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Published: May 13, 2008 10:38 am
Mayor: Fire districts should be considered
By DENISE FEDOROW
Correspondent
NAPPANEE, Ind. — Representatives from Union, Scott and Locke townships discussed the 2009 fire contracts with members of the Nappanee Board of Public Works and Safety Monday.
Mayor Larry Thompson said it was time to “get serious with the trustees and H.J. Umbaugh to begin considering fire districts.”
According to Thompson, establishing a fire district would distribute the cost of fire service fairly throughout the service area.
“Would the cost go up for townships? Probably,” he said.
Clerk-Treasurer Kim Ingle prepared a report of the 2008 budget based on a five-year average of fire calls for the townships under contract and the city.
The city’s share is $191,710, Union Township is $70,424, Locke Township is $39,125, Scott Township is $50,861 and Jefferson Township is $39,125.
Thompson said he felt the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week availability of services should be considered more than the amount of actual fire calls.
Currently, the townships are paying $9,200 for fire service with Scott and Jefferson townships paying an additional $1,500 for rent on the south side fire station building. The rent cost would go away because the new street department garage would have a bay for the fire department, too.
However, Thompson said since the city was providing the building, he’d like those townships to continue paying that $1,500.
The board agreed to have H.J. Umbaugh do a study about the feasibility of establishing a fire district.
Board member Phil Jenkins made a motion to set the fire contract fee for 2009 at $9,700, a higher jump than the usual 3 percent hike to help cover the cost of the study.
Scott and Jefferson townships would pay the $9,700 plus the $1,500.
Scott Township Trustee Fred Slabaugh said, “There’s a lot of uncertainty about what our responsibilities are going to be in the future.”
Thompson said that in the past, city officials have been happy with the rates they’ve been charging but “with the cuts we’re expecting, we’re having to look at everything, and we can’t continue to provide fire service at those rates.”
Doing a study now, he said, will allow time to “have a fire district we can all live with or be forced into a corner and say this is the cost of fire service.”
“We’ve been very pleased with the service,” Slabaugh said.
Security cameras
Board members tabled discussion on a security system for the park department.
Mayor Thompson said the board had a quote to add security cameras — similar to those recently added in city hall — but were unsure of the proposed locations.
The quotes were for both the parks and the Nappanee Center and Thompson said city officials probably won’t be able to do both, but with the vandalism in the parks in the past that might be a priority.
Other matters
In other business, board members:
• Approved a sewer permit connection for Craftsman Village
• Approved the resignations of two part-time dispatchers — Kathy Snyder, effective May 17 and Jeff Mashack, effective May 31 — due to time constraints for both.
• Heard a reminder that if lawns are more than 6 inches long, the property is probably on the city’s list. If a city worker has to mow the lawn, it costs $100 per hour.
• Approved moving their May 24 meeting to the May 26 because of the Memorial Day holiday.
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