2. Fire DepartmentCity of Kalispell
Post Office Box 1997 - Kalispell, Montana 59903-1997 - Telephone (406)758-7000 Fax - (406)758-
7758
6/23/2003
To: Fire Chiefs: Don Doty, Rod Dresbach, Randy Feller, and Roger Stevens
Rural Fire District Boards: Evergreen, West Valley, Smith Valley, and South Kalispell
From: Kalispell City Council
Re: Annexation compensation
The City of Kalispell recognizes there is a negative revenue for fire districts surrounding the City of
Kalispell when the City annexes properties. The City is considering the following:
1. Compensating the Fire Districts for annexation of residential and commercial properties as
follows:
a. The first three years of the annexation, the City will reimburse the Rural Fire District
for 100% of the property taxes lost by the District for each property as determined by
the Department of Revenue as the taxes levied at the time of annexation.
b. The fourth and ensuing years of the annexation, the City will receive all property taxes
for the property.
c. The effective date would be January 1st of the year the agreement is signed.
2. Automatic aid agreements
a. Districts participating in this reimbursement will also participate in an automatic aid
agreement with the City wherein the City and District determine a response area in
where both District and City will respond to structural fires through an automatic aid
agreement.
b. Attached is an example of an automatic aid agreement that could be used as a starting
point for developing an appropriate agreement that will benefit both City and District.
c. Effective response areas of the automatic aid agreement will be as follows:
i. The City will respond to all structure fires in the District.
ii. The City will be divided into 4 quadrants using Main and Center street as the
dividing lines and the District would respond to structure fires in the quadrant
closest to that District. (i.e.: South Kalispell would respond to all structure
fires east of Main Street, and south of Center Street.)
We will be contacting you in the near future to discuss this idea.
Sincerely,
The Kalispell City Council
AUTOMATIC AID AGREEMENT
Between KALISPELL FIRE DEPARTMENT
And FIRE DEPARTMENT
This agreement is between the City of Kalispell, a municipal corporation, hereinafter referred
to as CITY, and the Fire Department, hereinafter referred to as
WHEREAS, the parties hereto recognize the likelihood that fires or other like disasters
occurring in their respective territories could reach such proportions that it would be impossible to
control them with the equipment and personnel of any single agency; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary and proper that Mutual and Automatic Assistance Plans be
entered into by the undersigned for the mutual protection of life and property.
IN CONSIDERATION of the covenants herein contained, each of the undersigned agrees:
1. agrees to respond a single Class A engine with a minimum
staffing of three (3) personnel on all general alarm structure fires within the areas
protected by the City. This response will be to the scene unless directed otherwise by
the officer in charge/incident commander.
The CITY agrees to respond a single Class A engine with a minimum staffing of three
(3) personnel on all general alarm structure fires within the areas protected by
. This response will be to the scene unless directed otherwise by the officer in
charge/incident commander.
2. That the officer in charge of the responding organization may, in the exercise of best
judgment and discretion, decline to commit apparatus or personnel to a position which
would dangerously imperil such resources, or negatively impact to an unacceptable
level, the ability of the CITY or to provide services for its
patrons.
That a responding organization shall be released by the requesting organization as
soon as the services of the responding organization are no longer required or when the
responding organization is needed within its own jurisdiction.
4. That none of the parties hereto shall be held liable to any other parry for damage to
property, loss of equipment, injury to personnel, or for the payment of any
compensation arising in the course of, or as a result of, any assistance or lack of
assistance rendered under the terms of this Agreement. This provision does not waive
the legal rights of any individual. Nothing in this agreement, including any provisions
for hold harmless, is intended to create any liability or obligations to pay claims on
any single incident in excess of the amounts set forth in the Montana Tort Claims Act.
Specifically as to actions to which the Tort Claims Act would apply, the CITY and _
, by this agreement, are assuming no contractual liability in
any form in excess of those limitations.
That the chief executive officer of each fire department of the parties to this
Agreement is authorized and directed to meet and draft such Rules of Procedure as
shall best accomplish the purpose of this Agreement.
6. That aid and assistance rendered by the signatories hereto under the Montana Mutual
Aid Act, state and national forest fire defense plans, and civil defense plans, shall not
be governed by the terms of this Agreement.
That automatic aid and move -up procedures shall be periodically reviewed and
updated.
S. That the continued failure by either party to meet the requirements established herein
shall be considered to be just cause for termination of this Agreement.
9. That either party may withdraw from the entirety or attachments hereto of this
Agreement by giving thirty (30) days' written notice of its intent to withdraw to the
other party.
10. This Agreement shall be for a period of five (5) years from the date of complete
signing and for such additional period as provided herein. Each and every year after
the expiration of the original Agreement, this Agreement shall automatically renew for
additional one-year periods if not replaced by a new Agreement.
11. Each of the parties agrees not to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, color,
age, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, familial status, mental/physical
disability, or source of income in the performance of this contract.
Kalispell/ Automatic Aid Agreement
Page 4
This Agreement shall become legal and binding on both of the undersigned agencies
by the authorized signatures to be hereunto affixed.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the undersigned has caused this agreement to be signed
by its duly authorized officers. This document shall work in concert with and create an addition to the
Flathead County Mutual Assistance Agreement currently in effect.
The effective date of this agreement shall be
City of Kalispell
Department
Randy Brodehl, Fire Chief Chair, Fire
Department
Approved as to Form:
City Attorney
County Attorney
Fire