Township Moving Forward With Fire Station
Per the interlocal agreement for the Turkey Creek Fire Territory, Turkey Creek Township Advisory Board member Bill Dixon moved to “put into effect the remodeling plan as laid out by the (Turkey Creek Fire Territory) Executive Board.” The motion carried unanimously at the board’s regular monthly meeting Monday evening.
At the Aug. 26 meeting, the fire territory executive board approved moving forward with the second story addition with up to $550,000.
Section 5.1, paragraph C, of the interlocal agreement states, “In the event the Provider Unit or the Participating Unit rejects the expenditure, it shall be returned to the Executive Board for further consideration and action.” The fire station renovation expenditure was previously rejected by the Syracuse Town Council, and thus went back to the executive board for “consideration and action.”
“Section C gives it (fire station renovation expenditure) back to the executive board for action, not more yapping,” said Dixon.
Board member Kim Cates, who is also president of the fire territory executive board, indicated she believed the town council would still like to discuss a long list of options regarding the fire station renovations.
“They (executive board) took action to approve the project, and Section C gives the authority to move forward. I believe we can move forward,” said Dixon.
To begin his report, Fire Chief Mickey Scott held a moment of silence for John Connolly who passed away Sept. 4 and was a firefighter for 53 years. Scott then reported on the following:
- Twenty fire calls and 100 EMS calls were had during the month of August
- Outdoor warning sirens were tested Sept. 7 and no issues were reported
- The annual Kosciusko County Firefighters Association Fish Fry is Sept. 19 at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds
Upon a question by Dixon, Scott said roughly half of all fire and EMS calls come from the town and half from the township.
The first reading of the 2014 Turkey Creek township budget, which includes the Turkey Creek fire territory budget, was held with no objections. The combined total of the fire territory operations budget ($1,533,660) and fire territory equipment replacement budget ($170,000) is $1,703,660. Of that total, $227,000 comes from EMS income and $90,000 from COIT, rather than from property taxes.
Scott said the 2014 total budget is $96,484 less than the 2009 budget, which is the year the fire territory was created.
In the “comments from the floor” section of the meeting, Dick Pelletier reported on activities at the Harold Schrock Athletic Complex in Syracuse and thanked the board for the $7,000 yearly contribution, which will begin with the 2014 budget. He stated Phase 2 of the project is beginning and funds are being secured to add bleachers, lights and a walkway to the park.
The Turkey Creek township advisors meet at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of the month at Syracuse Fire Station 2.
For a more in-depth account of the meeting, see today’s issue of The Mail-Journal.