St. Ignace City Manager Eric Dodson will edit a proposed fire protection contract with Moran Township after the township trustees objected to several elements, including the formula used to determine how much the city and townships would pay for protection.

The city, Moran Township, and St. Ignace Township have not had a formal contract for more than 20 years, spurring the development of a fire committee that has met twice since October.

The contract sent to the township and discussed at the township board's meeting Wednesday, March 3, contains details that were not discussed during either of the fire committee meetings. The formula used to determine protection costs is different, and hydrant charges are included in the contract, as well.

Treasurer Susan Dionne, who also serves on the fire committee, told The St. Ignace News she does not agree with the hydrant language. The contract states prices will be determined by the city annually, but does not mention anything about township input. Mrs. Dionne argues since the hydrant rental fee is focused on supplying water, it should be in a water contract rather than the fire protection contract.

According to the document, $3,100 per year will be allocated to house fire equipment, and the amount will increase depending on the Consumer Price Index. That element was not discussed during the meeting, either, Trustee Mark Spencer said. Mr. Spencer serves on the fire committee with Mrs. Dionne.

During the last committee meeting, members discussed the possibility of billing private insurance companies for personal injury calls. The department sometimes responds to personal injury calls, such as a truck rolling over. Billing private insurance was not mentioned in the contract.

Mr. Dodson told The St. Ignace News the last contract used more than two decades ago was used as a template for developing the most recent one. He plans to correct the formula, and explained the $3,100 allocation was in the previous contract. The money is used to pay for equipment and overhead, he explained.

Hydrant rental was also in the previous contract, and said the next step is to go over the contract lineby line and work out the details.

No further action was taken by the Moran Township board on the contract.

Water Project Expected to Begin in 2011

The Moran Township water project may not begin until next year. Brechen Gries and Marvin Winberg of Wilcox Engineering presented a timetable of how they believe the project will proceed, although no action was taken by the trustees.

The engineers and township are waiting to see if federal grants will be received for the project, which

will replace a water pipe that runs from the St. Ignace city limits to the intersection of Old Portage Trail and 6th Street.

Planning Commission

Member Appointed

The Moran Township Board of Trustees appointed Chris Kittell of St. Ignace to serve on the Moran Township Planning Commission.