CONNEAUT — City officials are attempting to cut ties with the landlord that owns the building used by a municipal fire station, said Law Director Lori Lamer.
Negotiations between the city and the West Lakeville Hose Boosters, owners of Amboy Hall on North Amboy Road, are on-going, said representatives for both sides.
A fire department consolidation plan tentatively approved Monday night by a majority of City Council would move Fire Station 4, which has occupied the building for decades, into Fire Station 3 on the city’s east side.
The city and the Boosters are talking about the lease that obliged the city to pay $1,000 a month rent to house some fire trucks in the building. The city believes the lease expired at the end of 2008 and now runs on a month-by-month basis, Lamer said.
Boosters disagree, saying they have a year-long lease with the city, said Conneaut attorney Nicholas Iarocci.
“That’s in dispute,” Iarocci said. “It’s our contention (the Boosters) are in a year lease.”
Lamer said the city has engaged in talks because of their history together. “Because of the long-standing nature of our relationship, we owe them courtesy and respect,” she said.
After months of debate, a majority of council agreed in principle to the consolidation plan. Legislation needed to help launch the new arrangement will be introduced next week, but are expected to be given three full readings. If that’s the case, the consolidation won’t officially take effect happen until early May.
Planning is well under way, however, and some new policies have already been launched.
Iarocci said he was hopeful an amicable solution to the dispute lies ahead.
“We’re hopeful we can resolve it,” he said. “The Boosters have given a tremendous amount to the city.”
At Monday’s council meeting, Safety Director/Police Chief Jon Arcaro indicated friction exists between the Boosters and members of the Station 4 firefighters’ association. The firefighters have restricted access to the building and reportedly do training at other locations in the city.
“There are two competing factions there,” he said.
Amboy Hall as a “storage building,” Arcaro said at the meeting. “It hasn’t been a fire station for a number of years,” he said.
The fire department’s massive ladder truck will be moved from Station 4 to a Lake Road warehouse once the station is abandoned, Arcaro said Monday. The truck, plagued by maintenance problems in the past, will see reduced service “to preserve it,” he said.
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