02 City Council Minutes 8-10-04 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meetrng August 10, 2004 Page 8 separated out. Councilman Wilson said that if there was any way if they had to lay anyone off, could they hire a part-time fireman like a substitute, to come in and fill in for sick leave or possibly a pool of five or six people who are certified. He indicated this would help with the overtime. It was suggested that possibly retired firemen could do this, but it needed to be researched to find out the Civil Service regulations. Mayor Fendley asked, when the three new fire stations were built, was there a facility need study. He also asked if Paris could do without one station and still cover the City. Chief Grooms said there was a study done and it is tied into the ISO rating. He explained that the ISO recommends a 1% mile coverage and at the time, Paris did not have that. He said they covered the City with three stations for years, but the City has started growing and the Fire Department needed to grow to cover the expanded area. He explained that if they did away with a station, it would make their response times longer. On a question from Mayor Fendley about how much that would add to the response times, Chief Grooms said they would have to do some time trials. Councilman Poston asked which station had less calls. Chief Grooms indicated it was Station 4 near Paris High. Councilman Wilson agreed, citing the reason as not as many houses in that area. Chief Grooms said the Fire Stations are not only built for the area as it is now, but also for the future of that area. Councilman Wilson said the growth in population is out on Hwy. 195. Chief Grooms reminded him that the City also annexed property out near Sylvan and the Fire Stations were placed so they could cover all areas and still have a good response time. Councilman Bell asked Chief Grooms to check and see how the City of Texarkana was hiring certified Fire Fighters under Civil Service. Chief Grooms