(Milford)– Residents of Center Grove Township are breathing a sigh of relief.
The Milford city council voted four-to-one Monday evening to allow the Fire Department to increase it’s coverage area to include the township.
Center Grove Township is currently served by the Arnolds Park/Okoboji Fire Department. Chief Chris Youngbluth says his department was still interested in serving the township, but negotiations between the city of Arnolds Park and the township didn’t go anywhere.
The current contract with Arnolds Park/Okoboji expires this coming June 30th.
It left the township with limited options: explore an agreement with either Milford or Spirit Lake, or establish it’s own department.
Township trustee Norvin Johnson told the council Milford is the best option, saying they would have a better response time than Spirit Lake due to geography. And Johnson said it simply wouldn’t be feasible for the township to start up it’s own Fire Department.
Councilman Mike Anderson cast the dissenting vote, siting concern over liability and other issues.
Milford Fire Chief Brian Craig told the council he’s heard very few concerns from members of the department about expanding the coverage area.
There are some stipulations, though. One calls for the township to be responsible for repairing any damage to water lines in that area.
The agreement is effective this coming July 1st.
