June 19--ISLE OF WIGHT -- The president of the Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department was defiant, telling a group of community members packed into the fire station that he would not sign facility and vehicle agreements that the county is insisting on.
"I don't work for the county. I work for the community," said Fred Mitchell, the Carrollton Volunteer Fire Department president. "If I show up at your house it's because I love you, not because I get paid. ... I'm not signing anything."
About 70 community members and volunteers crammed into a room at the Carrollton Department's station Wednesday night in support of the volunteer agencies they felt are under threat from the county.
In May, the Board of Supervisors authorized County Administrator Anne Seward to enter into a facilities-use agreement with the county's fire and rescue departments after meetings with representatives from the groups.
The facilities agreement lays out who is responsible for what in the use and maintenance of the buildings, which are owned by the county -- each department is responsible for cutting the grass and mowing the grounds, for instance, while the county is expected to handle snow removal and standard maintenance for the building.
The agreement also details how things such as Internet, kitchens, and washers and dryers can be utilized by volunteers working or staying overnight in the building.
A separate vehicle agreement, which has not yet been authorized by the board, states that any of the emergency vehicles paid for by the county, in whole or part, will become county property and will subsequently be leased to the volunteer groups.
The county already owns the property and buildings of all the departments, but no regulations exist dictating how they can be used by volunteers.
A few community members expressed reservations about the county possibly dictating what kinds of fundraisers or events the departments could hold at the stations under the new agreement.
Some of the departments, including Carrollton's, have resisted the agreements, saying they would strip them of the buildings and equipment that they take such great pride in and have raised funds to build, improve and maintain.
According to the motion the body passed last month, the board can choose to withhold funding from any department that refuses to sign the agreements -- a move that some of the volunteers see as a strong-arm tactic that leaves the departments with little choice in the matter.
"Basically they threatened the volunteers," Mitchell said before the meeting. "They tend to think that the volunteers will continue to do it because that's what we do. We serve our community because of our love of the community ... but a lot of volunteers will walk away."
Rudy Jefferson has worked with the Rushmere Volunteer Fire Department for more than 20 years and was elected to the Board of Supervisors from the Rushmere district last fall.
"I don't think anything the county's doing is going to be detrimental to the volunteers in Isle of Wight," Jefferson said in an interview Wednesday. "The county understands that we cannot afford to bring in paid people to do what these volunteers do."
Jefferson said fire and rescue volunteers provide millions of dollars' worth of service to the county, and the facilities agreement, after revisions submitted by some of the departments, shouldn't negatively impact the departments.
Don Robertson, spokesman for the county, echoed Jefferson's comments Wednesday, saying it's not the county's intention to run out volunteers or alter how the departments operate.
"We're not telling the fire departments or rescue squads that we want you out of the building. It's just saying 'If you are going to occupy the building, these are the things we should expect from each other,' " Robertson said.
Carrollton Volunteer Fire Chief Joel Acree said he's optimistic that the county and departments can draft an agreement they can all be comfortable with.
"I think what comes next is hopefully ... we work together to come up with an agreement instead of a mandate," Acree said.
Mitchell and Acree called on the crowd Wednesday to take their concerns directly to their elected officials at Thursday night's Board of Supervisors meeting, which begins at 5 p.m. at the county's courthouse complex. No elected officials or county representatives were present at Wednesday's meeting.
Murphy can be reached by phone at 757-247-4760.
Copyright 2014 - Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
