VPA, CL Township settle on fire service contract

Agreement clears way for dissolution, then conveyance of department to City of Ventura

After months of negotiation the Ventura Protective Association has reached an agreement to provide service for Clear Lake Township, clearing the way for the dissolution of the 66-year-old organization.

The VPA signed a contract with Clear Lake Township on March 25, according to VPA Chief John Quintus.  The VPA provides fire protection to the western half of Clear Lake Township, while the eastern half of the township is covered by the Clear Lake Fire Department.

Under the terms of the one-year agreement, the township will pay the VPA $31,250 per year for fire service.  The township also agrees to a one-time payment of $11,000 to the VPA for the replacement, maintenance and repair of its fire equipment.  In exchange, the VPA acknowledges the payment satisfies what it had claimed was underpayment for fire protection and equipment replacement under prior agreements.

The parties had been working on a new contract since last fall, when the VPA announced it was considering conveying its service to the City of Ventura.  In preparation for the change, the VPA asked township trustees to sign new contracts for fire protection service.  The contracts took into account the department’s increased effort to set aside funds for future equipment purchases and building needs and raised the VPA’s annual budget from $45,000 to $90,000.

The City of Ventura, Union and Grant Townships each signed the new contracts.  The fees, which will take effect July 1, are $31,939 for the City of Ventura, $11,158 for Union Township and $4,351 for Grant Township.  However, Clear Lake Township trustees balked at the $42,551 the VPA was seeking for its service.  It had been paying an annual rate of $11,556 for fire service, but hadn’t contributed to vehicle and equipment replacement funds since 2006, according to Quintus.

The VPA used a formula based on population, property valuation and the volume of fire calls to determine how much each township should pay.  Fifty percent of the fire calls the VPA responds to are from Clear Lake Township, according to the VPA.

Quintus said that while the agreed upon contract is for one year, he is hoping the agreement - Read More Via e-Edition