A fire-rescue department study commissioned by a grant received by Randall with the cooperation of Wheatland and Twin Lakes sees that area well served by a consolidated department with two stations — the current Twin lakes Fire Department and Rescue Squad station in downtown Twin Lakes and a new station in Wheatland near Highway O and Highway 50.
That scenario would eliminate the two current Town of Randall Fire Department stations in Powers Lake and Bassett. The Bassett station was built in 2004 and is the newest of the four fire stations for the Town of Randall Fire Department, Wheatland Vol. Fire Department and Twin Lake Fire Department.
The study was presented to the public at a meeting of the municipal boards Tuesday evening at Randall School.
The 98-page study was performed by consulting firm Public Administration Associates LLC. It was funded by a $75,000 grant obtained by Randall, said town Chairman Mark Nordigian. Randall conferred with Wheatland and Twin Lakes to gauge interest in the study if Randall was awarded the grant.
Each of the three municipalities currently have their own fire department. Randall and Wheatland contract with Twin Lakes Rscue for EMS services,
The consultants were asked to look at developing the best model for covering the about 12,959 residents in the 56 square miles of Twin Lakes, Randall and Wheatland, Nordigian said.
“What we were looking for was the ideal, and we have to pare back from there,” Nordigian said.
The study includes sections on the history of each municipality and the fire departments. It also addresses rising costs for fire and EMS services and other future challenges of staffing and personnel availability and service expectations from the public.
The consolidated department envisioned by the study could be operated for about $81,000 less per year than current combined operating expenses, the report estimates. The largest chunks of those savings and ongoing savings come from eliminating equipment redundancy and not having to continue to maintain and replace that equipment. Consultants Tuesday said the cost for each municipality is similar to what is currently paid for fire and emergency medical service.
Advantages of a consolidated department listed in the study include:
- Continued improved service and response times.
- Cost efficiency and reduced redundancy. Cost avoidance in sharing expensive fire apparatus is the most significant improvement with this plan. With the need to hire full time personnel and likely more in the future, efficiently utilizing this staff will prove to be another major financial advantage to a joint department.
- The complexity of the department with the addition of full-time personnel has grown beyond the ability of the TLVFRI to provide the administrative support resources needed. In addition, with cost increasing the municipal partners demand and deserve full financial transparency and input in the use of financial resources.
- Standardized training and operations. This is already underway but will only continue to improve. This guides the training program, improving safety and effectiveness on the fireground.
- More efficient use of the personnel pool. This larger pool of paid-on-call members and a more efficient response model to utilize available staff ensures a more consistent and effective response.
- Access to better funding. A larger, consolidated department may be more competitive for state or federal grants.
Disdvantages of a consolidated department listed in the study include:
- Cultural clashes and morale issues. Merging often causes animosity or resistance if not managed well. Firefighters may struggle to blend different traditions, uniforms, and cultures. The staff of the departments has been jointly responding already and needs to keep the focus on improving emergency response.
- Loss of local identity/control. Mergers not only affect the department but the community. Some may view this as losing part of their community identity. Political battles over the loss of autonomy and control can also come into play. Fortunately, the communities involved have already worked together with joint ambulance service and throughout this
study. - Initial financial/transition costs. While long-term savings are common, short-term costs for the transition (uniforms, re-lettering trucks, IT integration) can be higher.
- Potential for staff turnover. Some personnel may leave due to the changes. Some personnel near retirement may now feel more comfortable proceeding, knowing a plan is in place to assure coverage.
“The first step is to look at this and say is this something we’d like to pursue?” David Bretl of PPA said of the three local municipalities. “There has to be something for everybody. This isn’t the end or or be all tonight, This is a recommendation that we think a consolidated service would be good for you.”
Nordigian said he sees discussion by the individual boards as the next step. He urged interested citizens to keep an eye out for the item to be on meeting agendas,
