Financial Impact of Possible SDFD Split Questioned
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In the event that the Town of Nasewaupee splits from the Southern Door Fire Department (SDFD), the financial impact of doing so would need to be resolved with the other three municipalities that make up the department: the Village of Forestville and the towns of Forestville and Clay Banks.
The operating agreement among the four municipalities states that if Nasewaupee would leave the department, the town would have the first option to purchase the pieces of equipment located in the town “at their then–fair-market value.”
Nasewaupee would be required to pay the remaining municipalities “an amount equal to the percentage of the then–fair-market value of the property contributed by the remaining municipalities.”
Forestville village president Terry McNulty informed the village board Monday that the department’s eight-member fire board, which consists of two representatives of each municipality, met this month and argued about what that language means, referring the matter to the fire board’s attorney.
The fair-market value of the equipment in the Nasewaupee station, which the town retained the Neenah-based firm McMahon to evaluate, could also be disputed by the municipalities in the department.
McMahon’s report stated that “there is no price guide to use as a reference due to the circumstances that the fire apparatus industry is a very small sector of the heavy-duty truck market. Defining the value of a truck is not an exact science, and [it] is important to point out that many fire apparatus and equipment purchases are custom, ‘one-of-a-kind’ purchases.”
Based on Nasewaupee paying 70% of SDFD’s budget, and on McMahon’s appraisal estimate, Nasewaupee town chair Steve Sullivan has stated previously that the town would have to pay between $120,000 – $150,000 if it were to leave the SDFD.
A resolution to authorize the withdrawal of Nasewaupee from the SDFD’s operating agreement was on the town board’s agenda Thursday evening, after this week’s edition of the Peninsula Pulse went to press.
