Wallowa Lake Fire District fire protection contract Lawyer hired to negotiate with City of Joseph

The Wallowa Lake Fire District was formed to save homeowners money on their fire insurance. - Observer file photo

The board has asked that all communication between the board and the Joseph City Council, mayor and fire chief be directed through counsel.

In a Feb. 24 e-mail from Board Chair Chuck Havens to Joseph Fire Chief Tom Clevenger, Clevenger was told, “Please be advised that the WLRFPD has obtained the services of an attorney. All communication should be directed to: J. Kenneth Jones, 975 Oak Street, Eugene, OR 97401.”

Board member Dale Mammen said they had requested their attorney to review the current contract between the Lake District and Joseph. He said they want to set in motion a process for communication with the Joseph city attorney and negotiate a contract that is mutually acceptable.

Due to the ongoing conflict between the board and Joseph, board member Angie Rubin resigned from the Lake District board at the Feb. 11 meeting.

In addition to internal board issues and a breakdown in communication with Joseph, Oregon Department of Forestry is retrieving a wildland fire engine that had been allocated to the district.

Matt Howard and Mike Shaw of ODF informed the board last fall that without firefighters stationed at the lake fire hall, they would remove Engine 9 and put it somewhere else in the county.

Howard said when Engine 9 was placed at Wallowa Lake there were firefighters to staff it. However, over the past year use has declined and there are no active firefighters in the district available.

Clevenger has said he will not use the engine. The Joseph Fire Department has a wildland fire engine at its fire hall and will use that engine when necessary.

“We have some pretty strict guidelines and are very concerned about the status in Salem and that piece of equipment,” Shaw said.

At the Feb. 11 meeting Shaw told the board that he would need to remove the engine in mid-March. A March 18 date was agreed upon between Shaw and the board.

“We want to be clear. We support and want to help if you have a work force,” Shaw said.  “We value you as an operator and we’ve had past successes, but we can’t have an engine sitting idle.”

Shaw insisted that removing the engine and other equipment from the fire house and redistributing it to other stations in Wallowa County had nothing to do with the conflict between the City of Joseph and the Lake Fire District.

Fire gear issued to the Lake District by ODF is not being used, there are no firefighters stationed at Wallowa Lake and to be in compliance with regulations, the equipment must be given out to other fire departments, Shaw said.

Clevenger and Joseph firefighter Matt Walker conducted an inventory of Wallowa Lake’s equipment and left a handwritten list with recommendations of where each piece should go.  The board misinterpreted this information and believed the equipment had been redistributed and asked for it to be returned. 

In response, Clevenger, who said he received a letter from the board to return the equipment, brought all Lake District equipment from the Joseph Fire Hall to the Feb. 11 board meeting. The equipment included keys, fire shelters, a hose clamp, helmet, a spanner and a flashlight.

The board insisted that it was OK with Joseph having equipment and redistributing the ODF gear, but the shut-down in communication has complicated the situation.

In hopes to resolve the lack of staffing at the Lake District, Havens said four or five people have said they would be interested in serving as firefighters.  The prospective firefighters did not want their names mentioned, Havens said.

More than 20 Wallowa Lake residents attended the March 5 board meeting held at the fire hall. All were concerned about fire protection for their properties.

Concerns were also addressed about the district hiring an attorney to negotiate the contract with Joseph.

Todd Evans, a firefighter on the Enterprise Fire Department, said, “I don’t understand the current situation; why the district has hired a lawyer to work on a contract.  I don’t understand the concept to hire a lawyer to strong-arm Joseph.”

Doug Buska, Wallowa Lake resident and former Lake District firefighter, said, “What are you fighting for in the contract? I live here full time. I don’t agree with everything, including the litigation proposed. This is risking our property. I worked here and I quit.  I believe we should make Joseph our firefighters and give them extra money for breathing apparatus.

“You have three, four or five unidentified people willing to serve the district. Do they meet the requirements, which are physical fitness, a driver’s license, they have to live at the south end of the lake and pass a background check?’’

Havens said he did not know if the proposed volunteers met these requirements.

“We actually feel we aren’t trying to stonewall,” Havens said. “We are trying to make everything work with all kinds of scenarios.”

Mammen defended the board and said the press had printed half-truths and on advice of counsel are communicating through their attorney.

Buska said under the current contract, full coverage and response from Joseph costs twice as much as it did when Joseph had contracts with individual homeowners.

The Lake District was formed to save homeowners money on their fire insurance.