Mokena Fire District closer to Orland Park station

Has anyone heard how the judge ruled? If he allows this to be put on the ballot for Smith Crossing residents to vote it is all over for Mokena Fire.I wonder how long they signed the lease for?

I think the judge will rule this Friday.

The king is back!!
$1.00 value menus!!

Fire dispute heads to court
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November 16, 2009
By STEPHANIE GEHRING sgehring@southtownstar.com
MOKENA -- The battle line has been drawn for two fire protection districts.

Representatives from the Orland and Mokena fire protection districts will face off in court Friday when a judge decides whether or not to put a referendum question about annexation on the ballot.

Mike Carroll, attorney for the Orland Fire Protection District, said 82 registered voters at Smith Crossing, a tax exempt graduated care facility for senior citizens, signed a petition to switch from the Mokena Fire Protection District to the Orland Fire Protection District.

If Judge Paul Karkula certifies the referendum question, then residents of Smith Crossing--the only voters in the largely undeveloped Interstate 80 corridor--will decide which district would provide the best fire service for the corridor that stretches from I-80 to 183rd Street and from LaGrange Road to Will-Cook Road.

The Mokena district has served the corridor since 1962 and wants to build a fire station in the area, which would be less than a mile from an Orland station.

Orland fire officials have called the move impractical, saying Mokena could contract with Orland to provide services.

Smith Crossing residents decided to circulate petitions to switch fire districts after a presentation by the Orland fire officials, a move that Mokena fire officials considered underhanded.

Mokena officials contend that Orland wants to gobble up the I-80 corridor to pad its coffers, which Orland denies.

Citing a need to open a station before the election, Mokena fire officials opened a station in a rented industrial building. The station houses three full-time firefighter/paramedics.

The temporary station will shave three to five minutes off emergency response times, something the fire district hopes residents will remember if a referendum question does make it to the polls, Mokena Fire Chief Ted Golden has said.

The above was in today's Herald News!

Here's the latest news....From Today's Paper....

No agreement expected
Orland, Mokena fire districts head back to court
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November 21, 2009
BY STEPHANIE GEHRING

A temporary truce forged by the Orland and Mokena fire protection districts was short lived.

The two warring districts called a truce in an effort to iron out an agreement about fire service in the Interstate 80 corridor and a proposed referendum question.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Patrick McGann had given the two districts until Monday to reach an agreement.

Tom Gilbert, attorney for the Mokena fire district, said the district will move forward with the hearing.

"I think (Mokena is) going to submit it to the judge," he said.

The referendum question, which needs to be certified by the court in order to be placed on the Feb. 2 ballot in Will County, asks if the I-80 corridor should be disconnected from the Mokena fire district and annexed into the Orland fire district.

The corridor has been part of the Mokena district since it was formed in the 1960s.

Gilbert said the Mokena fire board objected to the idea of giving up a portion of its service area.

"We think we can protect the property, and that's why we don't want to give it up," he said.

Michael Carroll, attorney for the Orland district, said the court suggested the districts find a compromise. But he concurred with Gilbert that there wouldn't be an agreement by Monday.

"We'll put it in the court's hand," Carroll said.

He said Orland fire officials had been waiting to see what Mokena was going to do.

"It was an opportunity to give the boards one last attempt to settle it with encouragement from the bench," he said.

The districts have been battling one another since Mokena began developing plans for its new station in the I-80 corridor, just a stone's throw from an Orland station.

The battle intensified after Orland fire officials met with Smith Crossing residents in September. Some residents of the continuing care, not-for-profit facility quickly began circulating petitions to switch fire districts. The petitions were filed Sept. 23.

Mokena has since opened a temporary station in a rented building.

Both sides will appear before McGann at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Daley Center.

Ooooo

Thanks for the updates!

another update for my friends:

Orland Fire Protection District On Ballot to Serve Smith Crossing Residents
By: bwimbiscus
12/02/09 11:43 AM

November 30, 2009 -- ORLAND PARK, IL -- The Orland Fire Protection District’s pursuit of a ballot referendum to serve the residents of Smith Village and adjacent areas of Interstate 80 was granted today in County Court.

Circuit Court Judge Patrick McGann declared this morning that a referendum can appear on the February 2, 2010 primary election ballot in Will County. The same Smith Crossing residents eligible to vote in the referendum are largely the same residents who signed the petitions to switch from Mokena’s fire district to the Orland Fire Protection District. The residents’ response, following a September meeting with Orland Fire representatives, prompted the action by the courts to certify the proposed referendum.

With Smith Crossing represented in court everyday, Orland Fire Protection District Chief Bryant Krizik testified at length during the hearing, comparing the two fire districts in size, personnel, training, response times, service and the number of stations.

Krizik testified the Orland Fire Protection District could provide “equal or better service” to Smith Crossing,” a continuing-care retirement center, an oil tank farm and various office parks in the corridor just north of I-80. If the referendum is passed and the corridor is disconnected from the Mokena district and annexed into the Orland district, Orland’s district Fire Station 6 at 177th Street and Wolf Road will respond, with backup from their other five stations, the chief said.

“The Orland Fire Protection District convinced our residents when they presented to us in September, and, I believe, they convinced the courts they could provide equal or better service for our community, and we’re counting on better,” said Richard Corrigan, a resident at Smith Crossing.“The sheer strength in size and capability – along with its top ratings as a fire department -- give us great comfort at night.”

According to the Mokena Fire Protection District website, the district serves portions of Frankfort, Homer Glen, Mokena and Orland Park with a population of approximately 17,500 people over 12 ½ square miles. Mokena has 29 full-time and nine paid, on-call members who staff three fire stations, one ladder truck, three engines, one heavy rescue squad, three ALS ambulances, and one brush truck. In 2008, the district responded to 2,081 calls for both fire and ambulance.
Orland Fire Protection District is a multifunction fire protection and life-safety organization with more than 110 suppression personnel backed up by a support staff of 30 employees. The organization covers more than 33 square miles and serves a population of more than 75,000 people with 6 fire stations.
Michael Carroll, an attorney for the Orland district, set out to prove in court that the Orland Fire Protection District could provide “equal or better service” before the proposed referendum could be certified in Cook County, where the Orland Fire District originated.

Over the last six months, the districts failed to reach any agreements regarding duplicity in services to areas in and around Smith Crossing and the I-80 corridor. Discussions broke down last spring when Mokena began developing plans for a new station in the I-80 corridor, which resulted in Mokena opening a temporary station in a rented building at 183rd Place and Wolf Road.

Orland Fire Protection District Station 6, located at 177th Street and Wolf Road, is fully staffed.