In a surprising twist to a decades-old debate, Hailey Mayor Susan McBryant attended last Thursday's Bellevue City Council meeting to extend an offer to begin direct talks between the cities on some form of joint partnership on fire protection.
Speaking to Bellevue Mayor Jon Anderson and the council, McBryant made clear her desire to first work with the city of Bellevue on fire protection before negotiating with Blaine County and the Wood River Fire and Rescue Department.
"The partner we want to partner with is Bellevue," McBryant said. "Rather than being pushed or pulled in different directions, our city decided to pursue its own interests."
Depending on how the talks go, McBryant said the agreement could mean consolidation of Hailey and Bellevue fire services.
"Either in whole or in part," she said.
Consolidation makes sense because of the two cities' budgetary similarities, McBryant said.
A similar discussion between Hailey, Bellevue and the Wood River Fire and Rescue Department eight years ago was unsuccessful, she noted.
"It was largely a territorial battle," McBryant said.
Working just with Bellevue for now doesn't mean the two cities couldn't elect to work with Wood River Fire and Rescue in the future, McBryant said.
But, for now, working with Bellevue makes the most fiscal sense, she said.
"It will allow us to keep out costs lower than expansion into the county," McBryant said.
Bellevue City Administrator Tom Blanchard said Tuesday that McBryant's invitation was well received by Bellevue officials.
He said McBryant's request is significant, and opens the door to a more efficient system of fire protection between the two cities.
"Let's see what our synergies are and see how those work," Blanchard explained.
Bellevue officials believe fire protection consolidation is in the best interest of the city, he said.
"We've got a huge need down here to support our fire department," Blanchard said. "We think the fire systems of the entire valley need to be integrated."
Having five separate fire departments throughout the Wood River Valley is an inefficient use of tax dollars and fire protection equipment, he added.
"Most of us have very similar fire service demands," Blanchard said.
While the city of Bellevue already is in talks with Wood River Fire and Rescue, those negotiations haven't proceeded very far, he said. A draft joint powers agreement between Bellevue and Wood River Fire and Rescue is currently in the hands of Wood River personnel, he added.
"We haven't heard back from them," Blanchard said.
The agreement would basically mean the integration of both crews, he said. Of course, McBryant's invitation to Bellevue adds a wrinkle to an already convoluted issue.
Speaking to the Hailey City Council on Monday, McBryant said Bellevue officials were delighted by the invitation. McBryant estimated an agreement between the two cities could be reached within a year to 18 months.
Susan McBryant
