By Brenda Starkey
The Chronicle

     REPUBLIC – City Council tabled a boundary line decision that would combine two pieces of property acquired by EMS District No. 1 from the county and Ferry County Public Utility District.
     Alex Wirt, EMS District board chairman, asked the council to approve the line adjustment so the district can seek funding for a new EMS headquarters building on South Clark Avenue.
     Councilman Dave Michel made a motion to approve the adjustment, but it died for lack of a second.
     Wirt left the meeting and told the council he would be willing to resign as the city’s representative to the EMS District board if the council doesn’t support his efforts to accomplish the building project.
     Residents of the area and members of a church there are concerned about the proposed project, and they shared their concerns with individual council members before the meeting.
     The area west of Clark Avenue between 13th and 15th streets has an unofficial street that provides access to the church and homes. There are concerns about easements and the road.
     The city’s attorney has said on numerous occasions that the city has no control over the road or disputes between individual property owners, Mayor Shirley Couse said.
     Property owners will have to settle those issues among themselves or with the EMS District, she said.
     Councilman Jim Burnside said his concerns are about a survey which church members believe puts parts of their property within the EMS District property. He wants clarification on that issue and whether a boundary adjustment would affect the issue, which has yet to be settled.