Representatives of the City of Delafield and the villages of Nashotah and Chenequa have reached a tenative agreement on a how a Lake Country Fire Department would be structured to serve the three communities.

According to the agreement, the consolidated department would have three fire stations; the existing ones in Chenequa, Nashotah and the City of Delafield.

There would be one fire chief and the operations of each station would be standardized, according to a list of goals and agreements adopted last week by the nine member committee made up of representatives from each community.

The committee agreed that volunteers would remain a "vital staff component" and existing employees of the Delafield and Lake Country departments would be hired into the consolidated department.

Paramedic service in the merged department was one of 11 items the committee unanimously agreed to at the Tuesday, May 13 meeting.

Members of the committee have acknowledged that reaching an agreement on how the three communities would share funding the department is crucial in determining whether a merger of the Delafield department into the Lake Country Department, which serves Chenequa and Nashotah, is feasble.

Any of the committee's recommendations will have to be approved by the governing bodies of the individual communities.

Negotiations to merge the City of Delafield Fire Department into the Lake Country Fire Department, which now serves the villages of Nashotah and Chenequa, are expected to begin this summer.

Village presidents Richard Lartz of Nashotah and Bryce Styza of Chenequa said they will propose the formation of an exploratory committee to their respective villages trustees during meetings scheduled for next week.

Delafield Mayor-elect Ed McAleer said he will discuss the formation of the committee to study the feasibility of the consolidation with the Delafield Common Council at its April 21 meeting.

McAleer said he expects that Lartz and Styza will make a joint appearance at the Delafield Common Council on May 5 to discuss the organizational structure of the Lake Country Fire Department which was created six years ago by merging the Chenequa and Nashotah village fire departments.

The three elected chief executives agreed to form the exploratory committee after an hour of private discussions earlier this week at the Nashotah Village Hall.

The community leaders said that in order for the consolidation to become a reality they must find a formula that enables the three communities to equitably share the cost of operating the department.