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The Chisago City Council was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place April 23 as they pondered how to best meet the Chisago City Fire Chief’s request for $196,000 to pay for new radios.

Fire Chief Zach Reed appeared before the Chisago City Council asking that the city use $196,000 of the one-time allocation of 2023 Public Safety Aid funds to pay for new radios for the volunteer fire department. Reed said that 25 portable radios and five mobile units for the fire trucks, which were quoted at $170,000 last August, are $195,987, and the price keeps going up. Reed wants to order the radios before the price goes any higher. He said that, once ordered, the new radios won’t be delivered for 26 weeks.

The chief said the department’s current emergency radios were obtained used. Some are 14 years old, and the department is finding that about 25 percent of the old radios cannot be programmed to the new package of channels under the statewide ARMER (Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response) system.  

“We are supposed to get our radios scanned in the next few weeks; I can’t afford to lose any more of them,” Reed said adding four of their old radios were already unusable.    

In regard to use of the city’s one-time Minnesota Public Safety Aid allocation for the purchase, Council member Marie Rivers asked, “This request is for radios for the fire department; what about the police?”

“They need radios just like we do, but I can’t speak for them,” responded the fire chief. 

City Administrator Pechman then said that Chisago City had previously discussed matching the funds that Lindstrom put into the Lakes Area Police Department budget on a 50-50 basis,, but that Lindstrom reportedly had tabled the matter for further discussion. 

Lindstrom City Administrator Dan Undem on April 17 had recommended the Lindstrom City Council allocate $115,000 from its pubic safety aid funds to the Lakes Area Police Department and $100,000 to the Lindstrom Volunteer Fire Department, in session with the city council in April. That decision was tabled after Lindstrom Council member David Waldoch said he would like to see Chisago City provide 53 percent of its Public Safety Aid funds to the LakesArea  Police to be “even” with Lindstrom. 

 On April 23, Pechman told the Chisago City Council, “If we were going to match Lindstrom dollar for dollar for the police department, it would leave $131,000 (in public safety funds) for our fire department radios.”  

Pechman went on to say that by year end, Chisago City will have $26,000 available in its capital budget bringing the total city funds available this year for new fire department radios to $157,000. Pechman estimated this would leave a “gap” of about $37,000 from the total cost requested by the fire chief.

Council member Nikki Battles asked Chief Reed if it was possible to order fewer radios at this time. The chief indicated his request was a for “the minimum number of radios we need to be operational” adding, “Holding off and waiting for Lindstrom, I don’t think that is a real good plan. We need to do what’s good for Chisago City.”

Council member Jeremy Dresel suggested a compromise.  “Why don’t we approve the amount requested minus the $37,000 and then stagger the radio purchase going forward so we don’t always have to purchase all of the radios in one year. I know some of those old radios will still work.”

The fire chief replied that the greatest priority was for  new radios for the trucks and something could possibly be worked out to stagger purchase of some of the portables, adding, “I don’t want to be five years down the road patching this together again.” 

Chief Reed then reported that the fire department could soon fall under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. 

“It’s hard enough for the fire service to do what we do and contend with OSHA,” said Reed. “We’re currently trying to hire more firefighters...and applicants are not knocking the door down.” He reported two volunteer firefighters have retired this year with more retirements expected.

This led to Reed making another request of the council. 

“A lot of departments have gone to training city public works employees to become members of the fire department,” said Reed. He added that a couple of Chisago City’s public works employees had expressed interest in joining the fire department but were “apprehensive to do that unless they had permission of the city.” Reed suggested it was something the city could do to help offset the increasing difficulty recruiting volunteer firefighters.

The council took no official action on the fire chief’s requests.

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