SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The City of Sullivan was awarded a Public Facilities CDBG grant of $500,000 by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) on Thursday, Feb. 23.

This funding will support the construction of a brand new five-bay fire station to replace the city’s current aging facility. The new station will be located at 801 North Broad Street.

“This is yet another exciting win and milestone for the City of Sullivan,” said Mayor Clint Lamb in a press release. He added, “Public safety is a priority. Our ‘Sullivan Safe’ program is dedicated to ensuring that we have infrastructure, processes, and resources in place for citizens’ safety. With the recent movement of the Sullivan City Police Department, this new fire station is an important step in helping us continue this mission. We thank the Lt. Governor and OCRA for supporting this effort.”

Sullivan Fire Chief Rob Robertson said that the department is looking forward to getting a new building.

“As we encourage folks in our community to be the best they can be and make their properties as nice as they can be, we have to lead by example. Whether it’s a municipal facility, whether it’s a civic center. Whether it’s a city pool, police department, and now a brand-new fire station,” Robertson explained.

Robertson also noted that the new station will give them a lot more room for equipment and will allow them to house their trucks all in one place.

The current fire station is housed in an old IGA grocery store. Both City Hall and the Fire Department have utilized the facility for decades, however, the building no longer fits their needs.

“Right now we’ve got one truck in another building right now so we have to go get it when we need it, so it’s going to help out quite a bit,” Robertson said.