By DAVE SCHULTZ
Bluffton Mayor John Whicker says the next step the city must take regarding fire service, for the city and the surrounding townships, is to figure out the cost of providing those services and plan accordingly.
Whicker was asked about what the city will do after hearing the mayor and the fire chief of New Haven speak to a special session of the Bluffton Common Council Thursday evening. Representatives of Lancaster and Harrison townships were also present.
Mayor Steve McMichael and Fire Chief Joshua Hale spoke of how their city and the town of Woodburn and the townships around them organized a fire territory that better addressed the funding and service needs. Whicker said something was learned by everyone at the conclusion of Thursday’s gathering.
“We have to decide how much it costs to provide that service,” Whicker said Friday afternoon.
Whicker referred back to a public safety task force, which spent nine months studying the issues and recommended the city build two fire stations. He said two funding options need to be developed — one if one fire station is constructed and another one if two are built. “We may be years away from settling that,” he said.
Equipment needs, both in terms of vehicles and structures but also in terms of outfitting new firefighters, will also need to be discussed, the mayor said.
More work will be ahead as the Bluffton council and the townships consider what needs to be done — and again, how much money will be needed.
daves@news-banner.com
