An Open Letter to the City of Pelican Rapids

We would like to start out by acknowledging that the Pelican Rapids Fire Department provides excellent service to Dunn Township. We have absolutely no complaints, and only praise for the fire department. It follows that we have no problem paying for fire service provided by the department.

What we would like to address is the new fire hall proposed by the City of Pelican Rapids. First, let us say that we acknowledge that the current fire hall is inadequate. At the same time, a new fire hall does not get one more fireman or one more piece of firefighting equipment to the fire any quicker than is currently provided.

Some time ago, the members of the Pelican Rapids Area Fire Protection Association (hereafter referred to as the fire association) discussed ownership of the new fire hall, and there was certainly some appetite to have ownership by those who will pay for it; i.e. all the members of the fire association. The fire association was subsequently informed that the city would own the fire hall and apparently ownership is not considered negotiable by the city.

We believe that the fire association members ARE willing to help pay for a new fire hall. However, we also believe that if the fire association is willing to help pay for a fire hall that will not be owned by them, nor increase the capacity of the fire department to fight fires to any great degree, the question is; what amount is equitable to all the parties involved?

We would like to point out that Mr. Solga; City Administrator, has stated, both in the Pelican Press, and in a recent fire association meeting, that if the city were to build a fire hall that would only serve the city of Pelican Rapids, the cost would be roughly $500,000.

Here are the numbers as we understand them. The proposed fire hall will cost approximately $1,000,000 and the yearly bond payment will be $84,000 a year for 20 years. Using those same numbers, if the city were to build a fire hall for $500,000 for their own use and service, a building costing half as much as the proposed fire hall would call for a bond payment of half as much; $42,000. It logically follows that the city should be paying the $42,000 which is equivalent to what they would pay for a building used only by the city of Pelican Rapids. We are talking about the city paying for 50% and the rest of the fire association paying for 50% of the new fire hall.

Dunn is very willing to help pay for a new fire hall as long as the city is willing to pick up $500,000, the amount that it would cost the city if they were to build a fire hall to serve just the citizens of Pelican Rapids. We will reiterate that Dunn recognizes the need for a new fire hall, but that it will not appreciably enhance service to the townships. Under those circumstances, having the fire association pay for 50% of the new fire hall seems like a generous offer.

We would like the city to consider one of two courses of action;
A) That Pelican Rapids pay for 50% of the new building, equivalent to $42,000 of the yearly bond payment.
B) If Pelican Rapids decides to only pay $25,251 a year toward the bond payment (your current proposal; 30%), that the cost of the new fire hall be lowered such that the total bond payment be $50,500; i.e. P.R. would still pay for 50% of a new, lower cost, building.

You may be wondering why the city should be listening to Dunn township regarding their fire hall. Well, we are certainly aware that the city can build a fire hall without Dunn’s involvement. However, the city is currently proposing to pay for only 30% of the entire project. Is this really an equitable distribution of the costs? Dunn is only asking that the city be fair to everyone involved. The proposals suggested here are more than equitable to everyone, Pelican Rapids included.

As you know, Dunn is considering other options for fire service, options that we really don’t want to exercise. We have been in contact with the fire departments in Barnesville, Detroit Lakes, and Vergas. Currently, Dunn supports the Pelican Rapids library, the local hospital district, pays for a substantial part of the fire service costs and supports all of the Pelican Rapids establishments to some degree. We know that once a rift develops between two parties, it is often difficult to mend that gap, and frequently it grows. If Dunn gets fire service from a different city, we will be asked to support their library and their institutions. Will we be supporting the institutions of Pelican Rapids or the institutions of one of our neighboring cities in the years to come? Only time will tell, but creating a rift over this fire hall can have far reaching ramifications for everyone.

If we get a positive response to this proposal from the city, Dunn will be more than happy to participate in paying for our share of the 50% payment by the fire association.

If the response is negative, Dunn will, of course, continue to explore options for our fire protection elsewhere, and the rift between Pelican Rapids and Dunn Township may well develop. We certainly don’t want that to happen, but are prepared to take appropriate action to the city’s response to our request.

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Dunn Township Supervisors
Mike Johnson, Wayne Olson, Bob Dalman