Park Ridge to discuss future of fire dept. on June 18

By Brandi Makuski

The Park Ridge Village Board has rescheduled a planned discussion on the future of its fire department.

Originally slated as the lone agenda item for a special board meeting on June 11, the issue will now be discussed at a regular board meeting on June 18 at 5:30 p.m.

Disbanding the village’s fire dept. was one of several options presented to the village during a special meeting in 2016. Former Village President Trish Baker presented the same information again during a special village meeting in January, arguing she wasn’t able to provide updated building or repair costs because she had not been directed to do so by the board.

Fire Chief Brian Lepper said he’s been working to get approval for upgrades and address cramped space issues since he took over the small, volunteer-driven dept. in 2014.

“There’s not much room to move around in there,” Lepper has said about the fire truck bay. “You’re looking at a matter of inches of space between you and the next vehicle, or between you and the wall. We have to pull one of the vehicles out to get any work done in there.”

Except for the two public information meetings there has been almost no movement on the issue, save for a nonbinding referendum question in April, where voters answered 2:1 in favor of keeping its fire department, but similarly did not approve of building a new station. With a little under 60 percent voter turnout, 89 people voted for the custom pump-truck option. Dissolving the fire dept. garnered 74 votes, while building a new fire station earned 45 votes.

During her time in office, Baker, who resigned unexpectedly in April, told residents that contracting out fire services to Stevens Point would have cost the village about $74,000 a year—far above its $37,000 annual fire dept. budget. Another option involves a custom retrofit of an existing fire engine at an estimated cost of $240,000, while a third option includes building a standalone fire bay and purchasing a new engine, with an estimated price tag of $270,000.

Building the new facility would cost about $64 per $100,000 of assessed value per property owner annually, over a 10-year period, according to the village.

The board will discuss, and possibly vote on, how to move forward at its 5:30 p.m. meeting on June 18 at the village hall, 24 Crestwood Dr.