It’s back to the drawing board with plans for a new fire and rescue station that would serve a large swath of central Leelanau County, and a “10,000 foot” examination of an interlocal funding agreement might be the first step.

Kasson Township voters on Nov. 4 struck down a $5.8 million bond proposal for a new Cedar Area Fire & Rescue station by a 394-279 vote margin (essentially 60-40 percent). Local fire and rescue millages have generally been successful over the years, leaving local officials dismayed that this one flopped.

“I was a little surprised and very disappointed that it didn’t pass,” Kasson Township Clerk Dana Boomer tells The Ticker. “I think it shows that we need to do some more outreach about why this is needed in the community, because it still is a big need…that has been identified for years.”

CAFR serves four townships in the heart of Leelanau – Kasson, Centerville, Cleveland and Solon – and the proposed new location at the intersection of M-72 and Maple City Road was strategically located to help spread the load in a coverage area that is on a growth trajectory with visitor traffic and other activity.

Both the CAFR board and Kasson Township board have met since the election and discussed the millage and fire station. Though it’s possible that a similar millage request is made of voters in the future, it seems more likely that local officials will first reexamine the CAFR agreement between the four townships.

As worded now, that agreement stipulates that the township where any new station is located must fund construction of the new station, even though it would serve the other townships. That’s why the recent proposal only went in front of Kasson voters.

Modifying that agreement may lead to considerably more flexibility in terms of funding a new station by spreading the cost beyond only the township where the new station is built. Boomer says it’s also a chance to fix other funding quirks within the agreement.

“Currently, Solon and Centerville townships provide all the capital funding for the existing station, and Kasson Township doesn’t pay anything,” Boomer says. “If the other three townships were going to contribute to capital funding for a new station, we need to look into making it fair for everyone by having Kasson contribute funding for (the existing) building as well.”

Boomer and Kasson Township Supervisor Greg Julian said it likely makes sense to plan for a new station at the same location as was proposed this time around, though nothing is set in stone.

“We've done a thorough examination of the coverage area (before settling on that location), but we're willing to listen to all four townships and take input and come out with a thorough examination, like we always do,” Julian tells The Ticker.

What is crystal clear is that the need for a new station – something that’s been discussed for years – didn’t disappear because this bond issue failed.

“We don't want to be stagnant on our emergency services, especially in a growing area. We have tremendous growth and blessings here in our four townships,” Julian says. “And our citizens are not getting any younger. The services needed are more and more. Our call volumes are rising on a regular basis. We've seen that for years, and we have to address those.”

Julian says it will be paramount to clearly and openly communicate with residents as future options are discussed, and he encouraged citizen involvement.

“Kasson Township and Cedar Area Fire and Rescue are very open and interested in listening to the citizens and getting feedback,” he says. “We have public comment twice at every meeting, and we're all accessible by phone, by email, in person.”