Fair Harbor, Lonelyville fire districts eye merger

Two small fire districts on Fire Island have taken the first step toward consolidation - a move made possible, they say, by new measures passed last year to make it easier to merge and dissolve special districts.

Fair Harbor Fire District commissioners voted Sunday to merge with Lonelyville Fire District. The vote will effectively dissolve the Lonelyville district, which had already approved the merger. Lonelyville residents will be able to vote in Fair Harbor commissioner elections and will receive the same fire service as now.

The consolidation effort is the first for fire districts since the New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act went into effect in March. The legislation, initiated by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, was designed to simplify the process of consolidating the more than 10,000 local government entities in the state.

The new laws were instrumental in the Fair Harbor-Lonelyville merger because they allow noncontiguous districts to merge, which previously was prohibited. The two districts are separated by the Dunewood Fire District.

The merger - state fire officials say they cannot recall another one in at least the last 30 years - is mostly an administrative move.

Lonelyville's Board of Fire Commissioners will be dissolved, reducing the $78,600 budget by $5,000, an average savings of about $30 per household, said Lonelyville commissioner and chairman Forrest (Pete) Clark Jr., mostly due to insurance and other redundant services.

"All I'm trying to do is put myself out of a job, and save the residents a few dollars," Clark said. "We have only 92 houses and 20 registered voters."

Fair Harbor, with a $387,687 budget, supplies firefighting to Lonelyville and Dunewood residents via contracts with the two districts. Fair Harbor has the only firehouse in the 1-mile-long stretch encompassing all three districts. Dunewood has not made a decision to consolidate "at this time," an official said.

"Our members live in all three of the districts," said Fair Harbor Commissioner Brett Roberts.

Now that both boards have approved the merger, a consolidation agreement must be published and a public hearing held. "There is a process according to state law," Roberts said. "We have only just begun the process."

Other Long Island fire district residents applauded the merger, including Rosalie Hanson, who has been trying for four years to dissolve her district, Gordon Heights, because it has some of the Island's highest fire district taxes.

"It's awesome," Hanson said. "We've been working since 2006 to resolve [the issue] and for ordinary citizens to consolidate, and we are very pleased to see the first example of our work."

State fire district officials said the merger is unique because of the system of fire protection in the barrier beach area, and said they have never opposed consolidation when initiated by commissioners.

"This is the type of situation where we think it is best accomplished by the officials, rather than being driven by a petition or outside group," said William Young, attorney for the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York. "That's when it becomes problematic."

THE FIRE DISTRICTS

Fair Harbor

Budget: $387,687

Residences: 325

Lonelyville

Budget: $78,600 ($73,300 to Fair Harbor for fire services)

Residences: 92