By LAUREN ZEUGNER
Staff Writer
[email protected] 

Turkey Creek Township Fire Territory Chief Mickey Scott reported to the Turkey Creek Fire Territory Board he has received a number of complaints about people parking in fire lanes. He made the report during the board’s regular monthly meeting Thursday night.

Scott pointed out parking in a fire lane is a class C infraction and the fire department is currently working with Syracuse Police and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department to ticket cars illegally parked in fire lanes or have them towed at the owners’ expense.

“If you’re going to run in for 5 minutes that is considered parked,” Scott said during the meeting. “This issue will be addressed. It has been going on for four or five years. It needs to stop.”

Historically people have parked in the fire lanes at Syracuse Elementary School, but the problem has also spread to Wawasee Middle School and Wawasee High School.

Scott told the board the complaints have come during soccer practice and soccer games at Wawasee Middle School. In one instance, an ambulance had a hard time getting through the lane due to cars parked in it and Scott said a fire truck wouldn’t have been able to use the lane due to cars parked in it.

Board member Jeff Morgan advised Scott to contact Lakeland Youth Center, which runs the soccer program and ask that the fire lane be blocked from cars.

Scott said he would do that.

In old business Board Chair Bill Dixon reported the Turkey Creek Township Advisory Board has a new member. Kimberly Cates replaces Dick Waterson who moved out of the Turkey Creek Township area.

Dixon advised the fire board the advisory board would like to meet Cates and get her input before moving forward on renovations to Station I.

In his report, Scott told the board he is working with the architect on final drawings. Estimated cost for the renovations is $463,000, but Scott noted there is an extra 10 percent built in for unforeseen expenses. A total of $725,500 was budgeted for building improvements in 2011 and $400,000 in 2012. If the project can be done for $463,000, there will be an overall savings to tax payers of $262,500.

For more details on this meeting, see the May 16 issue of The Mail-Journal.