RANDOLPH, Utah. April 3, 2019. Garden City is going to use a software
package which will allow short term rental unit owners to self check for fire
code violations after an initial fire check.
Last year there were over 400 fire checks. The fee has been $40. Because of the use of this software, the Garden City Fire
District will lose $16,000 in revenue.
Fire Board Members Randall Knight, Doug Pincock, and Mike Wahlberg, Fire Chief met
to update County Commissioners. They
said that they had met with state legislature to see if impact fees could be
used to buy a truck. But were told that
would not be possible even though the
homes and buildings being built are larger and taller than the district trucks
can manage.
So the Fire District needs to raise money for building the
new addition and the replacement of
upgraded vehicles because larger buildings are being built in Garden
City. They are going to ask for a
property tax Increase of $12 for a $200,000
house per year. The last tax hike was in
2008 with an increase of $20 for a $200,000.
Knight said. “If we get much larger, we may have to hire
some more full time people especially in the summer.”
The current fire district budget is $201,000. They need an additional pumper truck and a
replacement ladder truck. Bigger homes
that people are building mean there more people needed to fight a fire and
there are currently not enough vehicles to get them to the fire or to fight
it.
A bond was discussed, but the tax increase would be more
flexible.
The district spent $80,000 for a boat for boat rescue and would now like to find a revenue
source for that. A person who has boat
owner usually has insurance. Knight
asked if the district could charge for water rescue as the ambulance does for runs to the hospital. The boat is used more for rescue than the fire
trucks in summertime. He said he was going
to also ask Utah State Parks for money.
3 comments:
I still don't understand why the GCFD bought a old boat, had to buy new motors it power it and now wants to use it asa rescue vessel..That is the responsibly of Utah Parks and Recreation based out of the Bear Lake State Park Marina. It then falls to Search and Rescue. There is also back up from the u.s. Coast Guard and Idaho State Parks. Duplication of efforts?
You're very misinformed. The boat exists first for fire suppression for the millions of dollars worth of boats in the marina and the old boat didn't allow us to safely fight fires and control hazmat due to several reasons. We decided to make the boat multi purpose since we were replacing it anyway and as a result we have saved many documented lives, so it has been an obvious benefit to the residents and visitors. The department is NOT seeking any money for any part of the boat or to recuperate its expense. Search and rescue has no boat or capability to rescue people on the lake and the other agencies get overwhelmed and have additional areas of responsibility and priority, so we are another layer of protection that is badly needed.
Chief Mike Wahlberg
Garden City Fire District
Let it also be understood that the district WIL NOT charge for boat fires or water rescues and also WILL NOT nor EVER WILL ask state parks for money. State parks generously allows us to keep the boat in the marina at no charge (1,200 value). We will only ever charge for successfully convictions of arson and commercial hazmat spills.
Mike
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