The City Council of Rush City continued to address issues revolving around fire department coverage within its local area at its Monday, March 11, meeting.
Rush City Mayor Alan Johnson and Rush City City Administrator Amy Mell have had several meetings with representatives from Pine City, which has seen its previous mayor and city administrator resign.
Marcy Peterson, the interim Pine City administrator, presented a new plan to Mell. There will be a temporary agreement in place until April 1, which would give both cities’ attorneys a chance to review the agreement before the finalized contract.
Johnson said that the Fire Department in Pine City is the driving force behind this agreement.
According to the plan, the entire fire district would be charged for any request for mutual aid. Pine City does not charge other neighboring districts for mutual aid; however, it did agree that Rush City should submit a fee schedule to Pine City.
Rush City Council Member Tom Schnieder said, “If they don’t charge seven other districts, it’s not fair to charge us,” and fellow Council Member Dan Meyer agreed.
The focus on Pine City negotiations appears to be that Pine City will be losing money from the northern part of Rock Creek, and Pine City would need to recoup that loss through fees to the Rush City. Pine City submitted a fee schedule for their fire equipment.
Rush City Council Member Michael Louzek asked, if the fire department asked Pine City to come to a fire, would Rush City have to confirm which equipment came to the fire?
Johnson said that the request would likely be for manpower and water, so Pine City would primarily come with a tanker. He said that his first response is to not sign the agreement; for example, he said there is a $500 mobilization fee plus additional fees.
A bad fire could incur a fee of over $8,000 from Pine City alone.
Braham has currently been covering up to 560th Street for mutual aid because Pine City would not cover it automatically. There is also a statewide mutual aid agreement.
“No one is going to want to help anymore because they are worried about fees. It is going to affect a lot of people,” Rush City Fire Chief Bob Carlson said, adding that previously there was a good relationship between the cities.
“If Rush City went to Grantsburg, then Pine City would watch our back door,” he said. “If Grantsburg went to Pine City then Rush City, would cover for them in their town.
“Ultimately the citizens of the area are the ones who will suffer.”
Mell said if Rush City received a bill of, for example, $5,000, there are three options:
1. The city pays it, and then next year the fee will be spread over the whole fire district.
2. The homeowner pays, but they would already have the $750 from Rush City and the loss of property to contend with.
3. Rush City charges the township that the property is in, but then that would increase the fees for the township disproportionately.
“I only see three options and none of them are right,” Mell said.
The council voted to table the contract and attempt to meet with Pine City. Once negotiations with Pine City are completed, negotiations with Grantsburg would begin.
In related news, Carlson talked about the Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings for Rush City. The ISO ratings are a 1-to-10 scale determining a fire department’s ability to protect a community.
“The rating system goes up to 10, with 10 being the worst,” he said. “Rush City will keep its rating of 4 for in the city and 6 for some of the outlying townships.
“Originally 40 years ago we were an 8 and 10, but we’ve been improving over the years.”
Private roadways
Council also moved forward on a text amendment allowing private roadways within the city, something private developments of small twin homes or detached town homes are requesting.
There was an issue 20 years ago where a developer used a private roadway but did not tell the homeowners who purchased the properties that it was a private roadway. The homeowners ended up taking the city to court and the city lost; in response, the city outlawed private roadways.
Moving forward, to request a specific private roadway, an applicant would have to go through planning and development and then would be filed with Chisago County.
New private roadways are not to be called “streets,” and a homeowners association would be responsible for snow removal and road maintenance.
Council members Frank Storm and Meyer both had concerns about a homeowners association breaking down or residents refusing to plow or maintain the road.
But council did vote to move forward with allowing private roadways again in the city.
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