Mayer Fire Department receives $62,320 grant

By Ivan Raconteur
Staff Writer

Diligence in applying for grants has paid off for the Mayer Fire Department in a big way.

Mayer Fire Chief Rod Maetzold told the city council Monday that the department has been awarded a $62,320 assistance to firefighters grant from the US department of homeland security.

The grant will be used to purchase new turnout gear (protective clothing) for firefighters, and a thermal imaging camera.

The total cost of the equipment will be $65,600. Terms of the grant stipulate that the department must pay $3,280 toward the cost, and the grant will pay the remaining $62,320, according to City Clerk Lois Maetzold.

She added that fire departments are eligible to apply for the grants each year, and this is the second time Mayer has been awarded a grant.

In other fire department business, the council approved appointment of officers, including Chief Rod Maetzold (one year term), Assistant Chief Bob Carlson, Captain Mike Taylor, and Captain/Training Officer Adam Maetzold (two year terms).

Odds and ends

In other business, the council:

• approved annexation of 31-acre parcel owned by Wilford and Sophie Hasse. The property, located on the east side of the city, south of the Fieldstone development, will be the site of a residential project proposed by Trumpy Land Development.

• approved installation of two temporary signs along Highway 25 advertising a proposed commercial area near the intersection of Highway 25 and Highway 7.

• requested a concept plan for a possible 24-unit senior housing development on community center property.

• presented a certificate to Gerry McMillan for his years of service on the park and recreation commission.

• tabled discussion about a proposed concession stand for Old Schoolhouse Park. Bids for the project came in much higher than estimates, according to Maetzold.

• approved a recommendation from the park commission to use the name “Discovery Park” for a park in the Fieldstone development. The name was chosen to coincide with Discovery Trail, which runs through the development, Maetzold said.