Mayor asks to provide services to Campbell

Youngstown would not hire any of Campbell's firefighters.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mayor Jay Williams wants Youngstown's fire department to provide fire and rescue protection for Campbell -- for a fee.
Williams, in a letter to Campbell officials, invited them to begin formal negotiations on his proposal.
Campbell, facing financial problems, is trying to sell its water treatment and distribution system to Aqua Ohio to get out from under substantial debt in that department. The city advertised for proposals Feb. 16 to take over its fire department.
Campbell Mayor John Dill said he received Youngstown's proposal Thursday and plans to go over it in detail with the city's financial director, John J. Leskovyansky Jr., on Monday. Dill would not comment Friday on Youngstown's proposal except to say, "Everything is negotiable."
Some details
In its proposal, Youngstown said it would provide full fire and rescue service to Campbell for $350,000 a year with annual increases of 4 percent, plus all overtime charges and inspector and investigator fees.
Youngstown also said it would use Youngstown fire station and truck locations, and that there is "no known way ... to hire or absorb current Campbell Fire Department employees."
The Campbell Fire Department has five full-time employees, including Chief Nick Hrelec.
Youngstown said expected response times in Campbell are four to five minutes for the first firetruck to arrive, six to eight minutes for the second truck to arrive, and 10 to 12 minutes for a full crew necessary for a working structure fire.
Campbell's requirements
According to the proposal, Campbell would be required to:
Ensure that all streets are clearly marked at each intersection and that appropriate cross-streets are noted on all addresses for 911.
Provide hydrant adapters for all YFD trucks and formulate a plan to upgrade all hydrants to make them compatible with YFD and other surrounding fire departments.
Williams described the proposal as only a "starting point of a very sensitive and complex process."