Fire Protection Services for Lake Rabun

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1 Fire Protection Services for Lake Rabun Situation Lake Rabun is now confronted with a situation where our current fireboat is out of service temporarily, ie, hopefully no more than approximately the next three weeks. There are also two longer term issues regarding the level of fire, first responder medical, and rescue services available. It is important that we address these issues in a timely manner to insure that we maintain a high level of fire protection service around the lake and that we expand that level of service to include additional properties on our shoreline. Priorities Our immediate and first issue is to get our fireboat back in service as soon as possible. That is underway and moving forward. Our second issue is to address how we maintain our current fire rating, 5/5X, which is dictated by ISO standards, and is the primary driver in setting property owner insurance premiums with most insurance companies. To maintain the favorable 5 rating for most of our lake, we must acquire a new fireboat with greater pump capacity to meet new standards. Third, ISO proximity limits exclude a portion of our lake from receiving the benefit of the ISO favorable rating of 5 for fire service coverage. Properties beyond the proximity limits are now rated as either a 5X or a 9 and generally those property owners pay two to three times more for insurance premiums than property owners within the proximity limits designated by ISO. Those limits state that a property must be within 5 road miles of a compliant fire station or within 5 water miles of a compliant fireboat station. Background To address the above issues, let me start by providing some background. Lake Rabun is located in Rabun County where fire services, as well as first responder medical services and rescue services, are primarily delivered to us by volunteers. Each of the fire departments operated independently until 1998 when the County consolidated the 12 stations into a County Fire Department. Prior to that consolidation, each station had total responsibility for funding itself and the volunteers were strictly volunteers. They had to pay for their own liability and medical insurance, if they could afford it, and equipment was purchased via fund raising events in the areas served by each station. After consolidation, liability insurance for the fire fighters and their equipment was provided by the County under a general liability umbrella insurance policy, as was access to workman s compensation and a Georgia Firefighters Pension Fund. The County also now covers minimal operating expenses such as annual maintenance, repairs and fuel for the stations, and they purchase firefighting apparatus such as trucks, etc. which are available to serve the entire county. However, fireboats are considered specialty fire

2 apparatus serving a limited area such as our lake. Consequently, the County will do its best to help with the acquisition of a fireboat, but they also heavily rely upon the tax payer citizens that will be directly served by a fireboat, to help with the funding of such a boat. Initially the Lakemont-Wiley Volunteer Fire Department, LWVFD, initiated the Flea Market to help provide funding for their needs for equipment and training. Over the last couple of decades LRA has coordinated the Flea Market and searched for ways to grow the net proceeds so that more funds would be available to better train and equip the volunteer firefighters of Station 4 which serve us. Wisely, your Officers and Trustees created a reserve or escrow fund several years ago by setting aside a portion of the Flea Market fund raisers anticipating the future need for better and improved firefighting equipment to support our area. Currently we have $120,000 in escrowed funds. Early Flea Market funding helped purchase the current fireboat which went into service on Lake Rabun in 1995, 21 years ago. Since that time our lake community has benefitted from both the fire trucks and the fireboat which provide road and water access to our properties so they can provide fire protection, do water and land rescues, and frequently be the first responders that provide initial medical services. As a result of my interaction with our Station 4 firefighter crew, I have learned a lot about them, their capabilities and expertise. Our Station 4 volunteer firefighters are the best in Rabun County. In fact some of them are full time professional firefighters in nearby communities and have extensive training and significant experience. They are passionate and dedicated many times putting their lives on the line for us at their own expense, ie, leaving their jobs to serve our needs, time away from their families, etc. We, all Lake Rabun residents and LWVFD, are a team & we depend on each other. They are willing and ready to protect us and our properties, but are sometimes limited in what they can do, due to aged equipment. About a week and a half ago one of the two outboard engines required to propel our 21 year old fireboat failed and is out of service. Repair is underway. Issue #1 Fireboat Repair On Saturday, September 3, 2016, the LRA Officers and Trustees met and voted to repair that outboard engine as quickly as possible after discussing multiple alternatives. It is expected that the repair expense will be covered by the County, but if not, LRA will provide funds to cover the estimated $ repair expense.

3 Issue #2 New Fireboat This situation was a catalyst to remind us of two larger issues regarding fire, rescue and first responder services on and around our lake. Both of these two issues relate to ISO requirements used by the majority of insurance companies, to set property owner insurance premiums. The first of these two issues that requires our support is the purchase of a new fireboat with compliant pump capacity which will result in our Station 4 marina fire station recertification and continuation of the ISO 5 rating which results in reduced property owner insurance for many on the lake. Issue #3 New Fire Station The next issue that requires our support is the establishment of a new fire station in the vicinity of the upper Narrows of our lake which will provide enhanced coverage in that area as well as an upgraded ISO rating and reduced property owner insurance premiums for additional lake residences. ISO Ratings and Impact At present, a large portion of our lake currently meets the ISO requirement that property must be located within 5 miles by road or 5 miles by water to a certified fire station. Each station must meet many criteria to be certified, but the criteria under the newer ISO requirements that our Station 4 marina station does not now meet is adequate pump capacity of our fireboat. The property also has to be within 1000 feet of a viable water source such as our standpipe system and the lake itself. Without a fireboat which meets the new ISO requirements, our LWVFD marina fire station will be decertified and many lake residents that are more than five miles by road from Station 4 will lose the ISO rating 5. They have received the rating of 5 for years because they are less than 5 miles by water from the fireboat. Detail on this five mile limit by both water and land is described below and shown on the map that is included. Coverage Limits The ISO 5 mile coverage limit by road using firetrucks from Station 4 located on Old Highway 441 to properties along a Lake Rabun Road route extends to approximately the intersection with Kings Row where the King barn is located. The coverage to properties by road using firetrucks along a Shady Lane and Brandon Mill Road route would extend to approximately a point in the vicinity of 2178 to 2260 Brandon Mill Road.

4 The ISO 5 mile coverage limit by water using the fireboat from the Station 4 marina fire station to properties on both sides of the lake extends to approximately the small cove in the Narrows near where Bear Gap Road and Brandon Mill Road intersection. It should be noted that our Station 4 firetrucks and the fireboat, which is generally on scene sooner than the trucks, serve our entire lake and do cover the portions of the lake currently rated 5X or 9 which do not benefit from reduced property owner insurance premiums and, thus are likely paying as much as 2 to 3 times more for their insurance. Insurance Premium Impact Based on contacts with insurance companies now serving residents on our lake, here is the estimated impact of losing the 5 rating and becoming a 5X or 9. $250,000 value residence: o annual insurance premium based on a 5 rating: $1000 to $1100. o annual insurance premium based on a 5X or 9 rating: $ to $ o result: insurance would more than double. $1,300,000 value residence: o annual insurance premium based on a 5 rating: $ o annual insurance premium based on a 5X or 9 rating: $ to $10, o result: insurance would double to almost triple. ISO Inspection Frequency ISO inspections and rating of area fire departments are unscheduled, unannounced and may occur at any time. The last inspection of the Rabun County fire departments was completed in

5 early The average time frame between inspections is about 4 years. Therefore, it is possible that the next inspection in Rabun County could come between now and Fireboat Impact As noted earlier, our fireboat pump capacity is inadequate for us to continue receiving the 5 ISO rating for preferential reduced insurance premiums for a large portion of the backside of the lake beyond the road limits listed above and those on the Lake Rabun Road side beyond the upper end of the Big Basin thru virtually all of the Narrows. Therefore, a new fireboat with greater pump capacity is required to meet the new standards recently enacted. A new fireboat will, in addition, provide our firefighters with enhanced, more reliable equipment. Firefighting Apparatus and Pump Capacity Rabun County has purchased 2 new firetrucks for Station 4 over the last few years at a cost of over $500,000. Those trucks have compliant pump capacities of 1250 gallons per minute (GPM) and 1500 GPM which have become standard pump capacity in the firefighting industry. Our fireboat pump capacity is far below these levels and is only rated at 500 GPM, but can only deliver 418 GPM. Our current fireboat cannot be retrofitted with a compliant pump capacity due to weight capacity of the boat being exceeded. Capital Campaign Decision The Officers and Trustees voted unanimously to immediately kick off a Capital Campaign initiative to purchase a compliant fireboat. This decision was communicated at our 2017 Labor Day weekend General Membership Meeting and included the detail information in this document. Research of fireboat manufacturers indicates that fireboats with compliant pump capacity are available generally in a range of $204,000 to $266,000. Using the high end of the estimated price range and based upon the $120,000 reserve or escrowed funds balance, and the expectation that we can secure some additional funding from Rabun County and additional stakeholders, we need to raise approximately $120,000 from lake residents to preserve our ISO 5 rating and enhance our fire protection services for Lake Rabun. These funds must be raised in a timely manner to start this process as delivery for a fireboat can range between 4 and 8 months. We believe these issues fit within the LRA mission of nurturing the quality of life by preserving the lake and community as a resource for all residents and the general public, as well as complying with the 501(c)(3) mission of the LWVFD Fund at NGCF. This Capital Campaign is focused on overall community benefits where fire protection ratings are enhanced resulting in

6 preferential fire ratings, lower property insurance premiums and improved fire protection while addressing the conservation and preservation of our lake and surrounding community. All Lake Residents Review Insurance Policies We encourage all lake residents to review their respective property owner insurance policies and to contact their insurance companies to determine how their policy premiums related to fire coverage are set, ie, with or without the ISO ratings and with which rating if ISO is used. The majority of property insurance companies utilize the ISO ratings to set premiums. Based on recent conversations with several members, the insurance companies that do not use ISO specifically seem to set their premiums at the higher range roughly equivalent to a 9 ISO rating. All Lake Residents Support Required Suggested: 1 year premium difference We hope you will consider supporting this fund raiser by contributing the annual estimated premium difference between a 5 and a 9 ISO rating for a single year for your property. This is the amount you will continue to save annually with a compliant fireboat on our lake. If we do not have a compliant fireboat and are downgraded to a 9 rating, you may then be paying that differential annually to your insurance company. Capital Campaign Contributions Tax Deductible Contributions to the North Georgia Community Foundation which is a 501(C)(3) organization are deductible for federal and state income tax purposes as charitable contributions to the extent allowed by law. Checks Checks should be made payable to: North Georgia Community Foundation. Please note on the memo line of the check that it is for the Lakemont-Wiley Volunteer Fire Department Capital Fund or some abbreviated version of this description. Checks should be mailed to: North Georgia Community Foundation; 615 F Oak Street, Suite 1300; Gainesville, GA New Fire Station The third issue that requires our support is the establishment of a compliant fire station in the upper end of our lake which is now not eligible for the better ISO rating due to lack of proximity to a compliant fire station. Our lake residents in this area deserve the same coverage and preferential insurance premiums that many of us have benefitted from for several years. We will be initiating dialogue with our Rabun County Fire Services Chief as well as our Rabun County Commissioners and Rabun County Administrator to communicate this need and determine what we must do to support this initiative.

7 Any of you with strong contacts with our County Commissioners, County Fire Chief, or County Administrator, please let me know who you are and who you have as contacts. We ll need your help. For additional information, contact: Bob Pledger