The Kenai Peninsula Borough is considering establishing a fire and medical service area in Ninilchik.
The area has been covered by Ninilchik Emergency Services, which is a nonprofit organization run by a board of directors. But NES has been in turmoil since early this month when the board suddenly dismissed its chief, Dave Bear. Bear notified department volunteers of his departure in an email and stated that the board intended to shut down the department for a few days.
In the following days, due to community pressure and a public meeting, the entire board of directors resigned and Bear was reinstated. The old board has been replaced by a seven-member interim board.
Before the mass resignations, the old NES board released a statement saying the organization had been approved for a grant through FEMA for “staffing for adequate fire and emergency response” and was restructuring the department.
If the borough were to create a service area, it would be supported through property taxes.
Anchor Point Fire and Emergency Services is honoring its mutual aid agreement with NES, although its first priority is to Anchor Point-area residents.
The next public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. March 9 at the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik. The interim board will take testimony. Questions to be addressed at the meeting can be sent, in advance, to Brenda Ahlberg, community and fiscal projects manager, at bahlberg@kpb.us, by noon, Thursday, March 5.
