprise reporting, as well as other journalistic awards such as the Inland Press Association Newsroom Contest award for my contextual coverage of Great Lakes drownings, and was a top-20 winner of the Hearst Radio Competition's collegiate category.  Prior to the News Advocate, I was the editor in chief and a reporter for the Gaylord Herald Times, a reporter for CMU Public Radio, a reporter for CM-Life newspaper and the Laker Current.