City to add firefighters

Aug. 16--For the first time since Lyndon B. Johnson was in the White House, Morgantown will fill new firefighter positions.

City Council voted unanimously in support of a resolution to accept a $1.7 million SAFER grant Tuesday during its regular meeting. The vote came with the understanding that it will require a substantial financial investment from the city going forward.

The grant, administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will allow the city to add 12 firefighters. The funds will be provided on a sliding scale over a three-year period. In years one and two, the grant covers 75 percent of the cost to pay 12 new firefighters. In year three, it drops to 35 percent.

Preliminary numbers included in the meeting packet showed the city would need to provide an additional $464,321 for the fire department in the first year of the grant. After the grant expires, those projections climb to about $1.1 million annually.

Fire Chief Mark Caravasos said he knows it's a large commitment from the city, but it's one that's been put off for too long given the city's growth and the shift to larger, high-rise housing structures.

He explained that the city typically has 11 firefighters on duty, below the 15-18 recommended for a low-level house fire, and far below the 26-28 firefighters recommended for high rise blazes.

Bottom line, Caravasos said, the city can do it today with the federal government's help or figure out how to do it alone tomorrow.

"If we don't take this opportunity, the problem does not go away. The only thing that goes away is $1.7 million that we won't have in federal money," he said.

Council agreed with the chief's assessment.

"I think all of us on council were elected on quality of life issues in this city. The fact is that we don't have a fire department that is where it should be and we're being offered money by the federal government," Councilor Barry Wendell said. "We have to take this, even if we have to raise taxes."

In other city news, council approved on first reading an amendment to the city's Home Rule plan.

If approved by the state's oversight board, the city will use the Home Rule Pilot Program to implement six initiatives, including:

Expanded arrest authority for fire marshals.

The authority to limit the expansion of manufacturing, industrial and agricultural zoning uses.

The ability to waive the certified mail requirement for zoning changes altering density.

The ability to sell real estate without auction.

The ability to spend money on public schools.

The ability to eliminate property ownership as a prerequisite to sit on the BOPARC board.

Council also passed the second of three readings for a pair of bond laws for the Morgantown Utility Board.

The first will be used to fund about $1.5 million in storm water improvements to Forest Avenue, Third Street and the Valley View Road area.

The second is essentially a refinancing of a 2012 bond issue that will allow the above work to be done without increasing rates. The 2012 bonds, which covered storm water work in Sabraton, will be extended from 15 to 30 years.

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