Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest. - Benjamin Franklin We maintain our resolve to honor the historic role our members have taken to protect and serve Weddington and the surrounding areas for over 61 years. On July 4th, Providence Volunteer Fire Department is sponsoring a unique celebration to honor the history of our Nations Independence. Celebration will be held at: Southern Evangelical Seminary, 3000 Tilley Morris Road, Weddington, NC 2PM-3PM Free to the public – door prizes (must be present to win) Special Appearance By – The Honorable Benjamin Franklin Rare historical artifacts will be on display including rare copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution PROPOSED CHANGES TO FIRE SERVICE IN WEDDINGTON: This year (2016-2017 Budget year), WCVFD has asked Weddington residents to fund a 17% increase in fire expense PLUS a $67K reserve expense (which they want to hold and manage). This surpasses the fire expense requested by PVFD upon which the Town claimed its right to terminate its contracts with PVFD. Moreover, Union County has said they will NOT fund any capital expenses for this budget year and thus any capital expenses requested by WCVFD would come from the Town. In addition, the Fire Service Agreement with WCVFD has been modified so that it now states the Hemby Road station will be manned with “WITH UP TO 4 firefighters 24/7/365”. This is much different than the promise of 4 Qualified Firefighters 24/7/365 and implies that there will be times less than 4 firefighters are in the Hemby Road station. The Weddington Town Council will finalize their budget during the upcoming meeting on Monday, June 13th. LEGAL UPDATE: What we know for sure is that the court system is both slow and costly. To date Providence VFD has spent considerable funds to defend its position that fraud was committed by the Town of Weddington in connection with the sale of the Hemby Road property. We contend that, in addition to the Breach of Contract claim, that the Town never intended to abide by the ten-year Fire Service Agreement agreed to by the parties during negotiations over the transfer of the Hemby Road Property. The Town fraudulently concealed its intent to obtain the property upon false misrepresentations, immediately terminate the contracts with PVFD, and kick PVFD out of the property so that the Town could bring to fruition its desire to put PVFD out of existence. Instead of answering the Complaint filed by PVFD, the Town engaged in excessive motion practices trying to block PVFD’s day in Court. However, all the Town has done at this point is cause all parties to expend excessive amounts of money at a very preliminary stage of the litigation. The prolonged litigation by the Town is chipping away at the limited reserves of PVFD. Expenses on the Town’s side (your tax dollars) are most likely double that of PVFD. It was with a heavy heart that the PVFD Board voted to sell its apparatus. The sale provides necessary funding to “go the distance” to defend the honor and integrity of over 61 years of outstanding service to the Weddington community. We felt it our obligation to reinstate these vehicles back into operation so they do not deteriorate in storage during the arduous journey of litigation. Vehicles were sold to a broker who found good homes for them at fire departments located in Arkansas, and other States around the country. In August 2015 Union County Superior Court DENIED the Town’s motion to dismiss our Complaint. The Town claimed that we did not validly state a claim for fraud, however, the Court disagreed with the Town ruling that we have indeed stated a claim for fraud sufficiently enough to move forward with our claims. Moreover, the Court allowed us to Amend our Complaint to assert further allegations to demonstrate the deceptive nature of the Town in its dealings with our Department. Finally, the Court GRANTED our Motion for a Preliminary Injunction prohibiting the Town from transferring the property to any party during the pendency of the litigation. Thus, we were successful on all three motions, while the Town lost on all three. In September 2015 the Town of Weddington appealed to the State Appellate Court all three of the Orders of the Union County Court. The Town appeals the following three Orders: 1. Order denying Town’s Motion to Dismiss PVFD’s Claims of Fraud; 2. Order granting Providence VFD leave to amend complaint; and 3. Order granting Preliminary injunction (can’t sell building) (Please note that the since the litigation was initially filed a year ago, the Town has NEVER answered the Complaint either admitting or denying any of the allegations of PVFD. The Town claims that PVFD should not be allowed to sue, whether or not it committed fraud, because Weddington is a governmental entity that protects them from prosecution). Briefs from both parties have been submitted and we await communication from the Appellate Court in Raleigh on the date they will address the Appeal. Once the case has been heard (either by review of the Briefs and supporting documents OR by in-person legal representation), it will take anywhere from a few months to a year to receive a decision. A panel of three judges will decide on each appeal. The kicker is that no matter how the Court of Appeals rules on the Orders stated above, the litigation between PVFD and the Town will continue forward on our claims that the Town breached its contract with us WITHOUT CAUSE. That claim has not been litigated at this point and is not a subject of the Appeal. PVFD has always maintained its mandate to protect and serve the community. We continue to ask that the building be returned to our ownership. In addition we are seeking restitution to become fully operational so we can once again serve Weddington residents in partnership with Stallings Volunteer Fire Department AND Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department. This would allow Weddington to most effectively manage the increase in fire service safety and expense without being at the mercy of any one department. Thank you for your continued interest and support. Mark your calendar to join us on July 4th for a very unique historical display and presentation.