STATE CENTER — A year ago, 439 State Center residents cast ballots in favor of bonding for a $1.5 million addition to the existing fire/EMS building, with 284 votes against it. The bond issue passed with 61 percent of the vote. In November 2023, that same measure had fallen short of the 60 percent supermajority by less than 10 votes. But now, according to State Center Police Chief Jon Thomas, there’s no time like the present.

“For the folks who disagree with the price tag, or the space that they’re allocating, (saying) we should do something smaller, well, if we do something smaller, if we went back and we drew it again another seven or eight months down the road, it would cost us the same amount of money for less space,” he said. “We are essentially, no matter what we do, are going to spend $1.9 million.”

These funds will go to construct a new apparatus bay and remodel the existing fire and EMS building, a department run by a team of volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. The updates will fit into the historical downtown look of State Center.

To make up the difference between the projected cost and amount of funding that was approved by voters, a Capital Fundraising Campaign was organized on Oct. 21 during a regular council meeting, by Mayor Craig Pfantz.

The committee is made up of Craig Pfantz, Fire Chief Brad Pfantz, Lieutenant Jeffrey Henze, firefighter Keith Christianson, Police Chief Jon Thomas, city representative Mike Kielly and city councilman Howard Darrow.

After one week of fundraising, donors have committed $185,500, with the goal of bringing in $500,000 by the end of the year.

“Just from a fundraising standpoint, the goal was to be intentful with who we’re seeking donations from and we do not want to move into the construction phase until all the money is raised,” Thomas said. “The fire department has been a 10-, maybe even a 15-year project, and has had many drawings and revisions and price tags and things like that, and it doesn’t get less expensive to build space.”

The fire/EMS building was constructed in 1978 and is 3,600-square feet, roughly 60 by 60 feet in size. After renovations, the building will be just under 10,000-square feet.

“We’ve completely outgrown the space and added a lot of services,” Fire Chief Brad Pfantz said. “When the building was built in the 70s, they basically responded to fires, and that was it. Now it’s fires, accidents, hazardous materials. We’ve added EMS, which is about 70 to 75% of our annual call volume. We call them smells and bells, carbon monoxide alarms, you name it.”

He said inventory and supplies are housed in six buildings in town.

“Our goal is to get everything under one roof,” he said. “It’s not an efficient way to run emergency services — have things scattered throughout town when we need to access them. Every apparatus will now have its own bay, where right now we only have three bays, so three trucks are double stacked, so oftentimes we have to remove the front row to get the back row of trucks out, which delays response.”

While State Center has a population of 1,400, its fire/EMS services reach even farther. State Center Fire & EMS provides protection to 84 square miles of western Marshall County. It is the largest fire department in the western part of the county. Thomas noted that the rate of EMT-assisted calls is significantly higher than it’s been in the last 50 years.

“With other communities becoming smaller and State Center growing, our State Center Fire Department provides a lot of support to other fire departments in western Marshall County,” he said.

To thank those who contribute to the project, donation tiers have been established, and donors who contribute $5,000 or more will be recognized on a permanent plaque inside the facility to memorialize the contributions that made the project possible.

The donor tiers are as follows:

Chief – $50,000

Captain – $25,000

Lieutenant – $10,000

FF / EMT – $5,000

Cadet – $250

Donors contributing $250 or more will receive a personalized brick paver, which will be incorporated into the fire department’s exterior finishing.

Those wishing to donate or seeking more information may contact any member of the committee or call the State Center City Hall at 641-483-2559 and request to be contacted. Checks may be made out to: State Center Area Foundation, PO Box 668, State Center. It is a 501(c)(3) so donations are tax deductible.

Bid letting would occur in December or January, with groundbreaking projected to take place in March or April 2026.