Town of Dryden to hold another hearing about fire contracts

The Dryden Town Board is going through the motions after it decided to not renew its contract with the Etna Fire Department.

The town renewed contracts for the Dryden, Varna and Freeville fire departments for 2025 — except for Etna. A proposal was on the table to fund Etna’s department, but the proposal failed to gain traction.

The decision not to renew the Etna Fire Department contract comes after town officials stopped funding to the Brooktondale Fire Department near the beginning of November last year.

The town board approved the tax levy for the fire protection district at its Nov. 14 meeting, but it did not approve contract amounts.

A handful of volunteers and supporters of the Etna Fire Department attended the Dec. 12 public hearing on the contracts. But a proper legal notice on the hearing had not been not provided, an omission that needed to be rectified.

Now, members of the community surrounding the Etna Fire Department have a second chance to voice their opinions at a public hearing on Thursday, Jan. 9. The legal notice, which ran on Dec. 28, noted that the hearing will also include the reaffirmation of the contract amounts for each fire department.

Kristy Lynn spoke on behalf of the Etna Fire Department on Facebook:

“Dryden community, we at the Etna [Fire Department] would like to say thanks for all the support given over the years that we have served the community. The elected town board members have decided that it is in the best interest of the community to lose a fire department by not contracting with the department. However, they have no regard to the homeowners whose property insurance will go up, not only from having the fire department farther away but the loss of 6,000 gallons of water will affect the town’s ISO rates that in turn affects every homeowner in the town. With the volunteers at an all-time low, I am not sure why a town would want to lose a department and its volunteers. If you have anything to say or would like the Etna Fire Department to remain in your community, go to the public hearing on Jan. 9 and voice your opinions. No, we did not make it to every call. We all work and volunteer, but we only missed 17% of our calls, and all of them, the ambulance, was dispatched to respond. Please help if you want the volunteer department to stay in your community.”

Town Deputy Supervisor Dan Lamb provided a statement on fire contracts the day after the Dec. 12 meeting:

“At our meeting on Thursday [Dec. 12], the Dryden Town Board unanimously voted to set contract levels for the W.B. Strong Fire Company of Freeville, the Neptune Hose Company of Dryden, and Varna Volunteer Fire Company. Contract funding for the Etna Volunteer Fire Department was not approved. 

“The town board reached its decision concerning the Etna Volunteer Fire Department after conducting a thorough review of call response data over several years and taking input from professional staff and volunteer firefighters. The board determined that contracting with the Etna department is not in the best interest of town residents, taxpayers and neighboring emergency responders. The town board is committed to maintaining the highest public safety levels possible. As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must only contract with entities that meet the contractual requirement to ‘respond to all calls for service’ and manage contracted funds effectively. An objective review of fire and EMS calls in zones covered by the Etna Fire Department found too many instances where the department never responded to calls or was too late to offer aid.

“The cost of providing fire service in the town has doubled in the past 10 years and is growing exponentially. Next to roads and bridges, it is the second-largest expense in the town budget. The town cannot afford to allocate tax dollars to entities that do not meet contractual obligations. Fortunately, through a system of mutual aid, Varna and Freeville’s departments have fully served residents in the Etna area. The town will continue to contract with departments that meet contractual standards and maintain effective service. The town will take immediate action, in coordination with the other departments and Tompkins County, to ensure that residents continue to enjoy the highest levels of protection.”

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief:

‘Coffee with the Superintendent’ is Jan. 13

Dryden Central School District (DCSD) superintendent Josh Bacigalupi will host “Coffee with the Superintendent” on Jan. 13 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Dunkin’ Donuts at 36 North St. in the village of Dryden.

The event is an opportunity to meet and have a conversation with the district superintendent.

For information, contact DCSD at 607-844-8694.

CORRECTION: This story has been edited from its previous version. The article erroneously referred to statistics that were not for Etna Fire Department. Tompkins Weekly regrets the error.