Portage Twp. Gets Truck; Will Seek 1 Mill Jan. 15
By Paul Gingras

Portage Township has secured emergency service equipment and announced it will seek a tax renewal of one mill for the replacement of ambulance and fire equipment at its Tuesday, December 11, board meeting. The township has been turned down for a loan to install a sewer system at Curtis, the board learned.

After months of searching for an affordable vehicle, the township's $50,010 bid for a used quick-attack mini-pumper was accepted by the Summit Township Fire Department in the Lower Peninsula, said Township Clerk Marcia McDonald.

"It is not a brand new vehicle, but it is everything we need," she said.

Fire Chief P.J. Costa expects the truck to arrive at the end of the month.

The specialty vehicle has been wanted by firefighters for quite some time, Mrs. McDonald explained. The four-wheel-drive minipumper can get into difficult areas that the large firetrucks can't, and it has the capacity to fight a structure fire.

This vehicle is capable of reaching homes in tight, wooded areas and on the shore of South Manistique Lake, noted Township Supervisor Donald Ferris. In the future, the township would like to have a Jaws of Life rescue tool on the minipumper. The hydraulic device is used to open damaged vehicles and remove passengers trapped inside.

In related business, the board voted to sell the fire department's outmoded 1980 tanker truck for $677.75 to Danny Troop of Newberry.

The fire department has received a $5,000 grant for fittings and hoses for its new firetrucks from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The accessories augment the department's ability to work with other fire services. The fittings allow firetrucks to transfer water from one truck to another. The total cost of the fittings and 24 rolls of 50- foot fire hoses is $13,883. The township will pay $8,883.

Portage Township will request a renewal of one mill for two years in the January 15 election, for the replacement of ambulance and fire equipment, Mr. Ferris reported. If passed, it will not be collected until 2009 and 2010.

The township has requested and been granted this millage for years, Mrs. McDonald explained. Revenue from the millage, which is expected to be $68,800 for the first year, is split evenly between the fire and ambulance departments.

One third of the fire department's portion of the millage will be used to make payments on a $221,500 loan through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which helped pay for two new fire trucks that went into action about one year ago. The rest of the millage will be used to build up a fund for future equipment upgrades.

The ambulance corps may need the renewal millage to pay back a loan on a new ambulance, Mrs. McDonald added. The department will need a new ambulance in 2008 because one of its rigs will not be recertified by the state, owing to its age and the fact that updated equipment will be needed when the department's status is upgraded from basic life support to advanced life support.

The township has $85,000 saved for a new ambulance. It expects a new rig to cost $120,000. Grant applications for the difference have been sent out, but if no funding is received, the ambulance corps may need a loan.

The millage renewal for emergency equipment is only one of several that will be spread throughout the year at various elections, Mrs. McDonald said; the board seeks to spread out millage requests, to avoid overwhelming residents with several at once. Later in the year, the township will also request two-year millage renewals for roads and fire and ambulance department operations.

The board voted to increase its rates for ambulance run from $300 to $375 for basic life support runs, and from $500 to $550 for advanced life support runs. The difference between basic and advanced centers on administering drugs, said Brad Kohvakka, captain of Portage Township Emergency Medical Services.

Both advanced and basic life support services are cheaper in the township than national averages, he added. The national average is $375 for basic life support services, and $575 for advanced life support services.

The board also voted to increase mileage payments from $5 to $7 per loaded mile.

In other business, Mr. Kohvakka reported that he has trained the seven-member Germfask Fire Department in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). He also conducted an emergency driving training class for the Manistique Public Safety Department, which has 20 members who all serve in police, fire response, and emergency medical service roles.

Mr. Kohvakka has had requests to train other departments in the Upper Peninsula. The state is beginning to conduct inspections in the Upper Peninsula, to ensure that area emergency personnel have taken the training course, he said. The classes are helping Portage Township recoup costs incurred for Mr. Kohvakka's own training, which amounted to $300 for his class and $400 for equipment.

In other business, Portage Township was turned down for a USDAloan to create a sewer system in Curtis. Portage Township sought a $3.2 million grant and a $1.2 million loan through the USDA. To pay for the project, residents on South Manistique Lake connected to the sewer would have paid about $45 per month sewer service.

Without the grant, the township would require $2.1 million in loans and would charge residents $72 a month for sewer service, making it cost prohibitive, Mrs. McDonald said. It would be unfair to charge seasonal residents such a high fee, she said, for a service they would not use much of the year.

Mr. Ferris will continue discussions with U.P. Engineers on ways to implement the project.

"We are not aware of any problems" regarding sewage getting into the lake, Mrs. McDonald said, however, the township is aware that the state will eventually demand that Curtis to install a sewer system to avert potential environmental problems.

"We all want to do what is right for the lakes," she said. "They are our livelihood here."