After arbitration hearings on Tuesday and Thursday, the City of Lacey and the Fire District #3 agreed to settle the pending law suit out of court. The long story short is that the Willamette Drive fire station is now reopen with a crew of two people with the City willing to cover overtime when staffing falls below a preset number. In return, the city will pay for the over time and also gets out of the contract a year sooner. It should be noted, that even though a fire engine is based out of station 35 now, it will not be staffed, instead a smaller brush truck will be available with some fire suppression capabilities and EMS capabilities.
Below is the press release from the city and district:
CITY OF LACEY AND LACEY FIRE DISTRICT 3
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The City of Lacey and Lacey Fire District 3 announced they have reached an Agreement that will provide for he re-opening of Fire Station 35 located on Willamette Drive on Monday, May 18, 2009. The Station will be staffed and equipped to provide 24–hour coverage, 7–days a week. Personnel at this station, and other District Stations, will respond to both emergency medical and fire calls.
The Agreement also provides for termination of the existing Service Agreement, on December 31, 2010 rather than December 31, 2011. The City will pay to the District an amount up to $156,121 for additional overtime costs incurred in 2009, and up to $249,794 plus a cost of living increase for 2010.
The Agreement calls for termination of the current litigation between the City and the District; and, the City and District pledge to start immediate discussions regarding fire service options within both the City and the District.
Mayor Graeme Sackrison stated, “The City has determined that the operation of Station 35 is critical and the Council is pleased that this agreement causes that result.”
The City and the District will be preparing for implementation of a new relationship beginning in 2011. Skip Houser, Chair of the Board of the District Fire Commissioners, commented, “The Board is pleased that energy and resources may be focused on providing public safety services in the community, for the remainder of the term of the Service Agreement and in the future.”