Construction of Battlefield fire station may ignite lawsuit

While plans for Battlefield's new fire station are under way, a lawsuit could also be in the district's future.

Soon after the May 4 tornado, the fire department started cleaning up, repairing and rebuilding in an effort to provide for the district's needs.

As a separate public entity from the city of Battlefield, the Battlefield Fire Protection District did not take out a building permit or submit construction plans to the city, said James M. Kelly, attorney for the city of Battlefield.

These actions caused the city to place a stop-work order on the fire station's future construction. Typically stop-work orders are placed on the actual building, but Battlefield Fire Chief Jerry Sparkman said the stop-work order was faxed to the builder. At that time, Sparkman said, the fire district's attorney, Matt Placzek of the law firm Placzek and Francis, began filing an injunction. An agreement between the city and district allowed for the stop-work order and injunction to be dropped, but that did not end the debate.

"The fire district came to an agreement to lift the stop-work order with the understanding that when it was time for the building's first inspection the district would allow the city to inspect," Kelly said. Now, the city is waiting to see what the fire district will do when construction moves forward.

"They've got two choices they can either call the city and say, We've reached this point. We need somebody to come out and inspect and approve this,' or they'll just continue on with their building. And rather than call the city, they'll request some sort of hearing before the court," Kelly said. If the city is not allowed to inspect the project, another work-stop order could be filed, he said.

For Sparkman and the district, the choice has already been made.

"We don't plan on asking the city for an inspection," Sparkman said. "We are going on with the building, lawsuit or not. I have a bigger obligation than the city government. If there's any stop order put on or anything like that we are cocked and ready to go to court."

City versus district

According to Missouri Statute Chapter 321, a fire district is designed "for the purpose of providing fire protection to the property within the district, the district and, on its behalf."

One of the rights given to the fire district board of directors is to "acquire, construct, purchase, maintain and dispose of and encumber real and personal property, fire stations, fire protection and fire-fighting apparatus." This same group also has the right "to have the management, control and supervision of all the business and affairs of the district and the construction, installation, operation and maintenance of district improvements therein."

With this knowledge, controversy surrounding building inspections is fueling many of the frustrations.

Since the damaged fire building and the future building are both inside the city limits, the city said it had the right to inspect.

"It's a situation where you've got a public building and the question is, are you going to have inspections to ensure that that particular public building meets all health and safety standards required by the various building codes?" Kelly said.

Meeting codes is not going to be an issue Sparkman said.

Construction plans on the new 9,000-square-foot building call for inspections from qualified engineers and architects, Sparkman said and all codes will be met during the building process.

"It's not like I am building the building. It's going to be built far better than anything else. It will be a beacon in the Battlefield area," Sparkman said. "We invited (the city inspector) to look at the building plan but they wanted us to build it differently. We can take care of the building how we want to, we are a city in the city. I've told the city they are welcome to look anytime they want but as far as an official inspection, no."

Kelley said the city believes the fire district should be treated the same as everyone else when it comes to inspections. However, the city could compromise if a qualified inspector was found for the new fire district building.

"If they would offer to let somebody who we know is a qualified inspector, if they want someone from Springfield or Greene County who does this to come out, I would certainly advise the city that that be done, providing the fire district is going to pay for those services," Kelly said.

Who has the right to inspect could ultimately be decided at a hearing if another stop-work order is placed on the district. If this happens it could end up costing citizens.

"We are going to wind up spending tax money to sue someone, who is going to use tax money to pay to defend themselves. The district hates to do this, but I'm going to stand up for the rights of this district," Sparkman said. "We are a government entity, the same as the city. That's why the state statues are written the way they are, to keep one governmental agency from controlling and demanding things of another one that they don't really have the power to do."