The town has been working toward a solution for years, and this fall, ground will finally be broken on a new bay for Humarock’s fire apparatus. Renovations for the rest of the building, however, are still up in the air, and Murphy hopes a new grant from the state could help push the need into the forefront.

“Hopefully by next fall, we’ll be doing something with this building,” he said. “It looks like it makes more and more sense to replace this building instead of renovating.”

The state recently set aside $100,000 to support renovating the building. On top of $50,000 approved by town meeting this spring, Murphy says they’re about halfway to what it would cost to put up a new building. In contrast to the millions needed for the safety complex, Murphy wants to put up a two-bedroom prefabricated house in Humarock that he expects to cost about $300,000.