Fire committee completes study

The chief of the Vandalia Volunteer Fire Department announced on Monday that a committee formed to study fire protections in areas outside the community had formulated a recommendation.
Ed Taylor, who served as chairman of that exploratory committee, presented its two-part recommendation at Monday evening’s city council meeting.
The first part of the recommendation reads as follows:
• We encourage the area outside of the city limits of Vandalia that currently receives fire protection services from the city of Vandalia to form a fire protection district.
The second part of the recommendation reads as follows:
• If this area forms a fire protection district, we would encourage the city of Vandalia to express a willingness to enter into an agreement with such district to continue providing fire protection services to this area.
At the conclusion of Taylor’s presentation, the council voted to support the second part of that recommendation, saying it would be willing to negotiate with a newly formed district.
Taylor told the council, “We looked at the problem (of fire protection in the rural areas) from all angles.
“This is a recommendation that we feel is the best for everyone involved at this time.”
Gottman formed the committee after Taylor approached him about rural residents learning of large increases in their homeowner’s insurance premiums.
One of those residents contacted Taylor after noticing that her insurance premium had doubled.
He said that she had asked her insurance agent about the increase, “and he told her that she had no fire protection.
“She asked me, ‘If I have a fire, are you going to come put it out?’” Taylor said.
When he told her that the VVFD would respond, she said, “So I have fire protection.”
Taylor told her, “No, maam, you don’t.
“The problem is that you don’t have a legal, binding obligation for fire protection,” Taylor told her.
The other issue that spurred discussions about fire protection for residents in rural areas was the Mulberry Grove Fire Protection District’s proposal to expand its boundaries to the east, closer to Vandalia.
That district’s
The committee met several times, then held a public meeting on Saturday, Sept. 15. Attending that meeting, John Fennell of Elmhurst, a retired fire chief and attorney specializing in fire protection district legal matters.
Fennell explained the options open to the city and to rural residents. Those options include the formation of a fire protection district that either included the city and surrounding rural areas or just the rural areas.
He also addressed concerns of individuals who own property near Vandalia, property that is included in the MGFPD’s proposed expansion area.
Fennell told those residents that if the MGFPD referendum passes in November, and they wish to be removed from the district, they can file a petition with the courts and a judge rule on their request.
Taylor told aldermen on Monday, “Right from the very beginning, we have always provided fire protection (for residents in rural areas outside of Vandalia), and we want to continue to do that.
“These people are our family and friends,” he said.
Alderman Mike Hobler asked if the formation of a fire protection district would have to be initiated by one or more of the rural residents, and Taylor said that it would.
Alderman B. John Clark asked how big of an area the new fire protection district would take in, and Taylor said it would be up to the people drawing the boundary lines.
“We’re hoping that (it includes) all of the areas that we now cover,” he said.
As the council voted on the second part of the recommendation, Alderman Andy Lester clarified something for people living in the rural areas outside Vandalia.
“Sooner or later, they’re going to be approached about getting into a (fire protection) district,” Lester said.
In addition to Taylor and Gottman, serving on the exploratory committee were First Assistant Fire Chief Keith Meadows, Second Assistant Chief Steve Stombaugh, Steve Knebel and Jeff Beckman of the Fayette County Board, Ron Marshal and Ken Cripe of the Fayette County Farm Bureau, Vandalia Lake resident Harold Palmer, CPA and city auditor Dale Timmermann, and local insurance agents Tom McCarty and Denny Gerkin.