Cabinet View panel submits fire district petition

Members of a board hoping to re-establish a fire department from the old Cabinet View Fire Service Area firehouse on Wednesday presented a petition to Lincoln County commissioners to establish a fire district.

Led by Chairman John Rios, the panel submitted 171 signatures from property owners that consist of 51 percent of the property owners within the expanded, proposed district, the group said.

Board members supporting Rios in the petition request are Patty Rambo, Mike Agresta and John Fredin, residents of the proposed district.

More than a year ago, Lincoln County commissioners, after long legal wrangling, dissolved the previous fire agency serving the area, the Cabinet View Fire Service Area.

At issue was CVFSA’s right to self-dispatch. CVFSA officials believed they had the right to self-determination and dispatch while the county’s stance, which a judge upheld, was it had jurisdiction over fire departments within it boundaries.

The presentation of the petition Wednesday was in contrast to the oftentimes heated discussions that involved commissioners, members of the FSA and questions from the public, which was due largely to the calmly presented stance of Rios and Presiding Commissioner Tony Berget, who sought to keep the meeting on task.

At one instance when a statement from the audience drifted from the petition presentation, former CVFSA Capt. Russell Bache, also sitting in the audience, urged discussion back on topic of the petition.

The timetable for reviewing the petitions now begins. County officials will begin verifying the signatures and after their’ validity is determined, commissioners have 10 days to set a date for an open forum, a public hearing. According to Montana law, commissioners must schedule the hearing within 30 days of determination of the validity of the petition signatures.

County Administrator Bill Bischoff said his office would establish a spreadsheet aligned with property owners in the area to expedite the signature validation process.

“We have checked and double-checked the signatures,” said Rambo, one of the board members.

Dave DeShazer, a resident of the proposed area, said he was against the old Fire Service Area because he said they were off fighting wildfires when he had an electrical fire at his home and waited hours for FSA firefighters to respond.

DeShazer said he attended the petition meeting because he wants to know more about the fire district, and he indicated he’s still undecided of his support.

“I do think we need the best fire protection we can get, but I don’t want them off chasing wildfires for profit,” DeShazer said.

DeShazer also was disappointed in the long legal battles that ensued costing the FSA and the county, saying he was paying on both ends of the dispute.

Rios explained the fire district would rent the existing firehouse from the non-profit fire department, but all the volunteers and equipment would be accountable and reconciled through the new district.

Jeff Koskela, a vocal opponent of the former FSA, said he wants accountability. A bone of contention for DeShazer and Koskela was the FSA loan of wildfire-fighting equipment to Bull Lake Fire District. 

Agresta, a board member, said that equipment was not given to BLVFD, but instead was loaned.

“We can get those back,” Agresta asserted in a hallway discussion after the petitions.

“Hey, I’m here just looking for answers,” DeShazer said. “I’ve got people coming to me with questions. I just want to have some answers.”

In a fire service area, taxes are a flat fee, such as $125 for a home and another flat fee for outbuildings such as a barn or shed.

   In a fire district, taxes vary depending on the value of the home or structure.