The City of Knox is hoping to streamline the approval process for fire protection agreements. The board of works recently agreed to continue letting Center Township and part of Jackson Township get fire protection from the Knox-Center Township Volunteer Fire Department for 2021. Center Township will once again pay $30,000 for the year, while Jackson Township’s cost is $5,000.
But board members added a provision stating that the contract will automatically renew each year, unless either party requests changes. Fire Chief Kenny Pfost noted that the contracts used to run for four years, but that later decreased to two and, now, one year. Mayor Dennis Estok felt that frequency could lead to contract renewals being missed. He suggested adding the automatic renewal provision to make sure the protection would continue either way.
Pfost reported that call volume was down in 2020, with 83 calls in Center Township and 20 in Jackson Township, as of last month’s board of works meeting.
