Fire sub-agreement approved

Mountain View County council approved the new fire services sub-agreement with the Village of Cremona. The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.

“The sub-agreement flows from the inter-municipal collaboration framework master agreement (and) is meant to demonstrate the commitment of the Village of Cremona and Mountain View County to work collaboratively to jointly manage growth, plan for the future and deliver programs and services to the benefit of residents of both municipalities,” the agreement states.

The sub-agreement covers the Cremona Rural Fire Protection area, which is the area designated by the county from Rge. Rd. 32 on the east, Rge. Rd. 60 on the west, the Rocky View County boundary on the south, and Twp. Rd. 310 on the north.

Under the sub-agreement, the fire services will include “attendance by the fire service firefighting equipment when requested and when such attendance is, in the fire chief’s or their designate's opinion, justified by the circumstances to control or extinguish fires; or handle or participate in the handling of any other hazard; or emergency of a type normally handled by the fire department; or requiring their participation in its handling.”

The sub-agreement outlines a shared cost arrangement in which both municipalities agree that the budgeted and approved costs for the supply of fire services within the fire service area shall be shared between the village and the county in a number of ways.

The village shall contribute annually to the county based on an annual approved budget as determined below:

• Twenty per cent of the annual operating costs of the fire department in the Cremona Rural Fire Protection Area. If there is a partial calendar year within the term of this agreement, the village shall pay 20 per cent of the proportion of the operating costs relative to that partial year. The operating costs will be based on the approved budget for the fire department and any reconciliation necessary to reflect actual costs shall be reflected in the second payment in the following year.
• Twenty per cent of the small capital equipment costs for the purchase of small capital equipment included in the annual budget for the Cremona Fire Protection Area.
• Provide and maintain the Village of Cremona fire hall, including all costs and expenditures to repair, clean and maintain the facility and utilities for day-to-day use by the county fire department at no cost to the county.
• Provide the Village of Cremona fire hall for purposes of storage of firefighting equipment, and space for administrative needs related to fire services.

The sub-agreement also states that the “construction of any new shared facilities shall be referred to each council to approve a terms of reference for the formation of a facility feasibility subcommittee” and that the chief administrative officer of the county “shall have authority to make emergency expenditures as required and shall report such expenditures to the intermunicipal cooperation committee as soon as possible.”