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Fairview officials say Gresham contract ends June 30; cities pressing for shorter term and opt-out language
Summary
City staff said a contract that would shift Fairview's fire service to Gresham expires June 30 and that local leaders are seeking clearer cost facts, shorter commitment terms and nonperformance language before signing.
Fairview city staff told the City Council on Feb. 5 that a proposed contract for regional fire services would expire June 30 and that city leaders are still negotiating terms and seeking cost details.
The discussion matters because, without an agreement in place by June 30, Fairview could lack contracted fire protection, officials said. Nathan George, fire services staff, said, "If we don't have anything in place, then we wouldn't have fire service." The council and staff described a compressed timetable for reviewing proposals and urged more concrete pricing and performance terms from Gresham.
City managers from the affected jurisdictions are meeting to compare proposals. George said Fairview is asking for a shorter guaranteed commitment than the provider proposed: "They were pushing for 3 [years]. We're pushing for 2," he said, adding that Gresham had also described a 10-year contract with opt‑in language. City staff said the contract draft had not yet been delivered to Fairview for detailed review and that Eric Schmidt, the city manager, would work on a redline for council review.
Councilors and staff raised specific concerns: unclear cost basis, which apparatus respond to which calls, and whether the contract includes nonperformance remedies. One councilor described instances where multiple engines responded to medical calls and questioned the cost efficiency of that deployment pattern. George flagged staffing implications for the provider, saying Gresham may reduce staff by attrition if the contract is not renewed.
Councilors were also told the current phase is largely information‑gathering: local mayors and city managers will meet, staff will seek a contract draft and any proposed redline will be brought back to council for formal consideration. George told the council to "expect a lot more conversations about this in the upcoming 3 months."
The city did not take a final vote on the contract during the meeting; staff characterized the session as report and discussion only and said formal action will follow after members receive a redlined draft and cost details.
