Malden Fire Station groundbreaking ceremony this weekend

MALDEN — The City of Malden is hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Malden Fire Station Tuesday, August 1, at 10 a.m. at the Corner of Ash Street and Moreland.

Malden City Clerk and Treasurer Micki Harnois stated that Washington State Legislator representatives, county commissioners, town leaders and state department staff will be in attendance.

“So far, we’ve got word from Mark Schoesler and Joe Schmick, only if he does not have harvest,” Harnois said.

Harnois explained that the Department of Commerce funded the building of the Fire Station through a grant of $930,000 and received an additional 4.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to house the town hall and post office.

Harnois did a survey in January of 2021, and information gathered that the town’s number one resource wanted back is the post office.

“For several reasons,” Harnois explained, “One is they don’t have to go to Rosalia to get their mail,” she said, adding that the post office was also a popular place to socialize.

“That’s what we’ll see again,” Harnois said, noting that they’ll add an area to sit outside with a comfortable space for people to mingle.

The city is concentrating on completing the building soon, due to the postal service giving 90 days for the city to start post office operations. They hope to start work on the interior work on the inside.

Harnois explained that concerning the city hall addition, the decoration will be train depot-themed due to Malden being built as a train town.

“We’ve taken pictures of several depots inside, and we’re following theme,” she said, adding that’s one thing they wanted to do because they don’t have a depot.

The City of Malden hopes the citizens and the public attend the groundbreaking ceremony, Harnois stated, adding that dignitaries and the city council will do a dig.

“There will be refreshments after,” Harnois said.

“We are working on a time capsule for that building,” she added, explaining that they’ll collect items associated with the train depot.

Harnois stated that the City is also looking forward to a future groundbreaking for a future Community Center they’re still working on getting funds for.