ALPENA The Alpena Fire Department operates more efficiently than its counterpart in Alpena Township, which could sway township leaders considering shutting
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The Alpena Township Board of Trustees voted 4-3 on Wednesday to reach out to the City of Alpena to gauge interest in discussing a possible contract for fire services.
Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said he will send the correspondence to Alpena Mayor Matt Waligora.
The possibility of the township maintaining and restructuring the township fire department on its own is still on the table too.
Trustees Cash Kroll and Steve Lappan, who are on the fire department ad hoc committee, voted against involving the city, as did Clerk Michele Palevich.
The board also voted to allow Fire Chief Dave Robbins to continue the hiring process for a job candidate who is attending college in Saginaw and expected to graduate in May. The hiring is pending the candidate filing required paperwork and passing background checks. The hire is also contingent on the man having a valid work visa, as he is from Canada.
Alpena Township leaders and residents have some important decisions to make.
An ad hoc committee exploring township firefighting and emergency medical services has determined it would cost $800,000 next budget year to fully fund the Alpena Township Fire Department.
That’s about $300,000 more than is raised per year by a township property tax earmarked for firefighting and EMS operations, committee members determined. The difference between the fire department cost and what’s raised by the tax would have to come out of the township’s general fund, but general fund subsidization of the fire department was among the reasons township leaders recently proposed consolidating its fire department with Alpena’s.
ALPENA The staffing shortage at the Alpena Township Fire Department is being addressed, as more employees have been added to the schedule. Others may be hire
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News File Photo
Alpena Township Fire Capt. John Clements gets ready to climb out of a fire truck after returning from the scene of a car crash in this December 2020 News archive photo.
ALPENA TOWNSHIP The Alpena Township Board of Trustees has taken its initial steps to restructure and rebuild the township fire department after finding itself severely short-staffed at the end of 2020.
The shortage, caused by a wave of retirements and employees leaving for other jobs, meant long hours for the two remaining full-time firefighters, already resulting in one missed response to a medical emergency, officials said. The township has contracted with the city to fill in for the next six months, but city crews weren’t yet on the job when the call was missed.