In another big step toward the new fire hall addition in Hancock, the city council members approved the final plans at their meeting on March 14. The meeting was postponed one day due to the boys basketball game being changed to the same night as the scheduled meeting.
City Clerk Jodi Bedel gave an update on a few of the latest changes in the plan and explained a few new features. The fire department training room will be equipped with a smart board for training purposes. There will be tables and chairs that can easily fold up to make room for training that takes more space. The room will be carpeted for on the floor training.
Bedel said the doors will utilize key fobs for entry. That way if someone is renting the Community Center portion of the building, they will not be able to access the fire department side.
On the exterior, the goal is to make it a city complex so the color and finishings will all be designed to match the current water plant. The once yellow Community Center and Fire Hall might be blue to match the water tower, although the color is still being debated.
The addition remodel will consist of reconstructing the existing women’s and men’s bathroom into a women’s bathroom, adding a new men’s bathroom, adding 2 ports for fire truck parking, adding a hose tower for drying hoses, adding a training room, fire chief office, single bathroom, revising utility room, and adding an accordion door to provide more possible space for community room rental.
With the approval of the plan the council released a picture for the public. Bids will now go out for the construction.
The council also approved submitting an insurance claim for a fence owned by a property owner that was hit and damaged by a piece of city owned equipment. The city will pay the difference and deductible from what insurance covers.
Clerk Bedel stated that the deadline for applications for the maintenance director position has passed and they will now be conducting interviews. She also explained the front desk manager part of the new gWorks billing system and that the new city website has gone live. The website is cityofhancockmn.com.
