Archive for May, 2014

Legal bills tax the Gardner FPD

The Morris Daily Herald has an article about legal issues of the Gardner FPD taking a toll on funds:

The village of Gardner voted Tuesday night to advance TIF funds to the Gardner Fire Protection District in the amount of $75,000.

This action will help the fire district handle its high expenses due to ongoing legal battles.

“I got a call from one of the trustees of the fire protection district, and he said they were in need of money, and asked if there was anything we could do to help them out,” village finance commissioner Dick Hileman said.

He said he checked with village attorney Scott Belt and the village’s TIF attorney Tom Jacobs and found the village could give the fire district an advancement on its TIF payments at 0 percent interest, which would be taken out of tax payments paid to the village.

A TIF district is an area in which assessed property values are frozen at their current level. Tax money generated from the difference between the frozen value and current value of those properties goes into a special TIF fund to be used to improve properties in the district.

The Gardner fire district receives a portion of the village’s TIF funds, and through Tuesday’s ordinance will get an advance on its next payment.

The village will get paid back when the tax money gets paid from the Grundy County Treasurer. The village clerk will reduce the amount going to the fire district by the $75,000 advancement, according to the ordinance.

“Through Jacobs’ projections, the fire protection district’s TIF funds are estimated at $93,000, so this amount is well within that number,” Belt said.

The village of Gardner and the Gardner Fire Protection District entered into an agreement Jan. 26, 1987, for the sharing of TIF funds, this agreement authorizes the village to provide additional capital contributions to the fire district at the discretion of the village.

“I thought it was best to do it for the safety and welfare of the members of our community,” Hileman said.

Commissioner Rob Wolf asked if the money being borrowed had to be used on capital improvements only.

Hileman said the district, just like the village, can borrow against the TIF funds and use the funds for purposes other than capital improvements as long as they pay that amount back into the TIF fund within a set amount of time and use those TIF funds for capital improvements.

The board voted unanimously to advance the funds, with commissioner Terry Jensen passing on the vote due to his position as fire chief.

Jensen said when the fire district gave him a budget to run the fire station with, it already had $135,000 taken out in legal fees.

“Once again the village has assisted us,” Jensen said.

Jensen said legal fees have mounted with the ongoing litigation between the Gardner Fire Protection District and the former Gardner Volunteer Fire Department, as well as numerous Freedom of Information Act requests that have to be fielded through the district’s attorney, and in some cases be redacted in order to provide them to the petitioner.

 

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New fire station in Glenview

This from Larry Shapiro:

I stopped by the construction site for Glenview’s new headquarters Fire Station 6. Here’s a photo of the project as of May 25th.

foundation for new fire station

The foundation has been poured for Glenview Fire Station #6. Larry Shapiro photo

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New ambulance for Villa Park

Drew Gresik found this new ambulance for Villa Park on the Foster Coach Facebook page :

 Here’s the link to delivery shots of Villa Park’s new Medic 81

new ambulance

New unit for Villa Park Medic 81. Foster Coach Sales photo

new ambulance

Rear of the new ambulance. . Foster Coach Sales photo

new ambulance

Foster Coach Sales photo

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Barrington touts ISO upgrade after split

The Daily Herald has an article

An imminent upgrade of Barrington’s fire insurance rating is being hailed by village officials as validation of their fire department’s realignment after the Jan. 1 split from the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District.

Effective Aug. 1, the Insurance Services Office will upgrade the village’s public protection classification from a 4 to a 2 — putting it in the top 1.5 percent of all fire departments in the U.S., according to the village

While it’s less likely the improved rating will make an impact on homeowners’ insurance rates, Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie is encouraging commercial property owners to tell their insurance agents of the change. The Insurance Services Office’s classifications are based 50 percent on the resources of the local fire department, 40 percent on access to water and 10 percent on communications, Arie said.

Prior to Jan. 1, the village’s fire department provided services for properties within the fire protection district, which covers 48 square miles in parts of Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, South Barrington, Inverness and unincorporated Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. With the split, the fire protection district formed its own department to serve those areas.

As a result, Barrington’s fire department no longer covers large areas outside the village that don’t have fire hydrants.

Barrington officials say the upgraded rating also attests to the reconfigured fire department’s ability to do its job competently.

thanks Dan

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As seen around … Chicago

This from Dan McInerney:;

This is a mural at Elston and Whipple, just north of E106/T13. It is painted on the street side of an old viaduct support for a rail line that ran freight from tracks to the west. It is sponsored by B&L Automotive Repairs at 3830 N. Kedzie, a short distance away.

 

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

firefighter mural in Chicago

Dan McInerney photo

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New engine for Wauconda

Production updates of the new rescue pumper from the Ferrara Fire Apparatus website:

fire engine being built

New rescue pumper for Wauconda. Ferrara Fire Apparatus photo

H-5313 Wauconda, IL

Type: MVP Rescue Pumper
Chassis: Ember custom chassis
Body: Extruded Aluminum
Pump: Waterous CSU 1250-2000 GPM
Tank: 750 gallon water

fire engine being built

Ferrara Fire Apparatus photo

fire engine being built

Ferrara Fire Apparatus photo

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Candidate braves cancer for firefighter training

WGNtv.com has a story with video about a Frankfort FPD recruit who completes his training despite undergoing chemo therapy:

A young firefighter in training faced one of his toughest challenges even before graduating the academy.

Two weeks before 22-year-old Luke Wroblewski was set to enter the Frankfort Fire Academy,  he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. There was a lump in his clavicle.  He started chemotherapy immediately.

The chemo made him nauseous and exhausted. He would get treatments on Tuesdays. School was Wednesday night and all day Saturday.   He thought about quitting.  But instead found strength in his classmates and instructors.

“They would just say ‘You got this.  We know you’re doing the best you can,’” Luke said.  “They were very helpful.”

Academy director Brian Adcock has never had a candidate go through the academy who was battling cancer.  He is in awe of Luke.
“He was pulling around 170 pound dummy while being on chemo.” Brian said. Nine men total supported Luke and each other through training.

Luke’s mom and dad are so grateful to his classmates and instructors for helping their son make it through on the days he didn’t think he could.

“He was in good hands,” Barbara Wroblewski said.

Right now Luke is cancer free.  He has at least one more chemo treatment that he moved to Wednesday so he could feel well enough to walk across the stage Tuesday night.  He knows he fought hard for the certificate he’ll receive.

thanks Dan

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South Holland 100th Year Anniversary

fire department anniversary celebration

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Niles apparatus updates

The Niles Fire Department is awaiting the delivery of two new units.

  • In mid-June Niles is expecting delivery of a 100′ RM Pierce PUC tower ladder on a Dash CF chassis to match their latest engine. The ladder will be painted black
fire truck being built

Marty Feld photo

fire truck being built

Marty Feld photo

fire truck being built

Marty Feld photo

fire truck being built

Marty Feld photo

  • In July, Niles will take delivery of an IHC 4300/Horton Type I ambulance.

 

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Manhattan FPD does not ask for donations by phone

The Southtown Star has an article warning about a false campaign for donations on behalf of the Manhattan FPD.

A possible scam artist soliciting donations to benefit Manhattan firefighters called the wrong person — a captain with that fire district. Now, fire officials want area residents to know they are not soliciting donations by telephone and people who get solicitation calls should be wary of the pitch.

A woman who identified herself as “Cindy” called Manhattan Fire Protection District Capt. Gerald Kinsella and asked him to donate to the Manhattan Firefighters Association. Knowing that the department was not doing any telemarketing for donations, Kinsella strung her along for more information.

She asked for a “red” $100 donation, “white” $50 donation or “blue” $35 donation, whatever he was “comfortable” with. When he asked her to send him information, she got crafty.

“She said she would send it but would really like a dollar amount since they’d be sending a receipt,” Kinsella wrote in an email to Chief Dan Forsythe explaining the call. “Due to the fact that it is ‘tax deductible’ they cannot ‘legally’ send it without an amount.”

By dialing any number with the local 478 prefix, a caller could possibly reach someone served by the fire district who might be duped into contributing.

The fire district’s public education coordinator, Dawn Cupples, said the district never solicits money by phone. It mails out an annual fundraiser letter, which will be going out next month with tickets for a summer bash scheduled for July 19. Residents who buy tickets are asked to mail checks to the fire station. No one ever calls on the phone to collect, Cupples said.

“We are trying to let residents know what we actually do, vs. these people who are using our name,” she said.

The woman who identified herself as “Cindy” told Kinsella she actually was collecting for the firefighters through a Joliet-based fundraising organization. But the vice president of the organization that “Cindy” named told the SouthtownStar it works primarily with churches and schools, does not do phone solicitations and is not calling anyone asking for donations for Manhattan firefighters.

Cupples said residents should never give money to anyone soliciting donations by phone for the Manhattan Firefighters Association.

thanks Dan

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