Affton Fire Holds Community Based Strategic Planning Meeting

Saturday, Dec. 3, members of the community and representatives from the met to evaluate the needs of the district and its residents and help establish a plan for the future. Representatives from the community, the and School Districts, St. Louis County police and the met at the Affton Fire Protection District's House 1 at 9:00 a.m. for an all-day meeting. Dr. Bart Wechsler, Professor and Director at the Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs facilitated the session.

The fire district began working with Dr. Wechsler in April of 2011 to help assess the district's needs and create a structured process for achieving them. Along with his work as a professor Dr. Wechsler specializes in working with police, fire and municipal organizations to develop Strategic Plans based on their history, present situation and goals for the future. Dr. Wechsler has been working with the district and its employees to construct an accurate model of its current situation, strengthen communication and collect ideas from management and its employees. The next phase in Dr. Wechsler’s program is getting the community involved.

Affton Fire Protection District Chief Jim Fritz opened the meeting with introductions, a brief overview and a sincere “Thank you” to the committee members for their participation. The group was then directed to make a list of attributes that could be applied to their ideal fire district. From this list the committee began to formulate a Vision Statement. This is a statement of what the fire district will become and is still being developed. It will be included in future updates. The ultimate goal of the community and district will be to work toward this Vision Statement. It is the foundation of the strategic planning process.

Committee members expressed their ideas and concerns. They discussed problems that the district is facing, most significantly, an increase in emergency responses, declining tax income due to the economy and the enormous increase in the cost of medical supplies and drugs. District officials also expressed their concerns about the addition of two nursing homes/assisted living centers and the services that will be required to effectively manage the substantial increase in emergency responses due to the residents of these properties. Currently the district is short 3 Captains, lost by attrition through retirement. Its third pumper, stationed at Affton Fire House 3, 4990 Seibert Ave., cannot always be staffed due to manning constraints.

Chief Fritz remains optimistic.

“The challenges we face give us an opportunity to take a hard look at where we are and make the changes that will make us better in the future,” explained Chief Fritz, “Getting the community involved is a top priority for us. Their input is essential to the future of this organization.”  

Discussion led to commitments for future dialogue.

“It is very gratifying to be part of this process where the community and the fire district are working together to plan for the future. I’m confident that this will achieve positive results for the Affton community.” Dr. Wechsler said, after the meeting.

Joan Edleson, of the Affton Chamber of Commerce, also commented: “It was very good to get the fire district and the community together to develop this Strategic Plan. It’s so important to have such strong community involvement!”

While the first meeting was designed to assess the current needs of the community and district, more will follow. The committee will meet again soon to make decisions on how to address these needs and develop a timeline for accomplishing the goals set forth in their Vision Statement.