O'Fallon fire district has H-O-P-E

Maybe the old saying should be changed to "the fourth time's the charm."

Since 2005, voters had rejected three previous requests by the O'Fallon Fire Protection District for additional funding. But the April 5 election was a different story, as voters authorized $10.9 million in general obligation bonds that will be used to buy new equipment, update Station 1 in O'Fallon and perhaps build a new fire station near St. Paul.

"I really offer a big thanks to the residents and customers for supporting us," Chief Mike Ballmann said. "We put together a straightforward capital improvement plan and it was the one thing that helped seal it more than any one thing."

A $14.2 million bond issue failed in 2010, but this time the revamped Proposition H-O-P-E garnered 62.5 percent, exceeding the four-sevenths' majority (57.1 percent) needed for passage. The vote was 5,818 to 3,480.

"I went home and told my wife this is what it must feel like to win the lottery," Ballmann said. "The one thing about firefighters is they take a tremendous amount of pride in their apparatus. We'll be upgrading to more modern equipment. They really enjoy working on projects like that."

District spokesman Scott Avery said officials had decided to reduce this year's proposal by scale back the district's building plans, even though the number of residents served by the district has increased by 34,000 since 1999.

Passage of the bond issue means property owners in the district will see their tax bills increase by an estimated 7 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The owner of a $200,000 home, for example, would pay an additional $26 per year in property taxes; the owner of a $300,000 home would pay an additional $39 per year.

Ballmann said it's a matter of time before the district builds a new station north of Interstate 70, but renovating Station 1 has become the higher priority.

"Our office space is split in two; a large part of the administration side is on the other side of the station," Ballmann said. "The sewer system is 50 years old and it's starting to fail. We want to remodel the station to make it more workable."

Ballmann said the bond issue will allow the district to retire debts on a ladder truck and lease/purchase agreements for stations 4 and 5.

The bond money will go for mostly larger capital improvements: equipment, Hurst tools, fire stations, trucks, hydraulic tools and turnout gear. The purchase of a new pumper truck could cost the district as much as $500,000. But that does come with a hose.