The Hills Volunteer Fire Department received the first of many $15,000 checks from the Paul and Bertha Thompson Trust.
Rod Bonander is one of three trustees for the late couple, who were life-long Hills residents.
Bonander presented the check to the fire department at the Jan. 14 Hills City Council meeting.
“He (Paul) was big at keeping his money in the area and helping area organizations,” Bonander told council members. “He recognized that the fire department was one of those areas.”
The department will receive $15,000 each year from the trust for an indefinite period of time.
“A request that we make, however, is not to trim that amount from the fire department budget,” Bonander said. “Paul is trying to make a better fire department not reduce the taxes for residents.”
Currently the department has a yearly budget of $50,000.
The trust money will be put to good use, according to assistant fire chief Derek Bundesen. “We can definitely update some items that are outdated,” he said.
Money from the trust could be saved up for larger, more expensive purchases such as a fire truck or upgrades to the fire station, Bonander said.
Council members offered to put the money in a separate account with a yearly balance update provided to the trustees.
In addition to Bonander, Dean Goettsch and Eric Hoyme are also trustees for the Thompson trust.
Paul and Mary Thompson married in 1950 and farmed near Hills until their retirement in 1976. They lived in Hills and later became residents of the Tuff Memorial Home.
They have no surviving children. Their only child, Roger, died in 1986.
Bertha died in 2018 at the age of 102. Paul died in 2009.
The city of Hills City Council and the Martin Township Board of Supervisors oversee operation of the Hills Fire Department.
During the budget setting session in February, the group will develop a priority list of department needs for the Thompson trust donation.
Grant allows update of Jaws of Life equipment
Hills Fire Department Chief Jared Rozeboom told council members the department was selected to receive a $21,000 grant from Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.
The grant allowed the department to update its vehicle extraction tool to a battery-operated model.