Don't let the rural fire board become one-sided
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Editor,
To the concerned people of Polson's Rural Fire Board area: I have followed the happenings within the Rural Fire Board for the past five to six years. As a taxpayer I was offended by the price paid for the purchase of the new fire truck. Why were the bid specifications written to fit only one company's fire truck? The specs were written under the previous Polson Chief and we paid for that venture.
Since that time the Polson Fire Rural Board has become much more aggressive in fiscal responsibilities. Jim Manley, Alison Meslin and Paul Laisy have been pursuing reasonable budget requests that address both the fire people and taxpayers.
Much animosity has come over the building of the new fire hall on county grounds. The question was where was the money to build the fire station at other locations, which had no water and may have required purchase of land, while the county grounds were free and water existed on the building site. The fire station has been built with no increased taxes as the board promised.
Sadly, there have been some that see only their side of the story. Personally I would like to see Big Arm, Irvine Flats and the new station all able to respond on their own to any call. Would they use the other stations as back up? Yes. Should this be a priority of the Fire Chief? Yes. Is it happening? No, I don't believe so.
There appears to be "lag of will" to get this done. There was also talk from some fire people that they wanted to get a new fire hall in Polson, somewhere up next to Wal-Mart and place all fire vehicles there with all fire personal reporting to one station only.
Centralized fire respond has its place, but doesn't fit well within this area. If this is true, it's not a good deal for those of us who live in the rural areas.
I have worked some with Jim, Alison and Paul, they truly are looking out for both the fire personnel and the taxpayer. Don't let this become just a one-sided board again. Accountability is essential for all of us.
Jerry Peterson
Polson
