Pingree Grove fire district will try $8.5 million referendum for 4th time

Voters in the Pingree Grove and Countryside Fire Protection District will decide March 17 whether the district should borrow $8.5 million to build and equip two new fire stations, the fourth time the question will be on the ballot.

The district has three fire stations, two of which - Station 2 on Rippburger Road and Station 4 on Plank Road - would be closed. Two new stations would be built: one on Highland Avenue just east of Coombs Road, provided the district can find property there; and one on land the district owns on Dittman Road south of Plato Road, which would become the new headquarters.

Voters rejected similar requests in November 2018, March 2018 and April 2017. This time, the district plans a more concerted informational campaign that will include social media, Fire Chief Mitch Crocetti said.

The district is growing and needs to decrease response times, particularly in the southern part of the district that now has no station, Crocetti said. Firefighters responded to 1,207 calls in 2018 and 1,227 calls last year; a quarter of calls came back-to-back, meaning both rigs were in service at once, he said.

The referendum was approved in the fall in a split vote with trustees John Payson, James Cartee and Matthew Clark voting "yes" and trustees Karel Jones and Robert Seyl voting "no."

Clark said he wants to address the long-term needs of the district. "I'm not looking at the next quarter, I'm looking at the next quarter century," he said.

If voters approve the $8.5 million bond sale, the district will commit to paying $300,000 per year for 20 years, Crocetti said. An increase in property taxes would pay for the rest; owners of a home with a $250,000 fair market value would pay an estimated $46 more in the first year and less in later years based on projected growth, he said.

Opponents say it would be enough to upgrade the two existing stations and build a smaller station in the southern part of the district that could later be expanded. At one point last year, the board had agreed to go for the less expensive plan, then reversed itself after that version's strongest advocate left the board.

Fire Union President Tom Bevins said before building new stations the fire district needs to focus on staffing, which in the past has dropped low enough for temporary station closures.

That hasn't happened in more than a year, Crocetti said. The district employs 41 firefighters; four firefighters/paramedics were hired last month and Assistant Chief Christopher Howell started work last week, Crocetti said. The fire district will discuss later this week how to engage in an informational campaign about the referendum, including any open houses, Crocetti said.