The West Alton and Portage des Sioux districts’ firefighters are working better together, chief says
By Susan Weich
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Copyright 2007 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
WEST ALTON, Ill. - Four months after the Portage des Sioux and West Alton volunteer fire agencies merged to become the Rivers Pointe Fire Protection District, officials say the transition is going smoothly.
“All the goals we’ve set out to accomplish have been going straight through, and everything is right on target if not ahead of schedule,” said former Portage des Sioux fire Chief Kurt Machens, who is board president of the new 64-square-mile district.
The combined 52 firefighters have responded together to calls and have been training on one another’s equipment. Volunteers have been staffing the firehouse in Portage des Sioux for a few hours on the weekends, and training is held there twice a month.
Rivers Pointe fire Chief Rick Pender said the merger of the volunteers had been nearly seamless.
“The attendance at training has increased,” he said. “The guys are getting to know each other more and are working better together.”
In addition, the consolidation has led to savings, such as a $5,000 cut in administrative services, which amounts to about 8 percent of this year’s $66,000 budget.
The district also has created a computerized map of its coverage area for the first time and next month will undergo a review by Insurance Services Office Inc., which could lead to lower insurance premiums for homeowners and businesses.
Officials recently approved a new district logo featuring an eagle perched atop a Maltese cross with the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers depicted in the lower right-hand portion. The patch should be on uniforms in a few weeks.
Perhaps the biggest change will be the purchase of a new rescue pumper for the Portage des Sioux station. Six bids ranging from $198,000 to $231,000 will be considered May 7. The new pumper will replace a 1975 model.
The only hitch has been receiving the tax dollars the district is due, Pender said. Utilities, which make up nearly half the district’s tax income, didn’t know about the potential merger - passed in August - when they reported to the State Tax Commission last May.
Because of the lower income, the district has put some of its budget plans - such as signs with the new district name - on hold, he said. However, the problem is being remedied, Pender said.
Portage des Sioux Mayor Mark Warner said the merger has been a positive thing for his city. He said officials had been working with the fire district and the city of West Alton to put together an emergency operations plan and to coordinate any efforts in the event of a disaster.
Pender said those types of plans had never been made before.
“That’s the kind of thing that makes me proud because we keep being a part of progress and change,” he said.
Both Pender and Warner said they had received no complaints about the increased cost of the protection, which went from a flat fee of $25 for residences to 20 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation for residents of Portage des Sioux. The owner of a $100,000 home saw an increase of about $13 under the merger.