Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Schedule conflicts turn into standoff between city, Waverly fire department



A scheduling conflict between the Waverly planning and
zoning commission and the fire department mushroomed into what appeared
to be a standoff between the city and firefighters, as discussed by the
council during its meeting April 10.

At the meeting, council members spent nearly 30 minutes
discussing the conflict, which occurred when planning and zoning moved its
meetings from Monday to Tuesday night a month ago, to avoid holidays.

The council chambers are used by the fire department on
the first and third Tuesday of the month for training, which is a meeting
time practiced by most departments across the state.

Fire department members attended the last regular council
meeting and a work session to protest the conflict because it was a hardship
to move their equipment to other meeting places.

Three council members and firefighters met March 22, and
agreed to table the issue until September. In the meantime, the fire department
will conduct its meetings outside of the building, while planning and zoning
uses the chambers inside.

The city is researching the idea of remodeling its chambers
or expanding to accommodate the extra demand for the rooms.

“They’re still not happy with the solution we have,
waiting until September,” Councilor John Hertzog said. “Why are
we prolonging it?” he asked.

Waiting will only get the commission used to meeting on
Tuesdays and make the fire department more angry over the situation, Hertzog
said.

“I thought we had an understanding that night,”
Mayor Charles Bush said. “I still maintain that these are city offices,”
he said, pointing out that the fire department is a separate entity from
the city.

The Waverly Fire Department is one of two departments in
the state that is completely separate from the city, collecting its own
assessments for funding, and operating much like a private business, Bush
said.

“The fire department is an independent group; the
city owes them nothing but the assessments that everyone of us property
owner pays,” Bush said. “And that’s not because it was our decision
– it was theirs to be independent.”

The fire department parted from the city about 30 or 40
years ago, Hertzog noted.

It was also noted that the fire department collects assessments
from taxpayers, but taxpayers have no way of finding out how the money is
spent because it is a private entity.

Bush indicated that waiting six months was a compromise,
and would give time for both parties to cool down.

“We sliced the schedules six ways to Sunday (for a
solution),” Councilor Ken Hausladen commented about the earlier meeting
with firefighters.

The news about the rift was all over town, he said. “This
thing is snowballing,” commented Councilor Gary Olson.

Council members discussed the issue, saying they didn’t
want to antagonize either group.

Olson pointed out that the city could lose people on both
planning and zoning as well as the fire department. “We could lose
19 people on the fire department, and we’d have to retrain everyone in town,”
he said.

“Not ‘we,’ Gary. You misspoke,” Bush corrected.
“The fire department is not part of the city,” he said.

They could become part of the city eventually, Olson said.
“What if we lose our fire department?” he asked.

“We can’t afford to lose either of them,” Bush
said.

Bush indicated that the fire department should be meeting
with the council instead of speaking with Hertzog privately and dividing
it.

Olson and Hertzog disagreed with this, saying that it was
more likely the fire department felt it wasn’t getting anywhere otherwise.

Hertzog pointed out that the city would spend $1 million
to create its own department.

In the past, the fire department was full of council members,
so no time conflict existed, Hausladen noted. In addition, planning and
zoning has been more active with developments in recent years.

Hertzog pressed the council to consider making planning
and zoning go back to Monday nights in the meantime. “They (fire department)
expect a decision by next month,” Hertzog said.

Hausladen suggested gathering numbers for renovations on
the council chambers by the next work session, May 4. The city plans to
meet with the fire department May 8.

Some good that may come of it, Bush noted, is increased
communication.

Council members discussed what to do with the Village Hall,
since only 32 out of more than 300 surveys were returned.

Although an option to demolish the city hall was not given
on the surveys, Waverly residents will receive the city newsletter in the
mail with another survey in it, asking about potential demolition, Clerk
Deb Ryks said.

Councilors weighed the benefits and drawbacks of such a
plan. The problem with doing any kind of fix up work on the existing building
is that the state requires the building to immediately be brought up to
state building codes, Ryks said.

“Once we touch that building, then we have to do everything
to meet state code,” Ryks said.

Hertzog suggested building a one-level unit that was energy
efficient.

It was decided that the next step would be to formulate
a budget so that whatever decision is made can be justified to the public.

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