The funds for building a new fire station would come from our own fire department.

Nitpicking, perhaps, but it is not "our" fire department. The OPVFD is an independent corporation. OPA contracts with the independent OPVFD to provide fire protection as required by the DRs.

The funds available to the fire department for a new building are essentially there because the payments from OPA to the fire department have exceeded the amounts required by the contract and allowed the fire department to build a substantial reserve. At one point the fire department was said to have larger reserves than OPA.

The above is provided as factual information only. If anyone has information indicating the facts as I presented them are not accurate, please let us know.