FROM STAFF REPORTS
Iredell County commissioners are continuing to explore options to provide reliable fire protection to residents of the Wayside Fire District after Cool Springs Fire Department officials rejected a plan to split the district with Troutman Fire & Rescue.
“We will not consider a merger with Wayside Fire Department,” Cool Springs Chief Andy Webster wrote in a letter to Board of Commissioners Chair Melissa Neader. “We see a merger as the combination of two parties of equal standing and that is not the case with Wayside. Our department has a higher standard of community service for our citizens, and we have a culture of teamwork, diversity and integrity.”
That decision caught county commissioners off guard.
Commissioners are now considering proposals from Shepherds Fire Department and Troutman Fire & Rescue to provide coverage to the Wayside Fire District.
“Our function and goal is to make sure the taxpayers are getting fire service, which they are paying the fire tax for,” Commissioner Gene Houpe said during a meeting last month.
Joel Cherry, president of the Shepherds Fire Department Board of Directors, said his department was willing to provide service to the Wayside district. But, he cautioned commissioners, it would likely require more funding from the county than Wayside is currently receiving and a commitment by commissioners to invest in new facilities.
“We would need certain assurance from you before we would be amicable,” Cherry told the board.
Although Wayside’s paid firefighters have agreed to stay on during the transition, Shepherds officials are not proposing a merger.
“It’s a take-over,” Cherry said. “They understand that and are good with it.”
In their proposal, the Troutman Fire & Rescue Board discussed the feasibility of providing fire protection to its rescue district, which includes part of the Wayside district. The plan includes staffing one of Wayside’s stations with full-time personnel. That station would have to upgraded, according to the proposal, and another station would be required in the future based on growth projections and plans for the new Weathers Creek High School.
In early August, commissioners voted to split the Wayside district between Troutman Fire & Rescue and the Cool Springs Fire Department. That vote was necessary after county officials determined Wayside had not met its contractual obligation to serve the district.
The action by county commissioners was necessary after the Office of the State Fire Marshal notified county officials that the ISO Fire Protection rating in the Wayside district would be increased to 10, which means the district is considered “unprotected,” as a result of the department’s inability to meet minimum staffing requirements. If that happens, homeowners and businesses in the district would likely see large increases in their insurance premiums.
State officials have delayed taking that step while county officials worked to improve fire protection coverage in the district.