The committee voted 4-1, with Ward 4 Alderwoman Sharon McMahon voting against the closure of the fire station and Ward 3 Alderman R.J. Davis, Ward 5 Alderman Tom Stone, Ward 6 Alderman Steve Nichols and Ward 7 Alderman Steve Foster voting for the closure. Ward 1 Alderwoman Brenda Brown and Ward 2 Alderman Dan Duncheon were absent.

City officials received a letter from representatives of the Quaker Oats plant concerned about putting its hundreds of employees at risk.

Eisenhauer clarified one statement in the letter saying a fire truck from Fire Station 4 can take the Oregon Street overpass to bypass railroad tracks. He also repeated what’s he’s said about the city still being able to provide the same average response times with three stations instead of four.

Under Eisenhauer’s proposal, Station 3 at 1111 N. Griffin St. would remain open for administrative purposes Monday through Friday and also for training; but fire suppression activities from that station would cease prior to May 1, 2017. That’s the start of the city’s new fiscal year. The city has three other fire stations for fire suppression activities.

Eisenhauer said the city is looking at an alternative location for training and to house equipment.

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sherry Pickering said the city will see a drop in service with response times, and she also asked what the city will save.

Eisenhauer said the city will save about $600,000 in not having to replace equipment for that fire station and the closure puts the city in a better position to fight minimum manning from 13 to 10 in arbitration. A minimum manning ruling in the city’s favor would result in around $700,000 to $900,000 annually in savings, he added.

The new tools will be housed at Fire Station 413, which is located on Landau Boulevard just off Interstate 10. This station houses the primary response unit for crashes on I-10 which take place within the boundaries of Cathedral City.

The CCFD provides emergency response services for all traffic collisions within the city’s 23-square-miles and, due to a mutual aid agreement, sometimes responds to crashes in Palm Springs and unincorporated parts of Riverside County as well.

CCFD applied for the grant in early 2016. The grant was tailored to traffic safety and emergency medical response through the “Regional Collision Response and Extrication Improvement Program.”

The village of Oak Park is to serve as the host agency and submit the application on behalf of Oak Park, Elmwood Park, Forest Park, River Forest and the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center, said Elmwood Park village manager Paul Volpe.

If successful, the grant will provide funding for new communication equipment between the West Suburban Dispatch Center and each of the village's fire stations, the manager said in his report. Each of the communities would pay a 15 percent matching grant, with rest footed by the agency.

In Elmwood Park's case, the village will be paying $18,314, with the agency doling out $103,779, according to the memorandum of understanding arrived at by the communities and West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center.

The proposal represents "a good opportunity to get a system we would never be able to afford," Volpe said Tuesday.

The federal and village matching grants for the other participating agencies are $187,427 and $33,075 for Oak Park; $49,850 and $8,797 for the village of Forest Park; $41,465 and $7,317 for the village of River Forest; and $37,012 and $6,531 for the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center.

The West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center acts as the 911 center for the villages involved, dispatching fire and emergency crews. In addition, WSCDC is the primary dispatch call for MABAS (Mutual Box Alarm System) Division II, the agency says on its website.

On Tuesday the board of selectmen approved the department's request for more money but also debated whether the town is doing all it can to save for when it has to buy new emergency service vehicles.

The selectmen had two options to pay for the ambulance: take money from the town's undesignated fund balance or take it from another account set aside for buying a new fire truck that had $574,066 in it. They chose the latter option.

Fire Chief Craig Robbins told the selectmen that the fund for the fire truck did not have enough money in it and taking money for the ambulance worsens that situation. He said the fire department planned on seeking bids for the truck in the next few months but that may now be pushed out to the summer.

First Selectman Leslee Hill said the town can revisit the issue of paying for a new fire truck when a budget for the upcoming fiscal year is prepared next spring. She said buying new vehicles should be properly funded in the town's annual budget rather than dipping into the fund balance, which is there for emergencies.

The new ambulance would replace one that is eight years old and has 109,250 miles on it, fire department officials said.