Not only is Yankee Spr
ings Township seeking fire service from the Wayland Fire Department, it also is asking to join the municipalities served by Wayland Area Emergency Services.
In both instances, Yankee Springs is trying to sever ties with its current fire and ambulance service provider, Thornapple Township Emergency Services.
Cathy Pardee, who represents Watson Township on the WAEMS Board, said the issue will be taken up on Wednesday, Nov. 11, and if all 10 municipalities agree to let Yankee Springs join, it will bring the number of government units served to 11.
Watson Trustee Rod Zienstra’s immediate reaction to the news was, “So we’re expanding our coverage area, increasing the territory, with the same equipment.”
Pardee agreed, saying, “It’s going to be tough to do from a manpower standpoint… They’ve got the facility (a fire station), but (enough) manpower is going to be tough, as are staffing and added paper work.”
WAEMS now serves the Townships of Dorr, Hopkins, Wayland, Leighton, Martin, Monterey, Orangeville, Salem, Watson and the City of Wayland.
Thornapple Township Emergency Services (TTES) currently provides ambulance and fire service to Thornapple, Yankee Springs and part of Irving Township in Barry County.
The Wayland City Monday night gave its approval to an agreement to extend fire service to Yankee Springs.
WAEMS Manager Bob Hess, in a letter to Ambulance Board members, said, “The Fire Board members expressed a desire to have the fire and ambulance services separated and to develop a local response team. Yankee Springs does have a fire station located just past the Barry County line on Chief Noonday, (129th Avenue). They do have some fire vehicles and a small volunteer fire/EMS staff.”
Hess pointed out that Yankee Springs borders with Wayland Township to the east and sits just north of Orangeville Township.
“They are similar to townships in our service area having no large industry, no health care facilities (nursing homes of hospitals) with most of the township zoned agriculture and residential,” he added. “They do not have a population center (like a village or city), however most of the population is located on the west side of the township.”
Some of the discussion at Thursday night’s Watson Township meeting pointed out the fact that many residents of the Yankee Springs recreation area are seasonal, putting a lot of pressure with extra calls during the warmer months.
Hess noted customary number of runs in Yankee Springs is about 10 to 12 calls a month.
“We explained that as a volunteer agency we are only able to provide service where we have personnel,” Hess said. “If the decision was to proceed, they stated they would be able to provide a fire vehicle that could be licensed by WAEMS as a MFR (medical first responder) vehicle and staffed with members from their community. The ambulance response would come from Wayland.”
If the EMS Board recommends adding Yankee Springs at its Nov. 11 meeting, it will be forwarded to each of the nine township boards and the City of Wayland.
Yankee Springs officials making the request said they’d like to be able to begin the working agreement as early as next March.
“The intent of entering into a long term commitment is to ensure that we meet the emergency service needs of our citizens,” wrote Yankee Springs Township Fire Committee Chairman Roger Rottschafer. “We need to work on a plan that establishes a parallel track for negotiating with providers for ambulance and fire services. For this reason we are seeking a commitment from WAEMS that you would accept Yankee Springs Township as a new participating Municipality under the terms of your 2001 Interlocal Agreement with the other 10 participating members.
“It is particularly important to Yankee Springs Township that we have a positive commitment from WAEMS to provide ambulance services as we negotiate in good faith with the City of Wayland to provide fire services for the township.
“We believe the addition of Yankee Springs Township to WAEMS would be positive for the organization, and we are interested in providing the type of high quality ambulance services you offer to our residents.”