HomeMy WebLinkAboutcontract enfield residents simmer over fire, dustup ij_0001Enfield residents simmer
over fire contract dust-up
CONNOR GLEASON / Journal Staff
First Assistant Chief Roger lauper of the Enfield Volunteer Fre Company oversees his son Shawn and other volunteers as they disas-
semble a car during a recent training session behind the Enfield firehouse. The fire company and the Town of Enfield agreed in April
on a $230,000 contract, but tensions between the two sides still exist.
Friends, neighbors, firefighters seek permanent solution
By rim Ashmore
tashnnoreC&RhacajournaLcom
Journal Staff
ENFIELD — If you live in Enfield and
you cross paths with a fellow Enfield res-
ident, it's likely his or her face is familiar.
In a town of fewer than 4,000 people,
that kind of occurrence is not uncom-
mon. The man behind the counter at your
local Citgo might have been the EMT who
responded to your 911 callwhen your be st
friend crashed his AT V behind your house.
In small towns throughout Tompkins
County — and the United States — res-
idents often wear more than one hat.
Sometimes it works to your benefit,
like when your neighbor is also on the
town planning board and represents your
interests when some out-of-town devel-
oper wants to put a big -box store in the
lot across the street.
MORE INSIDE
► Changes in store for Enfield?
PAGE 6A
Other times, it's your cousinwho resents
that you killed her goldfish when you were
10, and now — as a member of the town
board — she watches your every move
when you try to subdivide your property.
In Enfield, Peggy and Denny Hubbell
are aunt and nephew and, to put it light-
ly, they don't get along. To get Denny to
admit Peggy is his aunt, you have to draw
it out of him slowly; sudden questions
about her put him on the defensive.
Peggy, atown board member, and Denny,
thepresidentoftheF.nfield Volunteer Fire
Company, were on opposite sides of the
fence when contract negotiations began
forthe firecompanyinAugust200G. While
animosity between family members was
surely one obstacle to signing a contract,
many differences amid the town board and
the fire company extended negotiations
for more than three months past the Dec.
31 deadline.
The $230,000 contract that was agreed
upon in mid-April wasn't a compromise
that left either side wearing victorious
smiles, and the tension hasn't subsided.
Personal conflicts aside, accountabili-
ty of fire company spending and a con-
troversial ad hoc committee formed by
the town board that was never finalized
or used also became an issue of debate.
New fire plan under review
One idea did come from months of the
town board and the fire company deal-
itng with one another. Maybe they should-
n't deal with one another.
In the coming weeks, the town board
See ENFIELD Page 6A