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Pendleton County Fire Department
By Carolyn Reid
Police Chief Marty Hart updated Falmouth City Council, reviewing his findings and progress in his first three weeks in office, during its March regular meeting. Councilperson T. W. Morrison was not in attendance.
Hart started by saying he had hired two new officers and was in the process of doing a background check for a new recruit he hopes to add onto the department by mid-April. He is also enrolling the city in the Regional Crime Info Center pending board approval that will open up resources for processes such as crime analysis, facial recognition, and other data that will help build cases for court. This is a federal resource that will cost the department $300 per year.
He has also conducted a department inventory that includes upgrade needs and fixes. Tasers and pistols need to be upgraded, and the tasers have been ordered. The new ones will take up to a year for the order to be completed. He also said eight or nine rifles need to be turned over to the Department of Defense, and pistols can be upgraded by dealing with Spider firearms. The new ones can be purchased at a discounted price, and the department should get 10 years out of them, according to Hart. The computer system also needs to be upgraded, and he said that he is getting people to look at those. The current computers came from NKU, and City Clerk Ramona Williams said city hall had to do the same upgrades, but the police computers were not upgraded at that time. This will cost the department between $10,000 and $15,000, and he is waiting for information.
Hart said the department now has cruisers that can be surplused, and the fire department may be interested in some of them. The fleet, he said, needs to be shortened to match the number of men working. He also mentioned taking the number of body cams down to the numbers needed rather than the eight the department has, saving money on the account for those extras.
He has included himself in state and national memberships that are standard for police chiefs and departments. He is also working on a bike rodeo for the upcoming Petal/Pedal Festival taking place in April.
Mayor Sebastian Ernst announced he was planning to meet with members of the fiscal court the next day (Wednesday, March 22) to discuss the fire department situation. He shared with council he had checked with Fire Chief Dave Klaber and dispatch, and he had data to say between 71 and 74 percent of the runs made by Falmouth’s fire department are made in the county, leading Councilperson Luke Price to say the percentage of runs into the county is higher than what is recouped. Ernst also informed council the county can bill up to $500 per run.
Council clarified $80,000 was requested in a lump sum, and that is tracked, and $20,000 per year since the 2020 agreement has been paid by the county to the city by request, as is allowed for by the contract; however, Williams stated there was a misunderstanding in the way things were billed, and they did not account for mutual aid agreements such as landing zones and lift assists which make up 30 to 40 percent of the runs. Butler covers maintaining the truck and housing for both departments.
Ernst asked council’s advice on the best way to possibly rework the agreement with the county—dividing by runs, percentage, etc. Councilperson Darryl Ammerman took into account the runs cost more in wear-and-tear and fuel in the county. Price agreed the cost may need to be bumped up for the county, and Ernst said he also wanted to look into amending the mutual aid aspect of the agreement. When Price said he had seen a copy of the agreement, but not a signed copy, Williams said she would ask for a copy of the agreement.
Adam Bruener of the PC Recreation Commission came to council to ask if the city could install the speed humps that JayGee had purchased for the athletic park. The humps will be removable, but they would also be fastened in. Bruener also asked for signage to be placed on the athletic park street warning of the humps, and Price asked for an ordinance to be drafted to establish where the city could have speed humps.
In other business, the annual codification supplement was approved in order that the city can continue codifying ordinances as legally required.
Ammerman asked if the ordinance regarding dog waste had no penalty, and City Attorney Brandon Voelker responded the fine was between $25 and $200 for offenses. Ammerman stated he was worried about the problem especially at the athletic park.
He also asked about the budgeting of the fire hydrants, recalling they were to budget for four per year. Ernst replied Klaber was working on making that happen while Williams, Ernst, and Price all explained the delay resting on finding a vendor who can install the breakaway systems needed now for fire hydrants.
Assistant Fire Chief Travis Reis brought information regarding the service that provides mental health assistance and counseling for all cities employees, while Price said the coverage was important for all involved in the city. All city employees would be covered.