Commissioners Vote to Move Forward on Public Safety Training

This morning, the Governing Body of Fire District No. 1 unanimously voted to enter into an agreement with the City of Wichita for joint access to training at the City of Wichita’s Regional Fire Training Center. This agreement was also unanimously approved by the City of Wichita council members. The agreement formalized the relationship with City and Sedgwick County Fire. Both entities are able to coordinate training at the facility and occasionally train together. This agreement and annual meetings between City and County Fire Chiefs will encourage a more structured approach to training schedules and continue to strengthen the relationship between the two organizations. Chairman Jim Howell stated that he “greatly appreciates the opportunity the City of Wichita offered in terms of fire training; it’s good for the community and for fire fighters.”

Sedgwick County commissioners voted unanimously to allow the Chairman to sign a letter of intent with the City of Wichita to proceed with the joint law enforcement training center project. “This solves a 17 year challenge for law enforcement training. It sets us up for the best long-term structural solution,” said Chairman Howell. Both entities have agreed to move forward with the project at Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus. A formal agreement will follow at a later date. Sheriff Jeff Easter and Police Chief Gordon Ramsay presented their thoughts and reason to support the WSU project. The Chairman added, “In both cases, jointly training in state-of-the-art facilities with Wichita is the best model.”