Ongoing work by the city of Bellevue to craft a joint powers agreement between the city's volunteer fire department and Wood River Fire and Rescue has progressed significantly in the past few months.
Last Thursday, the Bellevue City Council discussed the status of the joint powers agreement at a public meeting at City Hall.
If ultimately approved by both sides, the agreement would translate into the sharing of training, equipment, fire calls and workspace by the two departments. The agreement would mean the integration of both crews, Bellevue City Administrator Tom Blanchard said Tuesday. Both crews would likely work out of the Wood River Fire and Rescue fire station located south of Bellevue on state Highway 75.
As part of their role in the agreement, the city of Bellevue's intent is to eventually hire a full-time paid firefighter, he said.
"We're at the point where we need it now," Blanchard said.
For the moment, the city only employs part-time Bellevue Fire Chief Greg Beaver.
Both sides wish to retain the identities of the two fire departments early on in the agreement, Blanchard noted.
At least one thing was made clear during Thursday's City Council discussion. That is, not everyone is sold on the idea of entering into an agreement with Wood River Fire and Rescue without first discussing the possibility of negotiating a similar agreement with another area fire department.
Most who commented at the meeting wanted to discuss such an agreement with the Hailey Fire Department.
Speaking on behalf of the city's volunteer firefighters, Beaver said many in the city's fire department are concerned about entering into such an agreement with the Wood River Fire and Rescue.
Because Wood River employs a full-time paid staff of firefighters and EMTs, many in the Bellevue Fire Department believe issues may arise because of the differences, Beaver said.
The Hailey Fire Department may be a more logical fit for such an agreement, he said.
"They're a lot more like how we operate," he said.
Furthermore, Hailey Fire Chief Mike Chapman has expressed at least some interest in discussing such an agreement, Beaver said.
The bottom line, however, is that the city of Bellevue needs to do the right thing for its residents, Beaver said.
"We've got to look at all the options," he said.
In general, Bellevue City Council members seemed receptive to discussing various other alternatives.
"It's a working agreement," Bellevue City Councilman Shaun Mahoney said. "I'd be a lot more happy to approach Hailey and ask them what they think."
Like Beaver, Mahoney also pointed out that Hailey's fire department is structured more similarly to Bellevue's than is the Wood River Fire and Rescue.
"It's kind of like apples to apples and apples to oranges," he said.
Bellevue City Councilman Steve Fairbrother agreed.
"It sounds like we should have this discussion with the Hailey City Council," Fairbrother said.
