By Naomi Hatch Members of the Snowflake and Taylor town councils will meet in a joint session on Tuesday, Feb. 25, to consider the possibility of combining the towns’ fire departments, as well as Taylor EMS. In introducing the topic to the Taylor council Feb. 5, Councilman Lynn DeWitt said, “I think that everybody had their opinions,” referring to meetings that began with a fire district review committee composed of Snowflake residents. Taylor was invited to organize a similar committee and meet to discuss possibilities for the fire department and ambulance service. Originally, members of the committees leaned toward creating a fire district, but due to the economy they became concerned about an increase in taxes, along with other things, reported DeWitt. “I think what we all came together on…is merging the departments,” said DeWitt. “The merging didn’t seem to be too much of a problem,” said Taylor committee member Brad Click, who noted that there would be quicker response time because an ambulance would be located at the Snowflake fire station and Taylor’s cost would be $60,000. “I think the main issue with the district was trying to convince people to pay a little tax to support emergency services, but there’s got to be something,” said Burden. “We weren’t looking at going to the maximum percentage (for a fire district); we were looking at going very conservative, but being conservative wouldn’t get us out of the hole.” Burden noted that eventually, he could see a district coming back for discussion. “Discussions plowed the field,” said DeWitt, noting that sometimes people were pretty upset and emotional. “There are absolutely both sides of the story.” “People determined public safety is that important,” said DeWitt. “I expect some time we’ll have the discussion of a district again. For now I think we’re just talking about a merger. I’m in favor of it.” Burden said that when they have a second call out for an ambulance, they are “scrambling to get another crew or ambulance to fill.” He explained that stationing an ambulance in Snowflake would improve the arrival time, noting, “Just because an ambulance is stationed in Snowflake, doesn’t mean it won’t come here.” Town Manager Gus Lundberg said they are looking at modeling this similar to the shared service for the police department that is in place, splitting the cost with 45 percent to be paid by Taylor and 55 percent by Snowflake. He added that Snowflake’s debt service on the new fire station would not be in the equation and the extra $60,000 Taylor would pay would go for salaries. “This isn’t an all time fix; we’re still going to be riding the line, we’ll still be tight,” said Burden. “The main concern is here, the town council has the control of raising taxes for our department,” said Lundberg. “A fire district would have the power to take more money and we wouldn’t have to have a vote on it,” added DeWitt. “This IGA (intergovernmental agreement) doesn’t close the door on anything. It’s not binding in hardly any way.” Vice Mayor Shawn Palmer asked who would fill the leadership roles in a combined department, then said, “As far as having two locations, merging the business end makes complete sense. Providing a service makes sense.” DeWitt said that no decision on leadership has been made. Councilman Jason Brubaker expressed concern about one of the fire chief positions being cut. Burden responded that it would not be a one-person job, noting, “The chief is going to need an assistant chief.” “So it’s not that we’re cutting top dogs; we’re going to use what we have…We’re a stronger unit,” said Brubaker. Councilman Carl Cosper, who serves on the committee, attended the meeting telephonically. When asked for a response, he said, “It’s always been my goal to fix our fire department and our ambulance department to where we benefit both towns… without somebody getting killed.” He went on to say that it is inappropriate at this time to talk about who would be fire chief. “Those are some of the big questions that will be coming. Tonight is not the time to talk about that. I think tonight was more introducing it to the council to see if they consider or entertain the idea of merging. If they don’t, there’s no point in continuing,” said DeWitt. “I’m pleased to see you didn’t go in this with one direction and go out with one direction, but you’ve learned,” said Brubaker. “There’s been a lot of debate on what is right for the communities,” said Clay Wood, a member of the committee and a previous Taylor fire chief. He said he felt it wouldn’t be easy to put the agencies together, but said that combining departments is common across the state. “I think it’s going to take some solid leadership, not only from the crews that are working with them, but from the council. There are going to be some bumps along the way.” Wood said he felt the goal should be improving services. He noted that currently there are two small departments competing for services and for equipment, but if they are united, it’s one team. “It’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Wood. Burden said that Wood hit the nail on the head. “It’s not going to be easy. I’m not asking you tonight to make a decision,” Burden said, but noted that he would like to know what they thought about it. Mayor Fay Hatch asked the council for direction. Lundberg noted that the town managers had talked about possibly scheduling a joint meeting. The council agreed to meet with the Snowflake Town Council on Feb. 25.