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Frankenmuth News

Serving Frankenmuth since 1906

Volume 121 ~ No. 05

August 5, 2026

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City and Township voters approve fire station millage; library approved as well

  Voter turnout for Frankenmuth City and Township was quite high for the 2026 General Primary Election held Tuesday, August 4.

  And, the Frankenmuth Fire Department and Wickson District Library received the necessary yes votes that FFD Fire Chief Phil Kerns and Library Director Michelle Duclos were seeking.

  The fire department question was finally answered by the Frankenmuth Township voters as firefighters have been contemplating building a new, larger, safer, and efficient station for many years. This winter, it was decided to pursue the measure.

  On Tuesday, township residents turned in 493 yes votes to 281 no votes, or a 63.7 percent to 36.6 percent margin of victory.

  “The members of the FFD are pleased to receive the township voters vote of confidence last evening. It is a true pleasure to serve the Frankenmuth community in this capacity,” Kerns said.

  The new station will cost the city and township taxpayers approximately $10 million, with the split 75-percent city and 25-percent township. Kerns had time to reflect on his department’s status following an alarm last week, as the FFD has answered nearly 140 calls for service in 2026 through seven months of this year.

  Just last week, as we were at a late-night incident that could have been serious, but thankfully it was not, I looked around at our firefighters on the scene and thought how blessed we are to have such caring firefighters who selflessly perform anything from the unimaginable to rather mundane tasks at anytime of the day or night . . . a vigilant force!” Kerns explained. “I’m just glad that we can be there to help victims out at some very bad times and am able to be enveloped by the best emergency responders anyone could hope for.”

  The current fire station is nearly 75 years old. As the number of responding apparatus has grown, as well as the size of the engines and aerial, space constraints have become a problem. Also, backing into the bays off West Genesee Street is also hazardous.

  Frankenmuth Township Supervisor Jeff Frahm was pleased with the constituents in trusting this vital need needs to be met.

   “I want to thank the Frankenmuth Township voters for supporting the fire station proposal on Tuesday. This is an important project to support our fire department,” Frahm noted.

  The new station will be erected on four acres located on the corner of West Genesee Street and Dehmel Road. A ground-breaking date has yet to be set.

  𠇊s we move into the phase of completing the design work, please be assured that we will continue to work to stay within budget and provide a fire station that will serve the community into the future,” Frahm noted.

  The FFD is blessed to have around 35 firefighters on their current roster, and Kerns is always concerned for their safety while responding to scenes as well as the hazardous materials they deal with.

  “Thank you citizen of Frankenmuth for your continued trust in and support of your firefighters and our safety and health. We will work diligently to bring you a fire station that will meet the needs for decades to come,” Kerns stated.

  The Wickson District Library millage received similar support as the township, with 1,872 yes votes and 1,058 no votes (63.89 percent to 36.11 percent). By passing this question, many of the library’s existing services will remain available to the community. The combined Frankenmuth City and Township totals were 939 yes votes to 549 no votes.

  The Wickson staff was requesting voter approval of an additional 0.85 mills for this primary election.

  “We are incredibly grateful for the trust and confidence our community has placed in the Frankenmuth District Library. This investment allows us to continue providing the high-quality library services, programs, and resources that our residents have come to expect while also ensuring we can properly maintain and preserve our library building for future generations,” Duclos said. .....

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