ST. CLAIRSVILLE — City leaders are considering whether to transfer ownership of the fire station at 142 S. Marietta St. to the Cumberland Trail Fire District.

District ownership of the decades-old building could mean access to more grant funding for upgrades, according to Cumberland Fire Chief Tim Hall. He spoke to council members during a Monday teleconference meeting, saying the firehouse was built in 1978 and that there had been intermittent discussion of transferring ownership to the district since 2015. He said the action was not pursued since 2017, when other matters occupied the city and district.

Hall said that as in many other aspects of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a change.

“This issue … did arise again due to some of the needs of the fire district and our personnel. COVID exploited some of the issues we had with our main physical facility that we had with our main firehouse,” Hall said. “One of those issues we had to address is the firehouse has only one shower in it for potentially six to eight employees. When COVID hit, we had to make a makeshift shower.”

Hall said the department continues to face obstacles in properly decontaminating all firefighters when they return to the station. In addition, Hall said the bunk room is of insufficient size for social distancing.

“We had to move our sleeping quarters out to our conference and physical fitness rooms,” he said.

He said the kitchen and restrooms are also inadequate. The district has been ineligible for low-interest loans or grants for remodeling the facility, since the district does not own the firehouse.

“We also applied for a State of Ohio Fire Marshal revolving loan in 2016, which could have netted $300,000 and was denied due to us not owning the building,” Hall said. “The fire district has maintained the main firehouse since 1989 when the fire district was formed, including all upgrades, utilities, water and sewer and electric. We’re wanting to do some additional upgrades of windows, and we’re in immediate need of a roof.”

Hall said if the district takes ownership, the first priorities will be a roof, shower facilities and a diesel exhaust capture system for vehicles in the bay.

He said the last estimate two years ago for a roof replacement came in at $25,000 to $30,000, with more expensive options for a metal roof.

He invited council members and the administration to tour the facility and see things fir themselves.

“We’re currently their landlord,” Safety and Service Director Jeremy Greenwood said. “We’re proposing to change it to them with no payment.”

Greenwood said the firehouse would revert back to the city without payment should the district vacate the property.

“At this point, we really don’t have anything to lose in the city,” Greenwood said.

“My feeling is anything we can do to help the fire department, I think we need to do it. And if this is a way to help, I’m all for it,” Councilman Mike Smith said.

Council held the first of three readings to establish the Belmont County Community Improvement Corp. as the agent of the sale. Law Director Elizabeth said the next step is to write out an agreement defining the transfer of property to the CIC and then to the fire district. Details about why the CIC needs to be involved were not immediately available.