If Not Us, Then Who

Three elected members of the Wesley Chapel Village Government, as well as three elected members of our Union County Commission may need to see, study, recognize, and appreciate the needs of our volunteer fire fighters and First Responders. These men and women volunteers in our entire Union County Volunteer Fire Departments provide exceptional volunteer professional fire services to save our properties, as well as saving lives by medically trained First Responders.

Wesley Chapel’s VFD, with some sixty (60) members strong, defends Wesley Chapel’s Fire District, while offering support to other fire districts as called upon and/or needed. None are paid salaries for their services. The same applies to all Union County VFD members. For many years, I have visited Wesley Chapel’s VFD for some of the very best barbecue anywhere. Upon a recent visit to Wesley Chapel’s VFD, it is obvious there is an urgent need for a newly expanded facility. Wesley Chapel’s Village Council should allow the VFD to construct their new 24,000 sq. ft. facility. Wesley Chapel’s VFD passed zoning requirements.

It is unfortunate with the alleged development of financial mismanagement within the Fairview VFD. Here again, many men and women throughout their community give their own monies, as well as freely offered time, for servicing the Fairview community. It appears this problem may have been prevented as the Fairview VFD operational management apparently failed to require an independent annual report, as required in its business operations. It is just one of those problems which could fail through the cracks in any business, and Fairview VFD will pay for this error.

Here again, the entire system is not broken. There are no needs for Wesley Chapel Village Council and/or our Union County Commissioners to micromanage the Wesley Chapel VFD, Fairview’s VFD, Hemby Bridge’s VFD, or any other UC VFD. If the UC Commission chooses to review the failed problem at Fairview VFD, so be it. Then do so, and get the heck out of their business.

The NC General Assembly does not micromanage the Union County Commission, Wesley Chapel’s Village Government, Hemby Bridge’s Town Government, or any other municipalities. Please allow each and every VFD to govern its own responsive fire districts without your own personal and/or political obstructions.

What would we do without our charitable VFD men and women? Do our county and municipal elected officials fail to recognize the cost for their replacements? The message painted on Wesley Chapel VFD Rescue 31 says it all: “If not us, then who?”