Sagamore Hills residents petition changes to safety services

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Changes would include splitting up services between Sagamore Hills and Northfield Center.... — Changes would include splitting up services between Sagamore Hills and Northfield Center. (Source: WOIO)

SAGAMORE HILLS TOWNSHIP, OH (WOIO) - Residents of Sagamore Hills Township have started a petition, attempting to get 1,000 signatures to stop a proposed change in how the township gets firefighting services.

In a letter dated March 15, the Sagamore Hills Township stated it will withdraw from the current fire district agreement, and instead contract with the city of Macedonia "to provide regional and Fire and EMS services to our community."

Resident Kim Griner started a petition in an effort to reverse the township's decision.

"The fire department is the heart and soul of our community and we're not just going to let the trustees give it away," said Griner, who has lived in the township for more than 20 years. "We were very shocked that this decision was made without input from us, the residents, and their own fire board. We're very, very, concerned about our taxes going to a different city. We want our tax dollars to stay here and go to our own fire department."

District fire chief, Frank Risko, said he was surprised to learn of the trustees' decision, and said neither he nor the fire chiefs of Macedonia or Northfield Village were invited to meetings about regionalization.

"I think if we had sat down we still could have worked something out, and if it meant tightening belts or whatever it would take, we would have worked 100 percent with them to accomplish this, because we want to keep our department," said Risko. "If it's at all possible, I'd like to see it stay and keep up the relationship with the residents, because they're entitled to it."

The members of the Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire Fighters' Association also wrote an open letter to the residents they currently serve about the trustees' decision. In it, they raised concerns about the process going too quickly, stating it's "a process that takes time to explore and study...However, they made the decision in a matter of days." It went on to say, "This is not a merger but rather a takeover."

The letter also raised concerns about staffing, possible increased response times, and reduced fire and EMS coverage overall.

Risko said the fire district currently responds to about 800 calls for service in Sagamore Hills Township each year, and an additional 500 in Northfield Center Township. District firefighters are the ones who responded to the January house fire and explosion, where all four members of the Mather family were found dead inside the home.

Trustee Paul Schweikart says the township's decision is all about dollars and cents.

"We're talking economics, and I guess, that's resistance to change," said Schweikart.

Cleveland 19 requested correspondence about the proposed merger, and learned that the contract with Macedonia would cost $750,000 for the first year, $750,000 plus union negotiated rates for the second year, and the third through fifth years would be open to negotiations. Schweikart said these numbers are less expensive than what the township would have to pay to remain in the current fire district.

Schweikart said it's not just the cost of personnel, a large part of the expense would be renovations to the district's fire station. He said if the station could be renovated, it would cost the city about $928,000 a year for the next five years. If a new station has to be built, the cost would be at least about $1.2 million a year. All of those numbers are assuming firefighters don't receive a pay raise for the next five years.

"It's at a point here where this screams for regionalization right now, and it would actually be cheaper if all the communities came together and had one fire department," explained Schweikart.

Schweikart doesn't believe response times would be affected and said the township doesn't want to have to raise taxes.

"We're elected to make those decisions and the people vote on that on Election Day. And if they think that we've made a bad decision, they don't have to vote for us," said Schweikart.

Griner's online petition currently has more than 100 signatures. She plans to present it to the board April 11.

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