Grover/Porterfield Fire Dept. Answered 56 Calls In 2011

Grover/Porterfield Fire Department responded to 56 calls during 2011, Battalion Chief Tim Kamm reported at the Town of Grover annual meeting Tuesday, April 10. Of those, four were structure fires in Grover or Porterfield and five were mutual aid requests from other fire departments. There was one wild land fire, nine calls for wires down or trees on wires, one chimney fire, six county calls, four calls to assist Emergency Medical Services, 17 calls to vehicle accidents, two calls to vehicle fires, and seven calls for other types of assistance.

Department personnel inspected a total of 73 buildings in the two towns, and provided support at the Porterfield Country Music festival, Cruisin’ Oldies Festival, local parades and the Every 15 Minutes program.

The public will have a chance to see the new equipment truck purchased last year and other recent acquisitions at an open house the department plans to hold this year at the fire station in Harmony. Kamm said they generally have one every other year, and there was none last year.

The Fire Department has 38 active members and 23 of them qualify for “Length of Service” awards.

Income for the department in 2012 totaled $164,948, of which $60,350 came from each town, $9,979 from donations, and $13,546.50 from reimbursements, in addition to a $4,852 grant toward the new equipment truck, $7,637 in 2 percent fire dues, $125 in miscellaneous income, $108 from a rebate, and $8,000 left in the savings account.

The department added $8,962 in new equipment, and spent $14,297 for the new truck plus $2,989 for new radios. Total cost of repairs was $26,442. The department paid $31,476 for equipment and equipment tests, plus $925 to test fire extinguishers and pumps. Firefighter mileage compensation totaled $20,455. Expenses specific for the Harmony Fire Station totaled $5,516.

Assistant Chief Gordon Klimek reported they are working on refurbishing Porterfield’s 1991 fire engine. He added the tanks are getting old, and by state law they can no longer do the rebuilding themselves.

“We don’t want to fall behind like we did a few years ago and have to replace everything all at once,” Kamm declared. He added the department’s newest truck is a 2006.

Of the nearly $10,000 in donations the department received, $2,500 came from Monsato Foundation, which will be sending a like amount this year.

Country Fest gave $600, Don Bergeson donated $2,000, and the insurance carrier for one of the fire victims paid $1,000, which covered the cost of special foam used in fighting the fire. There were smaller donations from the Coleman Lionesses, Marinette County Dairy Promotions, and Wal-Mart, and a donor who does not want to be identified gave $1,000 three times, Kamm said.

A total of $29,261 was spent on repairs, $1,719 on training, $4,565 on utilities, and $24,600 on wages, leaving a net income for the year of $724.29. Cost of disability and liability insurance totaled $8,915.

All pump testing, ladder testing, fit testing was completed for the year and DOT checks of all trucks is complete.

The Women’s Auxiliary raised money to purchase a new training dummy, flash lights for each firefighter, a smoke machine for training, and a laptop computer for the department treasurer in addition to helping update all radios and pagers.

There were only 14 members of the public present for the meeting in addition to Town Chair Wayne Staidl, Supervisors Kim Kittredge and Wayne Hoffman, Clerk/Treasurer Lisa Witak, Kamm and Klimek.

Copies of the 2011 town audit were available, and Staidl commented it looks good. There was more income than expected, and less expense. “We haven’t touched our CDs for quite a while,” Staidl commented. There was less spent on snow plowing than usual, but they spent more than usual on maintenance.

Staidl reported he has been serving on two important state committees. One Transportation Task Force Committee is studying the effect of “husbandry” on the roads, and they find it is significant, he said, particularly on town roads which are not built to support the weight of the large tanker trucks used to haul sludge from manure storage facilities.

“Manure trucks are the worst,” Staidl declared. He said they may have to put some restrictions on hauling to save the roads, but as a town board they will do everything they can to help out.

Manure trucks should stay toward the center of the road, at least a foot and a half or two feet from either side. Staidl said if necessary they should be notified in advance and will close town roads to everything except emergency vehicles while manure trucks are in transit so they can safely run down the center.

On the other hand, Staidl urged anyone hauling heavy loads on town roads to contact a town officer immediately if they see damage starting to occur. “If you keep going, repairs can get costly,” he said, adding the individual or firm that caused the damage can be charged three times the cost of repairs if it goes unreported keeps happening.

The other committee Staidl served on reviewed 118 applications for one of the state road aid programs and doled out $11.5 million in grants to a total of 60 applicants.

As to repairs to Grover roads, Staidl was pleased to report that County W is being fixed this year. He said at a recent Wisconsin Towns Association meeting in Wausaukee he had suggested that County Administrator Ellen Sorensen should take a ride on the Grover section of County W in a pickup truck. She didn’t go herself, but she sent an employee, who only went a short distance on the road before deciding that improvement is badly needed. Sorensen promptly told him there will be some work done on it soon.

The old section of Tower Hill Road is cracked and falling apart, and will be repaired if they can find the funds, as will Lepinski Lane, Staidl said.

However, he warned in future they may need to think about letting some of the lanes go back to gravel. About 20 miles, or a quarter of the Grover town road system, is comprised of the lightly traveled lanes, which are often narrow and lack a good base. Staidl said once they have added enough gravel to get a good base they could someday consider repaving them.

Witak commented the town gets the same state aid per mile for gravel roads as it does for paved. Staidl said in the long run it costs just as much for the town to build and maintain gravel roads as it does blacktop ones because of the grading and other maintenance needed, but it’s the high upfront cost that makes it difficult to keep the lanes blacktopped. Hoffman said the state tells them the town roads should last 40 years between paving, “but it just doesn’t work out that way.”

Later in the meeting talk again returned to road maintenance and repair. Staidl, to a question from the floor, said if a road will be returned to gravel they need to pulverize the remaining blacktop and then grade the road to leave a smooth driving surface.

Buzz Davis commented there aren’t any good spots left on the roads Staidl is talking about returning to blacktop.

Staidl said the state gas tax is generating only about half the money needed to keep all the roads in good repair, and said one of the state committees he has been serving on had asked which they would prefer to see raised - the gas tax or registration fees. Wisconsin gas tax currently is 32.5 cents per gallon. Highest in the nation, Iowa, charges 40 cents per gallon. On the other hand, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia charge 70 cents per gallon gas tax.

Staidl asked those present to think about what they could prefer increased, but then asked, “If we raise the gas tax, can we keep the money local to use on our roads, or will it all go to the Marquette Interchange?”

No action was taken and the meeting adjourned. The next annual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, 2013.

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