The Greenwood Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously voted Dec. 15 to waive a one-time $150 false-alarm fee for Via Assisted Living after the facility’s new executive director said a recent management transition left alarm and phone systems misconfigured.

Nicole Holder, who said she became executive director of Via Assisted Living in June, told the board she was unaware of earlier alarm runs tied to previous management and has been working with the alarm company and New Whiteland Fire Department to fix auto-dispatch and phone-rollover issues. “I was hoping that we would be able to get, I guess, some grace with respect to this particular situation,” Holder said during her appeal.

Jamie Marshall, identified in the meeting as Greenwood fire chief, described the department’s duty to respond on mutual-aid calls and cited response expectations consistent with National Fire Protection Association practice. Marshall noted operational costs—stating an engine’s operating cost is about $1,575 per hour—to explain the rationale for charging when calls are false or avoidable. He said this was the third such incident this year and that, under the town’s ordinance, the third false alarm triggers a $150 fee; the transcript records a differing amount for the fourth fee that appears garbled.

Board members asked whether both Greenwood and neighboring departments were being dispatched and whether the facility’s phone and alarm handoffs were resolved. After discussion the chair moved to waive the single $150 charge and a second was recorded; the motion passed unanimously.

The board’s action was limited to waiving the single fee for the event in question; the chief and staff emphasized they expect alarm systems to be corrected and that fees may apply for future false alarms under the ordinance. The appeal was recorded as granted with a one-time waiver; Holder thanked the board and said she would continue working with fire and alarm vendors to prevent further false dispatches.