Fillmore clears way for fire station grant

With the Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department desperately needing a new fire station, the Town of Fillmore cleared another hurdle on its way to federal grant funding Thursday night.

As the sponsor entity on the fire department's grant application, the Fillmore Town Council passed an updated fair housing ordinance at the January meeting.

The ordinance is federally mandated for any government entity seeking a Community Development Bock Grant (CDBG).

Fillmore originally passed the ordinance in November 2012, prior to last year's stormwater grant that installed new storm sewers and repaved a portion of main street.

With the fire department seeking a much larger station, a version of the ordinance with slightly different wording had to be approved.

Council members also learned there will be a grant meeting with Jill Curry of the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs at 11 a.m. on March 3 at the fire station.

The site visit will allow Curry and IOCRA to learn more about the current station as grant applications are reviewed.

Few other items were discussed at the short meeting.

Council officers will remain the same in 2014, with Alan Jones as president and Tami Van Rensselaer as secretary.

Clerk-treasurer Wanda Seidler reported that the 2014 budget was approved as submitted to the state.