PHOTO: The Idaho Falls Fire Department will have a new fire station in the coming years after the City Council approved funding for a vacant lot. It’s a plan that’s been in the works for some time due to the city’s growing population.
The City Council unanimously approved funding for the land Thursday without using local property tax dollars, according to a fire department news release. A total of $10,000 was authorized by the council as earnest money towards the $900,000 property. $658,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was allocated, with an additional $252,000 coming from the auction and sale of the old fire station/fire prevention building on the corner of Holmes Avenue and 8th Street.
“When the opportunity arose to purchase the property with federal ARPA dollars combined with funds from the sale of an unneeded city property, we jumped on it,” said Mayor Rebecca Casper in a news release.