Walker approves automatic aid agreement with Granville; consent agenda passes

Chief Schultz presented a Kent County standard automatic aid agreement with the Granville Fire Department and told the commission that portions of southern Walker fall within a five-road-mile response area of Granville's station. "If someone calls and says their house is on fire, they're gonna dispatch the Walker Fire Department at the same time as the Granville Fire Department," he said, adding that the partnership can improve response times and Walker's insurance rating.

Schultz described practical details: Granville typically has three personnel on duty at its station, many Walker calls south of Lake Michigan Drive are within that five-mile area, and Granville asked that Walker agree to send a crew to backfill Granville's station when Granville crews respond to large incidents; Schultz said Walker would anticipate providing that reciprocal coverage about "6 times a year." He also clarified that auto aid does not cede incident control: "It's absolutely our incident...when our senior officer gets there, we just transfer command."

The consent agenda included expenditures of $650,880.72 and the automatic aid agreement. The commission moved, supported and approved the consent agenda by voice vote.

The commission discussed next steps: if Walker approves the agreement at its regular meeting, Granville will take it to its commission for final action. The chief said Granville asked Walker to take it up first to ensure no local objections.

Next steps: the automatic aid agreement was approved under the consent agenda and will be forwarded to Granville for their formal adoption.