Fire district moves forward with financing for new station

Despite concerns raised at their April meeting, Walnut Creek Fire Protection District officials moved forward with the financing of a new fire station in Clinton Township Thursday night.

The three-person board oversees financial operations of VanBibber Fire Department in Clinton Township and Bainbridge Fire Department in Monroe Township.

Board member Robert Ensley told those gathered at the Bainbridge Fire House for the 7 p.m. meeting that business wouldn't take long. However, attendees still seemed a little surprised as nervous laughter filled the silence when board members adjourned after three minutes.

"All we needed to do tonight was approve building corporation and its by-laws," Kathy Deere, administrative secretary for the fire safety district explained of the meeting which ended without the usual hours of public comment and discussion.

Ensley, who represents the Bainbridge and Jay Unger, who represents Clinton Township on the board, voted in favor of forming a building corporation to sell bonds on the new structure. The $373,000 fire station is set to be built on three acres of land Walnut Creek owns, just east of the VanBibber Lake Water Conservancy building.

"This is the same sort of thing school corporations do," Deere said of forming the building corporation.

At the last meeting, representatives from VanBibber told members of the Walnut Creek board that a petition had been signed to have the district dissolved. Thus far, the Putnam County Commissioners have taken no action on the petition.

However, that hasn't seemed to stop Walnut Creek members from continuing on the track towards a tentative spring 2007 groundbreaking for the new facility.

The building corporation formed at the meeting Thursday will have a three member board to oversee its operations. And Ensley asked VanBibber Lake fire department officials to recommend a representative from Clinton Township for the financial body when the Walnut Creek board meets again at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 1 at the Bainbridge fire station.

Walnut Creek board president Jim Hilburn was not present at Thursday's meeting.