Timberlake focuses on hiring fire chief

ATHOL — After fruitless talks with three neighboring districts about merging, the Timberlake Fire Protection District is moving toward an internal focus for its future.

The district that serves Athol, Bayview, Little Blacktail and Careywood has been without a permanent chief for the past 10 months since Kevin Kleinworth resigned after two years on the job.

Commission Chairman Rudy Rudebaugh said the district approached Northern Lakes (which serves Hayden, Rathdrum and Spirit Lake) and Selkirk (which serves Sagle and Sandpoint) to see if consolidation would work for any of those districts and Timberlake, but nothing materialized.

The focus at Timberlake now is on hiring a full-time chief, Rudebaugh said.

"The board has decided that we'll stay on our own and begin the process of hiring a long-term chief," Rudebaugh said.

After Kleinworth resigned, the district embarked on a strategic planning process that included exploring whether consolidation would be feasible for Timberlake and any of the three neighboring districts.

"It was one of the steps through the process," Rudebaugh said of the merger talks. "Could we deliver better service for our customers? Is it a good deal for the taxpayers? Are the other districts in a position to take on additional responsibility?"

Northern Lakes Commissioner David Halpin said that district declined a merger last month because it wanted to maintain its level of service to the district.

"We decided to not consolidate with them at this time, but maybe in the future we could consider something," he said. "We have to look after our home district.

"They're a lot smaller district as far as population and may not have the newest equipment, facilities or manpower. Our biggest fear was spending a large chunk of money to get them up and running compared to us and what that would do to our own constituents as far as level of service."

Northern Lakes' call volume increased more than 12 percent in 2015 and more than 16 percent so far in 2016, so management has been working on a plan to continue to meet its service obligations to its current residents, Halpin said.

Halpin said the districts still have a mutual-aid agreement to assist each other on calls if need arises. He said Northern Lakes is also willing to help Timberlake in times of need.

Timberlake tapped Northern Lakes for management services from 2009 to 2013. That contract ended when Timberlake hired a new chief and administrative assistant.

Athol-area resident Chris Watts said he's been pleased with Timberlake's level of service with emergency response.

He said he's relieved the district will not merge with a neighboring one.

"When you get bigger, things get more easily convoluted," he said. "The downside is that there's fewer finances with smaller districts, but too much can get lost by getting too big. I hope they find a good candidate (for chief) and someone we can afford."

Timberlake covers 83 square miles with seven firefighters, about 15 volunteers, an administrative assistant and interim Fire Chief Bill Steele. The district formed in 1999 as the result of a consolidation between the Athol and Bayview fire protection districts.

Steele is also the District 1 deputy state fire marshal. He formerly served as the training officer at Timberlake.

Steele has been Timberlake's interim chief since November. He replaced Barney Phillips, a former Timberlake commissioner who served as interim chief for about a month.

Meanwhile, the Timberlake commission is expected to fill its vacancy for Zone 1 (Farragut State Park area) at its meeting on Tuesday. Zone 1 is north of Parks Road and east of Good Hope and Caravelle roads. It includes Bayview and Little Blacktail.