Corinth — In addition to casting presidential ballots on Nov. 8, voters in Corinth will be asked to use a portion of a budget surplus to fund construction plans for a new fire station, one that is hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars less expensive than past plans.

Selectman Hal Drury said the work would cost about $32,000 pulled from the surplus account, with no tax rate impact.

“By law, we can’t use any surplus money without a vote of the town,” Drury said.

The article will be voted on by Australian ballot.

If approved, the town would hand the money over to Morton Buildings, the company that is proposing to construct the new station for about $730,000. The fire department has already paid Morton $5,000 for initial plans, Drury said.

The money would go toward developing construction plans, architectural drawings and a final budget, among other things.

The money is needed for the next phase — competitive bidding, Drury said.

Corinth currently has two aging fire stations, one in the village of East Corinth, and the other in the hamlet of Cookeville. The new station would be built on Fairground Road.

“They are not modern,” Drury said. “We need to bring things up.”

The total project cost is estimated at $850,000. It would still require a bond vote. Voters are familiar with the topic of a new fire station, as several meetings and votes have been held in years past.

In March 2014 voters approved a $1.16 million article by only two votes. Voters petitioned for a re-vote, and in May of that year, the article failed. Corinth Fire Chief Ed Pospisil said the new building is more “modest” than the original proposal.

He called a new fire house “necessary.” The current buildings, one built in 1960 and one built in 1980, don’t have running water or plumbing. “We don’t need a Taj Mahal,” Pospisil said. “But we definitely need a new firehouse.”