Prompted by complaints by the general public and trustee Mark Spencer, the Moran Township Board of Trustees voted not to pay an annual bill of $9,800 to the St. Ignace Water Department for fire hydrant rental until the city fully explains what the township is getting for its money. The action was taken at the regular township meeting Wednesday, August 2. Other bills from the Water Department, amounting to $30,877.19, were paid in full.

For decades, the township has paid a monthly maintenance fee of $200 for each fire hydrant, said Supervisor Jim Durm.

"It would be good for them to let us know how they arrive at the number," he suggested.

Citizens and Mr. Spencer questioned the validity of the bill because the township and the water department have a maintenance agreement, but annual bills for the hydrants do not fall under this agreement. They are part of a separate fire service contract that also includes city fire department operating expenses, building expenses and fire truck maintenance.

Prior to replacing portions of the US-2 water line in 2004, there were 15 hydrants in the township. Now, the township has 49 hydrants and the bill has become large enough to spark citizen complaints.

Mr. Durm said revenue from the hydrant rental has helped St. Ignace pay for infrastructure necessary to provide sufficient water pressure to fight fires in the township. If it were simply a matter of providing drinking water, he said, the infrastructure could be much smaller and costs would be lower.

At this point, however, Moran Township owns the fire hydrants and the water lines in its jurisdiction, prompting several residents to comment that continuing to pay rent on the hydrants doesn't make sense, and Mr. Spencer questioned how long the township would have to continue paying for infrastructure in St. Ignace.

St. Ignace Public Works Director Les Therrian said hydrant rental fees are part of the way the department pays for ongoing maintenance and improvements to the city's water distribution system, which produces enough water for fire service in St. Ignace Township, Moran Township, and the city.

To do so, the system in St. Ignace must be large enough to pump between 500,000 and 600,000 gallons on an average day, and up to 900,000 at times of peak flow.

If Moran Township wants to change the maintenance agreement, he said, it will have to negotiate a new contract with the city.

The core of the problem in Moran Township, Mr. Spencer said, is that the hydrant rental bill is paid from the general fund, so residents as far away as Ozark are

paying to support infrastructure that only serves residents in the vicinity of US-2 and Portage Road who receive city water.

The reason for this, Mr. Durm said, is that the hydrant rental fee is part of the city's fire service contract with Moran Township, which has traditionally been paid through the general fund.

"The problem is defining some other method for paying for the hydrants," he said. If the bill were paid out of the water fund, for example, only those connected to the city water system would be paying for them, but this does not mean such residents would have to pay higher bills. If such a shift were made, he added, the township could cover increased costs for water in the area. In fact, their bills may even go down, owing to a recent study by New Jersey-based Insurance Services Office (ISO).

Last month, the company analyzed the system and determined that the hydrants allow firefighters to be more effective in the area, allowing the township to upgrade its status from Class Nine to Class Six Fire Protection Capability. This means the area is safer, and residents living near hydrants could qualify for home insurance premium reductions of about 15 percent.

Insurance Services Office informs insurance companies about such matters and makes recommendations, Mr. Durm said.

Mr. Durm added that he would talk the matter over with city officials and expects the dialogue will produce an easy resolution to the problem.