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Polson Rural Fire Board votes on motor vehicle response fees
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The plan to bill for Motor Vehicle Response drew more fire at the Polson Rural Fire Board meeting Jan. 12 as the Polson Rural Fire District unanimously voted to accept the Bigfork fee schedule for MVR.
The schedule reads:
Rescue Rate 1, $500, Motor vehicle crash without using rescue tools with less than one hour on-scene time
Rescue Rate 2, $750, MVC involving extrication from the crash with less than one hour on-scene time
Rescue Rate 3, MVC, $1,500, MVC without using rescue tools with greater than one hour on-scene time
Rescue Rate 4, $1,750, MVC involving extrication from the crash with greater than one hour on-scene time.
Former board members Paul Laisey, Jim Manley and Alison Meslin sent a letter stating, among other items, charging motor vehicle response fees was considered and rejected by the former board.
Area resident Tom Eddy presented information he compiled on the funding for the Rural Fire Board. In December, the major motivation given for billing for traffic response Eddy said, was the need for money.
Board member Steve Stanley invited Eddy to come to his office and talk about the issue.
In other business:
Lake County Commissioner Paddy Trusler and Treasurer Patty Duford-Kugler attended the meeting to provide some solutions to a county mistake, collecting higher total millage, and see what the PRFD board’s preference would be.
“First off, it was an honest mistake,” Trusler said.
” … The mistake that was made was not substantial — about $13 per year for the average residential structure,” he added.
If it’s doable, Trusler and Kugler suggested taking the money and using it to pay down debt on the Fairgrounds Fire Station. They will confer with Montana state attorneys in Helena.
Plan B would be to take the spreadsheet with every taxpayer on it, adjust on the old levy taxes and substantiate overpayment in 2011.
The board voted unanimously to retire debt and target the Fairgrounds Fire State.
During the chief’s report, Fire Chief John Fairchild said the fire department had 12 runs in December — five were rural calls, one fire and three crashes.
A Valley View man, Wade Streets, applied to become a firefighter.
Fairchild said Providence St. Joseph Medical Center quoted a price of $45 for firefighter physicals. This does not include $195 for hepatitis b shots. Trustees voted unanimously to accept the $45 price for physicals.
Clapp provided information from the Lake County Board of Elections regarding prices for polling place elections versus mail-in elections. A polling place election would cost $2,534.05, and a mail-in election would cost $2,462.91. A large number of absentees need to be sent regardless of whether the election is mail-in or polling place.
A motion carried to conduct a mail-in election.
Commissioner Bill Barron spoke to the board about 9-1-1 dispatch. At present Barron said dispatch funding comes directly from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Polson pays about $40,000 per year for its share. Ronan and St. Ignatius are also billed.
Barron would like to investigate making the dispatch center a stand-alone entity.
The board voted to support an investigation by the Lake County Commissioners as to impact, cost, how dispatch would be funded.
The next meeting will be held on Feb. 9 at the Fairground Station.
