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Council favors only joint fire district
By MARY grzebieniak
NEW MIDDLETOWN
Village council members told Springfield Township Trustee Rick Jones they are interested in a fire contract with the township only if it is a limited-year pact that ends in creation of a joint fire district.
Jones attended Monday’s council meeting to ask whether lawmakers still are considering the contract or “is this thing dead in the water?”
Council member Jack Novicky replied, “I’d hate to say it’s dead in the water, but I’d say it’s at least comatose right now.”
The two municipalities, each of which now has its own fire department, reached no conclusion after an Aug. 16 joint meeting on the subject.
At that meeting, township officials lobbied for a contract in which the township would provide service to the village, but the village wanted a joint fire district.
Council members lamented that in talks leading up to the August meeting, they were led to believe a joint district was agreeable to the township, but they found out otherwise at Monday’s session.
“Your fire chief did a 360 on the whole deal,” said Mayor Harry Kale. Council President Richard DeBucci agreed, stating that township fire Chief Matt Gebhardt never said he wasn’t for a district until the meeting.
DeBucci again expressed his concern that if the village would give up its equipment to enter a contract with the township, it would be left “high and dry” if the township decided to discontinue the contract in the future.
If the village were in a joint fire district which broke up, however, it would keep some equipment based on its proportion of the district.
In another matter, Carl Flitcraft Jr., village fiscal officer, said that now that the electrical aggregation ballot issue has passed, two public hearings must be scheduled to explain the program. The times will be announced.
Police Chief Vince D’Egidio said the township received a $2,400 grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance to buy five bulletproof vests for police officers. He said the vests must be replaced every few years because they lose their effectiveness. The village will have to provide a matching amount.
Officials thanked residents for passing the police and fire replacement levies. Flitcraft said the residents will see only a minimal increase in 2012 when the replacements take effect because the village’s valuation has not changed much since the original levies took effect four years ago.