News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Township trustees Norm Poli, left, Steve Lappan, center, and Township Attorney Tim Gulden consider options for the Alpena Township Fire Department during a meeting on Monday. The township needs to come up with a plan for the department if a millage request fails on Nov. 8.

ALPENA — Alpena Township residents won’t know what the Alpena Township Board of Trustees intends to do with the township’s fire department until after the Nov. 8 election.

On Monday, the board — which is divided on potential options for the department if the millage request fails — decided to take a wait-and-see approach and see election results before moving forward.

Discussion got heated at times Monday as the divide on the board over the fire department became apparent.

For nearly two years, the trustees have tried to find a solution to the fire department’s staffing shortage and funding issues.

Next month, voters will decide on a 3-mill property tax proposal that would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $150 a year and raise about $1.1 million a year to fund operations and equipment at the Alpena Township Fire Department.

That money would also help save for a new southside station, which is badly needed because the current one is falling into disrepair, officials say.

Voters voted down the tax increase in August.

Trustee Norm Poli — who requested a short presentation he prepared be added to the agenda — read three pages which he said was an outline of facts pertaining to the department and the department’s history.

Check out the document below. Story continues below the document.

Norm Poli statement by James Andersen on Scribd

The other trustees didn’t receive copies of the documents until after he read them into the record at the meeting.

In the report, Poli said a fire department consulting company had conversations with the township’s fire committee, but the committee decided not to hire the company because of the cost and short period of time before the August election.

Poli still insists a consultant should have been used to recommend a plan should the tax pass or fail.

“As of today, there has not been a fire department consulting company plan presented to the board, nor any other options,” Poli said in his report. “When I discussed with the board that we didn’t have a consulting firm involved, I was told by a board member that I insulted the professionals we have on the fire committee for all of their expertise. The fire committee members are experts in their own field, but not all have the knowledge and information a consulting firm would provide.”

Several of the trustees took issue with Poli’s prepared statement. Trustee Steve Lappan said the presentation should have been submitted to the board before the meeting and he said he felt ambushed by it.

“Norm has made extremely clear over the time that he has no interest in the fire department,” Lappan said. “That has been made abundantly clear. It seems to me, this is just one more push at it and to get this out before the election. This could have easily held off.”

Treasurer Laura Ellery-Somers agreed with Lappan and said she was taken aback by Poli’s report.

She said there were errors and misinformation in it, but, when asked what those errors were, she said she would have to read the documents closer to find them again.

“He just sort of dropped it on us, so I’ll have to take a closer look at it,” she said.

The board has said for months that all options for the future of the department should be considered if the millage request fails.

Lappan believes a fire authority should be formed, while other members of the board believe contracted services with another municipality could be the best option.

Last year the township board voted against a contract with the City of Alpena that would have had the city staff and manage the department and its two stations for $400,000 a year and, after three years, a 2% increase of that payment would have kicked in until it hit a $475,000 a year cap.

The township would continue to be responsible for building maintenance and other costs associated with the stations.

The Alpena Fire Department staffed and managed the township’s northside station for six months in 2021.

Trustee Russ Rhynard said the township needs to weigh what is best in terms of what is best for resident’s health and safety, as well as their pocketbooks. He said the contract with the city would have been ideal because it was much cheaper than staffing and running the department as it is now, and because the Alpena Fire Department would provide paramedics who would respond to emergencies.

“I think we had the solution in front of us before and we let it slip away,” Rhynard said.

The township and city are not currently discussing a new contract offer, Rhynard said.

Supervisor Nathan Skibbe suggested the board have a special meeting to air grievances and exchange ideas to help it move forward. It was decided a meeting regarding the next step for the fire department wasn’t needed until after the election.

Skibbe said a consultant could be the way forward.

“We obviously have a separation on this board no matter how you slice it and we might need help to get through this,” Skibbe said after the meeting.