Bayview, Athol Fire Districts Consider Merger Fire Commissioners’ Approval Would Put Proposed Consolidation On November Ballot

The resort town of Bayview, Idaho, stands to benefit the most from the proposed consolidation of the Bayview and Athol fire districts.

Bayview, with its large number of retirees, has trouble recruiting volunteer firefighters, said Athol volunteer Jim Jeffrey.

“And several of their outstanding volunteers are snowbirds, so they’re not available in the wintertime,” said Jeffrey, himself a retiree who wrote a report about the proposed merger.

If fire district commissioners give their OK, the consolidation proposal will appear on the ballot in November.

A survey of district patrons showed voters overwhelmingly favor consolidation, said Jeffrey. And no one objected at a joint meeting of the two fire commissions on May 25.

A hearing on the proposal will be held at 6 p.m. on July 22 in the Bayview community center.

“We want to get a consensus of public opinion,” said Bayview Fire District Chief Lloyd Pierce. “I haven’t heard anything but positive comments so far.”

Pierce, a volunteer, suggested the consolidation a year ago. He has a roster of about 10 volunteers who provide fire protection for 40 square miles.

Athol Fire Chief Marion Blackwell has 20 volunteer firefighters who cover 63 square miles.

Each district has two fire stations and is planning a third. No stations would be closed under consolidation, Pierce said.

Bayview’s fire budget is $75,000 a year; Athol’s is $175,000, said Jeffrey. The biggest advantage of a merger for Athol, he said, would be economy.

“If you’ve got $250,000 instead of $175,000 in revenue, you’ve got better purchasing power,” he said.

“But the bottom line is the improved fire readiness of Bayview,” he added.

Bayview would get a full-time chief. It also would benefit from Athol’s plan to add two paid firefighters/emergency medical technicians in the next couple of years.

Bayview and Athol have the same property tax levy for fire protection. But if the merger is approved, Bayview’s rate may go down. It would be hitching a ride on growth in Athol, where the assessment has dropped in recent years because of the increase in taxable property.