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Kane County allocates up to $50,000 for outside feasibility study on countywide fire plan
Summary
The commission unanimously approved up to $50,000 to hire outside consultants to study options and a process for countywide fire and emergency response; a public commenter urged that mountain-specific conditions and FEMA frameworks be considered.
The Kane County Commission voted unanimously on April 29 to allocate up to $50,000 to hire an outside consultant to produce a feasibility study on a countywide fire and emergency-response plan.
Commissioners said repeated stops and starts over several years and a complex patchwork of districts and agreements made a neutral third-party analysis necessary. The motion directs staff to fund the study from legal and technical fee line items and to manage the request for proposals process.
During the public-comment period, Charles High Tower, a part-time Duck Creek Village resident and a former fire-board member, urged the county to ensure the consultant accounts for mountain-specific challenges — winter snow, spring mud, summer dust and large seasonal population increases — and to involve the county road department in the study so planners can address access issues for emergency vehicles. He also recommended the consultant be versed in FEMA guidance, including the National Response Framework and the Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit, and that the study result in memoranda of understanding among hospitals, fire departments, the sheriff's office, U.S. Forest Service and other agencies.
Commissioners said the county has some line-item funds available and that an independent review could provide an objective path forward. The motion to appropriate up to $50,000 and begin an RFP process passed unanimously.
