TOWER-SOUDAN— Officials in these two communities took the first tentative steps last Thursday to potentially combine their emergency services agencies, including fire, ambulance and law enforcement, into a single facility.

Following an hour-long joint session of the Tower City Council and the Breitung Town Board, both bodies voted unanimously to move forward with initial discussions and planning, assigning the task initially to the communities’ two fire chiefs and assistant chiefs. The vote came following nearly an hour of public input, mostly from local emergency responders. Despite widespread agreement on the wisdom of a merger, most everyone acknowledged there’s plenty of work ahead to bring it all about.

“We’re talking about a 45-year marriage and this is our first date,” quipped Breitung Supervisor Greg Dostert.

It was a date that many people thought would never happen, despite broad public support for the idea. Tower Mayor Josh Carlson noted that a joint comprehensive plan, completed in 2001, strongly recommended a merger. “I believe the wording was that the departments begged to be combined,” he said.

Nearly fifteen years later, it was the need to expand and upgrade facilities that finally got the two sides talking. Tower has struggled to find space for its fire and ambulance for years, and the fire last summer that destroyed the department’s storage garage made a bad situation critical.

At the same time, Breitung Township has been looking at a new facility for the police department as well as additional cold storage.

“Everybody needs the room,” said Breitung Fire Chief Steve Burgess.

That raised the obvious question, said Breitung Board Chair Tim Tomsich. “Should we get together and build a common building?”

It was just one of many questions, it turns out. If the two communities share an emergency services facility, does it make sense to maintain two separate fire departments? And if a joint building is constructed, where will it be located? Who would provide the funding?

Members of the two fire departments expressed support for a merger, but said saving money shouldn’t be the primary focus. “By combining fire departments, you’re going to be providing better service,” said Ambulance Supervisor and Breitung fire department member Matt Tuchel. While the two departments frequently work together, Tuchel said both would benefit from combined training and familiarity with all of the equipment. He said a combination would also leave the new department very well staffed with volunteers.

Burgess agreed. “The reason to change something is to make it better, not necessarily to make it cheaper,” he said.

Some, however, questioned whether merged services and a new building could be completed in time to meet the needs of the ambulance service. “This isn’t going to happen overnight,” said Breitung Supervisor Chuck Tekautz.

Tomsich said his board would want input from more township residents at the March 10 annual meeting and he wondered whether the fire officials would be able to have answers for some of the many questions that residents would likely pose.

Tower Fire Chief Steve Altenburg said he thought the fire chiefs could provide at least tentative answers to many of the questions in time for the annual meeting.

Carlson suggested the two parties meet again shortly after the annual meeting, to decide whether to appoint a committee to pursue the merger. “Should we try to have a commitment to move forward by mid-March?” he asked.

The first step towards greater cooperation brought kudos from several in the audience, including Tom Erchul, a St. Louis County road foreman who lives and works in Ely. “You all need to be commended for taking this forward,” Erchul said.

He said the joint facility recently built in Ely, which includes space for St. Louis and Lake county maintenance, as well as the city of Ely’s public works, is a good example of what can be accomplished when local governments work together. “A lot of people said it never would work, but it’s working very well.” he said. “I just wish that the city of Ely and township of Morse would have done something like this years ago. This is a great opportunity.”