City council approves LOSAP program for Fire Department
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By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — The Mount Ayr City Council had a full plate to discuss during its regularly scheduled council meeting of Monday, Funerary 9.
Chief among the topics was the support for the proposed LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program) previously introduced to council in a recent meeting for the volunteer fire department.
A representative of the Iowa Firefighters Association held a Zoom presentation for the council members explaining in detail the parameters of the LOSAP plan. Mount Ayr Fire Department Chief Mike Wimer was in attendance representing the department and its interests. The program is state sponsored, but locally regulated, thereby giving direct control over the program and the qualifications required for inclusion in the plan.
Wimer explained to the council that the department already had specific rules in place for monitoring department personnel and their ongoing involvement in department activities. Wimer explained that volunteers are required to attend a certain number of formal training meetings as well as call response rates to maintain the minimum status for inclusion in the department.
The council wholly endorsed the LOSAP program and vowed to support the plan going forward.
While Chief Wimer was in attendance the council switched gears to discuss the future projects under proposal and the financial requirement needed to complete the tasks. The reworking of the city square was foremost among the projects discussed. The city needs to apply for a certain number of grants to support the square projects and time is of the essence.
Along with the city construction projects the council discussed the upcoming needs to the volunteer fire department. The primary focus was on the need to replace one of the department’s fire trucks. Wimer gave a detailed description of the department’s equipment needs and broke down the cost estimates to acquire the needed equipment. The largest expense was the firetruck replacement which is estimated to cost $475,000.
The lead time for ordering a truck replacement is nearly three years. Wimer discussed the pros and cons of delaying the decisions closely tied to replacement truck availability and the nature and risks of ordering equipment that was untested in field use. Apparently, the truck manufactures are replacing older power plant standards with a newer set up that raised red flags for the experienced chief.
Wimer warned of extending grant usage for an untested piece of critical equipment. He further went on to explain that the department will be needed to replace helmets and protective clothing for department members which place further strain on city and department budgets. The council members will analyze the timelines described by Wimer and act with expediency in the coming weeks.
The council also approved a proposal to fund a training protocol suggested by Gworks, the city’s embattled software supplier. The relationship between Gworks and the city has been a tenuous one dating back to the software implementation last year.
Although the city has already decided to move on from Gworks as a software provider for Mount Ayr, City Administrator Brent Wise pointed out that an ongoing relationship is still a necessity as they prepare to change providers later this year. The primary concern was that if the database maintained by Gworks held corrupt data then the new provider would be operating at a disadvantage potentially putting the city in the same place they currently find themselves in.
The Council agreed to invest $2,500 dollars into this proposal in hopes that the database would finally be corrected clearing the path for a smooth transition to the Frey Company which was chosen as a Gworks replacement.
