Streetsboro adding to fire department with help of FEMA grant

Streetsboro City Council on Oct. 14 accepted a $1.185 million FEMA grant to hire three additional paramedic/firefighters.

The SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant is meant to cover the new employees’ salaries and benefits for three years.

The city will then be expected to come up with the resources to maintain the firefighters’ employment, Streetsboro Fire Chief Robert A. Reinholz said. Should funds not be available, the new employees would be dismissed or could “laterally transfer” to another city’s fire department.

The employees sign on knowing that their employment is only funded for three years.

The addition will bring Streetsboro Fire Department’s roster to 21 full-time firefighter/paramedics and about 25 part-time employees.

Though the grant stipulates a six-month time frame for hiring the new employees, Reinholz said he hopes to have them on board by the beginning of 2025. One new hire will be assigned to each of SFD’s three shifts.

Also on Oct. 14, council approved:

• A 36-month, $4,417-a-month contract with Spectrum to upgrade the city’s internet services from an“interconnected Elan circuit” to dedicated fiber and to install a new backup 5G modem and internet service at the police station. The backup system will ensure continued service should anything happen to the network for any reason. The city now has one fiber internet circuit that has all departments sharing bandwidth. Streetsboro’s last bandwidth upgrade was five years ago.
  
• A cooperative agreement with Shalersville Township to resurface Price Road. Shalersville will pay 60% of the cost, so with funds from the Ohio Public Works Commission, Streetsboro will be liable for $156,344 of the total $781,722 cost.
  
• The city is also purchasing a 2024 F-250 super duty truck for $86,206 and a 2024 Ford Ranger for $33,134. The latter purchase price includes trading in two Ford Escapes the city owns.