HALLOWELL — A consultant has recommended investing in a new station and equipment for the Fire Department and improving efforts at fire prevention and recruiting firefighters.

For months, city officials have discussed the best way for Hallowell to provide fire services. City councilors and residents voiced support for Hallowell running its own fire or public safety department, rejecting other options presented by consultant Neil Courtney in December, such as contracting with the Augusta Fire Department.

Courtney’s new report lays out a strategic plan for improving the Fire Department or a possible public safety department, which would also include police.

“The city of Hallowell should embark upon a long-term program that commits to the enhancement of fire protection services,” Courtney wrote. “The need for a new fire station is paramount in that effort, as the current facility is an impediment to any attempt at forward progress.”

City Manager Michael Starn said councilors were looking for guidance on matters beyond moving the department to an updated building, and he believes the report provides it.

“This was more about improving our fire service delivery, and providing adequate facilities and equipment to do that,” Starn said. “Neil seems to say in that report that those things need to happen in tandem.”

Fire Chief Mike Grant said carrying out the recommendations will be costly, and some might not be possible.

But he thinks it’s a good start.

“Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the report,” Grant said. “I think we’re finally making some progress.”

Courtney notes that a new fire station probably is several years off.

Hallowell pays about $350,000 annually in debt service, but that will drop below $100,000 in five years as borrowing costs are paid off for Waterfront Park and paving and stormwater work, Starn said.

“That would be a time when, in my view as a chief administrator, that we would have the opportunity to take on a new debt of the size of a new fire station or public safety building,” Starn said.

Hallowell Fire Department should maintain a two-engine response company and should replace its 1987 pumper by 2017, coinciding with the opening of a new fire station, Courtney said. Otherwise, the options would be limited to pumpers that can fit through the small bay doors of the Second Street fire station.

Hallowell also should start conducting fire prevention inspections, Courtney said.

Grant agreed and said regional cooperation is probably needed because Hallowell has only on-call, volunteer firefighters, and the city’s part-time code enforcement officer can’t accommodate inspections during her working hours.

Courtney also recommended putting new resources, through grant funding or the city budget, into recruiting and training firefighters.

Other communities provide volunteer firefighters with medical benefits or pay them for lost wages in addition to pay they already receive for responding to calls. When hiring for other jobs, such as public works, Hallowell also could provide a preference for applicants willing to serve as firefighters, Courtney said.

“We really need to stay focused on bringing in new people and providing incentives or whatever needs to be done in order to do that,” Starn said. “That’s really the heart and soul of your fire service; more than a building, it’s the people providing the service.”

Hallowell has 14 firefighters, a number that has remained steady for about 15 years. The small force is why the mutual aid agreements that have been established with other communities are so important, Grant said.

City councilors will likely discuss the report at their next meeting on Monday, June 11.

Mayor Charlotte Warren plans to appoint a committee to review the report and develop an implementation plan. The panel would include Grant, Starn, two city councilors and three members of the public.

Starn said it will take time to put the strategic plan into action, but city officials plan to be vigilant and not let the report sit on a shelf.

Grant agreed that it’s important to stay motivated.

“There’s a lot of work ahead,” he said, “and it’s going to take some innovation and some working with our neighbors and probably a little bit more money from the council to make some of this happen.”

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

smcmillan@mainetoday.com