VOTERS OK FIRE DISTRICT IN COUNTY

GORDONVILLE -- Voters within the Gordonville Fire District overwhelmingly approved a plan Tuesday that will create a tax-supported fire protection district.

The vote establishing the Gordonville Fire Protection District was 342-76.

The election authorizes a tax levy of up to 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation on homes, farms, property and businesses. The levy will raise about $55,000 annually.

Fire Chief Patrick Jett said firefighters were "very pleased" by the vote. "We feel this tells us the community is behind us."

Voters on Tuesday also elected Keith Quade and Bill Craig to the new district's board of directors.

Proponents of the tax levy said that furnishing a dependable source of income is the only way the service provided by the all-volunteer Gordonville Fire Department could be upgraded.

The department currently is supported by donations of about $27,000, which is less than its operational expenses.

About 65 percent of the households in the area served by the department donate $30 apiece each year to keep the service running. The remaining 35 percent do not pay anything.

Jett said upgrading eventually will allow the fire district to lower its Insurance Services Office rating. "We will be attempting to get a lower rating as soon as possible. And that will result in lower insurance rates to most of our residents."

Jett said those lower rates "realistically" are probably two years in the future.

The district will receive its first tax revenues in December 1994.

The district will serve residents in Gordonville, Tilsit and Dutchtown, the rural area around Gordonville, and several residential subdivisions. Those include Grandview Acres on Highway 25, and Hillcrest Manor and Parkwood Lakes Estates Mobile Home Court on Route K.