The fire district contracts annually with the City of Joseph and its volunteer fire department for fire protection and rescue services. The district board and the city agreed on the following contract for 2019-2020:
FIRE PROTECTION CONTRACT
between
THE CITY OF JOSEPH, a Municipal Corporation
and
WALLOWA LAKE RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT, a
Special District
1. THIS
CONTRACT (“Contract”) is entered into this 1st day of July, 2019, between the
CITY OF JOSEPH, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon (hereinafter
called “City”) with an address at P.O. Box 15, Joseph, OR 97846, and WALLOWA LAKE RURAL FIRE PROTECTION
DISTRICT (hereinafter called “District”) with an address at P.O. Box 922,
Joseph, OR 97846.
2. The City is an incorporated city of the State
of Oregon and maintains fire fighting equipment and an all volunteer fighting staff. The District desires fire fighting services
under ORS 190.010; 190.030 and 478.300.
The City has agreed to furnish fire fighting services and the District
has agreed to compensate the City for fire fighting services in accordance with
this Contract.
3. The
physical boundaries of the District are identified on the map accompanying this
Contract as Exhibit “1“.
4. This
Contract has been offered by the City and it is agreed that, commencing July 1,
2019 by receipt of signed Contract, the City shall, subject to the provisions
of this Contract below, upon receipt of notice by telephone or otherwise,
provide fire fighting services that can be reasonably furnished by the City for
the properties located within the District.
5. It
is further understood that it is the responsibility of individual landowners
within the District to provide adequate access to the property within the
District for the City’s fire equipment.
It is further understood that it is not the responsibility of the City
or the District to provide adequate access to the property for the fire
equipment. The City shall not be liable
for any damage to property nor personal injury nor loss of life within the
District should the fire equipment not reach or not attempt to reach the
site(s) because of inadequate access (i.e. ruts, potholes, narrow road, narrow
or impassable bridges, mud, snow, ice, bridges unable to safely bear the weight
of the fire equipment, or inability of fire equipment to turn around, etc.).
6. Fire
Hydrants: The City shall have no
responsibility or obligation for repair, maintenance, testing and flushing of
fire hydrants in the District.
7. It
is further provided that the Fire Department’s commanding officer(s) or
incident commander for Fire Department official in charge (collectively
“Officer in Charge”), shall exercise their judgment from the information
received to determine the amount and type of fire equipment which will be
provided by the City and the amount and type of fire equipment to be dispatched
to property within the District and that no faulty judgment or ill-advised
action on the part of the dispatcher or Officer in Charge, shall create any
liability against that individual or against the City, or defeat the right of
the City to compensation as herein provided.
Nevertheless, the Officer in Charge shall have all powers, rights and
duties of both the City and the District with respect to the functions and
activities described in this Section 7 and Section 12 below.
8. It
is the responsibility of the City to maintain appropriate fire fighting
equipment (as provided in Section 9 below), training, fire fighters (subject to
the provisions of Section 10 below), and any other staff required under Oregon
Law and provided personal protective equipment for the volunteer fire fighters
in the Fire Department. The City shall
retain sole decision making authority with regard to the use, storage,
acquisition, disposition, and maintenance of all City equipment and personnel.
9. Despite the preceding Paragraph 8
to the contrary, the City has no obligation to acquire additional fire fighting
equipment, nor any obligation to replace any of the current City equipment or
future fire fighting equipment for the purpose of enabling the City to fulfill
the City’s obligations under this Contract. The
City will give the District notice if any significant portion of the current
City fire equipment (collectively "City
Equipment") become inoperative for longer than 60 days or (other than for
maintenance or repairs) are sold or otherwise disposed of.
10. The City has no obligation to provide
adequate fire fighting personnel. The
City has no funds to hire paid fire fighting personnel and is entirely
dependent on the good will of the volunteers to provide fire fighting services
under this Contract. The City shall not
be held liable for any response delays due to limited or lack of manpower. However, the City will make reasonable
efforts to maintain a sufficient number of volunteer fire fighting personnel to
adequately man the then current equipment.
11. The
City shall not be held liable for repair or replacement of equipment or
apparatus used by the Joseph Volunteer Fire Department that is property of the
Wallowa Lake Rural Fire Protection District.
12. The
Officer in charge has authority to request mutual aid.
13. Under
this contract, the city agrees to waive any and all cost recovery fees for any
current resident and or property owner within the Wallowa Lake Rural Fire
Protection District. These fees include equipment and manpower reimbursement
fees billed for special services such as Rope Rescue, Jaws Rescue and Motor
Vehicle Accidents. After such an incident, proof of current residence or
ownership of property within the district may be requested.
14. The
City and the District agree that the Contract service from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 will be paid from the District in the amount
of $37,264.00 with equal payments being paid quarterly
(April, July, September and December).
15. If
signed, this Contract shall be in full force and effect commencing 12:01 A.M.,
July 1, 2019.
In the event the District should wish to withdraw from this contract
before its end, the remaining fee amount shall be due and payable unless the
District can prove that service provided by the City are no longer available.
16. The
City agrees to designate the Joseph Fire Chief as liaison, who shall be
responsible for coordination of activities under this Contract and facilitating
communication between the City and the District. The District’s Fire Chief, and
the Joseph’s Fire Chief may mutually agree to meet to further enhance the
relationship between both entities. The District’s Fire Chief may attend
monthly Joseph City Council Meetings to obtain information that is made
available to the Joseph City Council by the Joseph Fire Chief. The District
Fire Chief may also request copies of the monthly minutes that contain the
Joseph Fire Chief’s comments. The City agrees to provide the opportunity for
representatives of the District to address the City Council at regularly
scheduled City Council meetings, if a request is received by the City a
reasonable time prior to the meeting.
The District agrees to provide the opportunity for representatives of
the City to address the District Board of Directors at regularly scheduled
Board if a request is received by the District a reasonable time prior to the
meeting.
17. Nothing in this contract shall obligate
either the City or the District in the expenditure of funds, or by future
payments of money, in excess of those authorized by law and as stated in this
Contract or written modification to this Contract signed by both Parties.
18. This
contract may be modified upon mutual agreement and a written instrument
executed by both Parties. The Parties
will cooperate and exchange information relating to fire equipment, minimum
road standards, mutual aid and all other fire protection and fire fighting
issues of mutual concern.
19. No
person or entity is intended to be or will be a third Party beneficiary of this
Contract, nor will any one except the District, directly or indirectly, be
entitled to assert any claim or otherwise seek any recourse against the City
based on the City’s fulfillment or failure to fulfill its obligations under
this Contract.
20. If
any claim is ever asserted against the City arising out of or related to this
Contract, under no circumstances will the liability of the City ever exceed the
coverage or limits of the City’s liability insurance policies.
21. This
Contract was prepared, negotiated and delivered in the State of Oregon. In the event of any dispute concerning or
arising out of this Contract, Oregon law will govern and control the
construction and enforcement of this Contract.
22. Pursuant to ORS 478.300 or any successor
statute of similar import, the City would ordinarily have sole and exclusive
authority over open burning and the issuance of fire permits with the District,
and the authority to make reasonable rules and regulations related to open
burning and fire permits. Because the
District is under the jurisdiction of the Oregon Department of Forestry, the
City will not issue any fire permits within the District and shall be entitled
to defer to and rely entirely on the rules, regulations and oversight of the
Oregon Department of Forestry over open burning and fire permits within the
District.
23. Except
for notice of any fire, any notice, demand, request, approval, consent or other
communication (collectively “Notice”) concerning this Contract or any matter
arising in connection with this Contract shall be in writing and addressed to
the applicable Party at the applicable address set forth in the first paragraph
of this Contract. Any Notice must be
given either (i) personal delivery or delivery by nationally recognized courier
in which event it shall be deemed given on the date of delivery, or (ii) fax or
other telecommunication, including but not limited to e-mail, provided written
or electronic confirmation of transmission is obtained, in which event it will
be deemed given on the date of transmission, or (iii) by deposit in the U.S.
mail, in which event it shall be deemed given three days after the date
deposited in the mail. Any Party may
change any address for the delivery of Notice to such Party, by giving Notice
in accordance with the provisions of this Section 22.
24. In
the event that any Party engages an attorney in connection with any action or
proceed (including arbitration) to enforce or construe this Contract, the
prevailing Party in such action or proceeding will be entitled to recover its
reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursement.
In the event different Parties are the prevailing Parties on different
issues, the attorneys’ fees and disbursements will be apportioned in proportion
to the value of the issues decided for and against the Parties.
25. This
Contract is signed by the Parties as a final expression of all of the terms,
covenants and conditions of their agreement on the subject matter covered by
this Contract, as a complete and exclusive statement of its terms, covenants
and conditions and is intended to supersede all prior agreements and
understandings concerning the subject matter of this Contract.
26. If
any provision of this Contract violates Oregon or federal law in its entirety,
the provision will be deemed deleted and of no effect. If any provision in this Contract violates
Oregon or federal law in part, or under certain circumstances, the provision
will be enforced to the fullest extent the provision does not violate Oregon
and federal law.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the City and the District
have executed the foregoing instrument effect the 1st day of July 2019.
