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High Prairie Township resident urges board to allow township fire department amid voter petition effort
Summary
A High Prairie Township resident told the Leavenworth County Board of Commissioners that volunteers have gathered signatures for a petition to remove the township from Fire District No. 1 and establish local township fire protection, saying door-to-door outreach shows strong support for the move.
A High Prairie Township resident told the Leavenworth County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 25 that residents are actively collecting signatures for a petition to move fire protection out of Fire District No. 1 and into a locally controlled High Prairie Township fire department.
Tamara (last name not specified), who identified herself as a resident and petitioner, said she and volunteers have gone door to door across the township and that most homeowners they contacted support the petition. “When people hear what we're doing, 95% of the time the answer is, 'yes, I wanna sign this petition,'” she told the commissioners.
Tamara described the township as roughly six miles by seven miles and said geography makes locally based protection important; she urged commissioners and staff to visit the High Prairie Township station at 180 Seventh Street to inspect staffing and equipment. She said the petition mechanism was the only path advised by the board’s December meeting to provide the township with an independent fire department.
Commissioners discussed their role in ensuring fire protection. Commissioner Mike Stevens said the county’s objective has been to make sure fire protection is maintained and emphasized the county’s responsibility to provide or ensure coverage, while saying the county is not intending to expand similar arrangements elsewhere. County staff previously explained the county entered a contract with Lansing to ensure immediate fire protection while longer-term governance and service questions are resolved.
The board later took a separate vote to authorize the county counselor’s office to process outstanding Fire District No. 1 invoices; staff said funds available in the district account cover an estimated $9,905 of unpaid bills related to the district’s wrap-up.
Ending: Petition activity and questions about the long-term governance of township-level fire protection are pending; petitioners said they plan to file voter petitions seeking 51% signatures from registered township voters and encouraged commissioners to observe door-to-door outreach or ride along with signature gatherers.
