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Nasewaupee Splitting from Southern Door Fire Department

Withdrawal would be effective in 2023

The Nasewaupee Town Hall was filled to capacity with town residents and other interested parties Aug. 18 when the town board unanimously approved a resolution to split from the Southern Door Fire Department (SDFD), which has been in existence as a corporation since December 1980.

The vote follows months of looking into the possible split after the board was urged by town residents during Nasewaupee’s annual meeting April 19 to leave the SDFD and form the town’s own department.

The SDFD has a north station in Nasewaupee and a south station in Forestville, where divisions dating back prior to this year have existed between the two stations on matters such as equipment purchases and how personnel are treated.

According to the operating agreement forming the SDFD with four municipalities – the Village of Forestville and the towns of Forestville, Nasewaupee and Clay Banks – should Nasewaupee decide to leave the department, it would have the first option to purchase the department’s assets located in the town “at their then–fair-market value.”

The resolution states the town intends to exercise that option to purchase the fire department’s assets located in the town. The town had previously had an appraisal done on the Nasewaupee fire station and its equipment. 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.”

The resolution calls for providing notice of the town’s planned withdrawal at next month’s annual meeting of the Southern Door Fire Board, the oversight body of the fire department, which comprises two representatives from each municipality. The withdrawal would be effective as of the fire board’s 2023 annual meeting.

The resolution characterizes Nasewaupee breaking off from the SDFD as being in “the best interests of the town and will benefit the town, its citizens and property.”

Nasewaupee town chair Steve Sullivan (center) speaks Aug. 18 about the process for the town to leave the Southern Door Fire Department and form its own department. Also shown are town clerk Jill Lau (right) and town supervisor No. 2 Don Sixel Jr. (left). Photo by Kevin Boneske.

Impact of the SDFD Split

Nasewaupee town chair Steve Sullivan said an appraisal of the Nasewaupee fire station by the Dunham Appraisal Group of Algoma valued the building at $210,000, not including the land, well and septic system.

He further stated the equipment in the station was appraised by McMahon, with a price range of around $375,000. 

With Nasewaupee having contributed 60%-70% of the department’s budget over the SDFD’s history, based on equalized value, Sullivan said the town would need to pay the other municipalities 30%-40% of what the equipment and building would be worth to own.

“We have that money on hand,” he said. “We probably have another $150,000-$160,000 to start out, plus we won’t be paying the [$240,000 annually] to the corporation anymore. That will be used here to run the station. I think two stations have done a good job serving people, but I think in the long run this is going to be a better deal for Nasewaupee.”

Sullivan said a lot of people think the town wants to leave the SDFD to save money, but he’s contacted about a dozen people who would be interested in joining Nasewaupee’s own department, compared to two existing firefighters who told him they would not want to stay if the town split from the SDFD.

“We’re going to end up with more personnel, and that’s good, because it’s hard to get new firefighters, new [emergency medical responder] people,” he said. “A lot of these [interested in joining a Nasewaupee fire department] are young people. They’re going to be around a long time. I think running this ourselves, we’re going to have a better station and better serve Nasewaupee.”

When asked why the people he contacted who expressed an interest in joining Nasewaupee’s own fire department aren’t on the SDFD now, Sullivan said, “The ones I’ve talked to, they say they don’t want to deal with – if you want to call it the drama. I’ve had people tell me the new people that come in here [to the SDFD] are kind of insulted, looked down upon,” he said. “I’ve had so many people tell me that. I do think there’s a problem.”

Compared to being part of the SDFD, Sullivan said the advantages of the town having its own department would include saving money on truck purchases, managing the department better and getting more personnel.

“It will help the response times and always have somebody around,” he said.

Fire board representatives from the SDFD’s other municipalities who were present at Nasewaupee’s town board meeting voiced their support for keeping the current arrangement for the department with two representatives per municipality, and funding based on equalized value.

“Everybody is paying the same,” said Forestville village president Terry McNulty. “We all pay 5.5 mills. The Town of Nasewaupee is huge. You’re almost two townships [in size], and you’ve got shorefront property. Your equalized value is way higher. It’s actually almost five times the size of the equalized value of the Town of Forestville, which is next biggest. Of course, you pay a lot more.”

Nasewaupee residents on hand took exception to those comments, saying the town should have more representation on the fire board because of how much it contributes to the SDFD.

McNulty said he expects a dispute over the percentage that Nasewaupee must pay the other three municipalities to purchase the fire station and the equipment in the town.