Paint Township officially joins Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District

The Board of Trustees of the Paint Creek Joint EMS and Fire District voted unanimously to allow Paint Township to join the district, during a special meeting held Friday.

"This is good for Paint Township, and this is most definitely good for the district," said board member William Redenbaugh. "We will give them as good a coverage as they've seen, and we'll work to improve everything in Paint Township and in the rest of the district. I think this is a plus."

Redenbaugh made a motion to approve a joint resolution that would allow Paint Township in the district, and it was seconded by board member Grant Palmer. All four board members - Redenbaugh, Palmer, Mike Erskine and Dan Mathews - voted for the district expansion.

The Paint Township Board of Trustees will now appoint a member to represent the township on the board.

On Thursday evening, Paint Township Trustees Randy Mustard, Steve Karnes and Jeff White had voted 3-0 to join the district. The township had previously contracted with the city of Hillsboro for EMS and fire coverage. They had until April 1 to enter into a contract with the city for 2012 services.

Paint Creek fire Chief Bradley George said that services to Paint Township will begin at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

The district, which was formed in 2009 and began operating in January 2010, covers the village of Greenfield, Madison Township, Buckskin Township, and Paint Township in Ross County, and now Paint Township in Highland County.

Director of the Highland County Emergency Management Agency Jim Lyle was in attendance at the meeting, and said that he had spoken with the Highland County Sheriff's Office 911 dispatch coordinator, and that everything is set for the change in services.

A temporary substation is being set up in the Paint Township trustee building off of U.S. 50. The structure will house a squad and fire engine, and two staff members will be housed in a camper on the grounds.

"We're open for business down there," George said. The district may have to work through "hiccups" in the next few weeks, he said, but they are dedicated to making the situation work. "We've done as good a job as we could to prepare for this."

Mustard and Karnes said that they are working through the weekend to have the building ready, and George said that he and Assistant Chief Chad Hamilton are working on scheduling and additional logistics.

"It will be staffed with good, experienced people," George said.

"You need anything else from us, just yell," Mustard said.

During the meeting, the board also voted 4-0 to add four additional part-time staff members.

George has said that he is always looking for volunteers and part-time firefighters and EMTs, and anyone interested - including Paint Township residents - should contact the station at (937) 981-3394.

All of the electricity and additional utilities that firefighters will utilize while in the township building will be covered by the district.

Paint Township residents currently pay a 2-mill levy for fire services. That levy will roll off, and they will have to pay the 5.5-mill levy the Paint Creek district has. Voters will not see a new levy on the ballot, but they would have to pay approximately 3.5 mills more on their taxes to equal what current residents of the district pay. Karnes said Friday that essentially for 2012 the cost of services for Paint Township is $62 per person. The 2012 contract with the city was $22 per person.

Karnes had previously said that the more than $100,000 the township would have paid to Hillsboro in 2012 will stay in the district now, and "will go a long way toward a substation."

Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, legal counsel to the townships, has previously said that the city of Hillsboro has said that as of 2013, the townships that contract with them for fire services - Hamer, Jackson, Liberty, New Market, Paint and Washington townships - will either be a part of a fire district the city has proposed forming, or they will have to go elsewhere for services. There have been no hard figures released on a levy for the proposed Hillsboro fire district, but Karnes had previously said it was expected to be between 5 mills and 5.2 mills.

Hillsboro Auditor Gary Lewis said that Paint Township was the second largest source of income, behind the city of Hillsboro, when it came to paying for EMS and fire services. The city will lose an estimated $126,000 in 2012 revenue for the general fund if Paint Township does not enter into a contract for services.

Redenbaugh said that for the past two years, the district has been frugal with the taxpayers' finance, and that will not change.

A permanent substation is "a foregone conclusion" Redenbaugh said, although no one knows yet where it will be located. Discussion is ongoing, but Redenbaugh said the substation will be situation so that it is to the benefit "of the district as a whole." However, he said it would be beneficial to have a permanent structure by winter so firefighters weren't sleeping in a camper in cold weather.

The district had previously contracted with an architect to develop options for expanding the current main fire station in Greenfield. Redenbaugh said that everything will now be reassessed, but a new substation doesn't mean they won't proceed with the pending plans for the main station.

"We're still looking at that," Redenbaugh said. "We'll probably be looking really hard at any kind of grants or assistance we can get."

The next district board meeting is April 10 at 7 p.m. at the fire station.