Chisholm’s 106 year old firehall is packed with apparatus and the city’s mayor, Mike Jugovich, feels it is a major safety concern. Built in 1908, the building has outlived its usefulness but getting money to replace the aging structure for a new municipal building may be as difficult as fighting a fire in subzero temperatures. The firehall is located at the corner of busy Highway 73 and Lake Street, right in the downtown area. Because of its location, fire apparatus drivers have to be extremely careful leaving and backing into the firehall. The Chisholm Fire Department also has a station connected to the Balkan Township Garage, located just north of the city on Highway 73. This station houses the department’s water tenders.
Ideally, the city would like to construct a nearly three million dollar complex near the Chisholm water treatment plant in the northern part of the community. The 45,000 square foot facility would include a new firehall, city garage and space to park school buses. The existing firehall would be renovated to accommodate more space for the police department, which is currently located in the back of the building. Additional renovations would include elevators and other improvements to bring it up to code.
While Chisholm is in need of a new firehall, getting state bonding money will be extremely difficult. According to State Representative Carly Melin, the state has traditionally not bonded for municipal buildings for cities or townships. In addition, Governor Mark Dayton did not include the city’s request in his 2014 Capital Budget recommendations. In Hoyt Lakes, the fire, ambulance and police departments recently moved into a renovated building. The facility was funded through a number of sources including a $1.6 million city bond, $400,000 from the ambulance fund and $340,000 from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board(IRRRB). Most of the information for this story came from a recent edition of the Mesabi Daily News.