Winona Council Receives Fire Territory Information
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Jim Higgins, London Witte Group, Indianapolis, gave the council a presentation on fire territories.
Winona Lake has been considering entering into a fire protection territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township.[[In-content Ad]]Higgins said a fire protection territory should provide reduction of response times and increased firefighter training and safety.
Winona Lake Fire Dept. is a volunteer fire department, and if a fire territory is established, fire employees would be full-time, Higgins said.
Winona Lake Fire Chief Mitch Titus said the department has 30 volunteer firefighters. He would like to include them in a discussion about considering a fire territory for the town.
"I am not saying a fire territory won't benefit our department and town, but there are a lot of details in a fire territory to think about," Titus said.
Higgins said, in a fire territory, one unit is designated as a provider unit responsible for providing fire protection services.
The timeline for establishing a territory includes the units adopting identical ordinances between Jan. 1 and March 31.
Units hold a public hearing and the territory takes effect July 1 of the adoption year, and the ordinance should include terms of the agreement between anticipating units.
Each unit has the opportunity to appoint a representative from each participating unit. Others may be appointed to the board not associated with the territory with mutual agreement from the participants.
Councilman Rolly Ortega suggested the council have discussion about the territory with Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins, Warsaw Fire Chief Mike Rice, the Winona Lake Fire Department and Wayne Township representatives.
Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Friday approved a $1,250 agreement between Winona Lake and Warsaw to enter into an agreement for a feasibility study for a fire territory.
The council also:
n Approved looking into a bond issue to improve Stonehenge streets with a resurfacing project.
n Approved a resolution to transfer $135,000 from the wastewater fund to the general fund for cash flow and will be repaid from the general fund.
n Approved a resolution for Christmas bonuses for town employees.
n Approved a mutual agreement resolution between Winona Lake and Kosciusko County Emergency Management in dealing with situations of declared natural or man-made disaster emergencies.
n Approved change orders for the CR 250E project including adding regulatory worksite penalty signs and installing temporary pavement markings.
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Jim Higgins, London Witte Group, Indianapolis, gave the council a presentation on fire territories.
Winona Lake has been considering entering into a fire protection territory with Warsaw and Wayne Township.[[In-content Ad]]Higgins said a fire protection territory should provide reduction of response times and increased firefighter training and safety.
Winona Lake Fire Dept. is a volunteer fire department, and if a fire territory is established, fire employees would be full-time, Higgins said.
Winona Lake Fire Chief Mitch Titus said the department has 30 volunteer firefighters. He would like to include them in a discussion about considering a fire territory for the town.
"I am not saying a fire territory won't benefit our department and town, but there are a lot of details in a fire territory to think about," Titus said.
Higgins said, in a fire territory, one unit is designated as a provider unit responsible for providing fire protection services.
The timeline for establishing a territory includes the units adopting identical ordinances between Jan. 1 and March 31.
Units hold a public hearing and the territory takes effect July 1 of the adoption year, and the ordinance should include terms of the agreement between anticipating units.
Each unit has the opportunity to appoint a representative from each participating unit. Others may be appointed to the board not associated with the territory with mutual agreement from the participants.
Councilman Rolly Ortega suggested the council have discussion about the territory with Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins, Warsaw Fire Chief Mike Rice, the Winona Lake Fire Department and Wayne Township representatives.
Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety Friday approved a $1,250 agreement between Winona Lake and Warsaw to enter into an agreement for a feasibility study for a fire territory.
The council also:
n Approved looking into a bond issue to improve Stonehenge streets with a resurfacing project.
n Approved a resolution to transfer $135,000 from the wastewater fund to the general fund for cash flow and will be repaid from the general fund.
n Approved a resolution for Christmas bonuses for town employees.
n Approved a mutual agreement resolution between Winona Lake and Kosciusko County Emergency Management in dealing with situations of declared natural or man-made disaster emergencies.
n Approved change orders for the CR 250E project including adding regulatory worksite penalty signs and installing temporary pavement markings.
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