FLEMINGTON — Flemington Borough Council discussed continued involvement in the regional fire study during their most recent regular meeting.

The regional fire and EMS study, which has been exploring possible cooperation and service coordination among local emergency service providers, has previously been a topic of conversation amongst council.

Council member David Grimm reiterated his interest in attending the next regionalization meeting to learn more information for council regarding next steps for those still interested. If enough interest is there, it would include looking into a DCED study .

The study would be conducted with support from the department, and provide information about potential funding, costs and structural options for those that are interested.

Goodwill Hose Fire Co. Chief Dustin Houtz reported that members of the Goodwill Hose Fire Co. and the Goodwill Hose Ambulance Association recently met and were not in favor of continuing with meetings or the study.

Concerns from the fire department included the potential loss of local control, the transfer of equipment and property to a new regional department and the possibility that current volunteers may not be accepted into the new organization.

Along with Houtz, Council member Don Grant shared that Mill Hall Volunteer Fire Co. will not be attending additional meetings.

In response to Goodwill choosing not to continue, Grimm continued to push for council support in hearing what the next meeting will bring.

“I think to close your eyes and not move forward is kind of foolish,” said Grimm during the discussion. “The more information you have, the better your opinion can be.”

Under the concepts discussed so far, participating departments could merge into a single, newly created regional fire department that would assume ownership of participating departments’ equipment and assets.

Some council members expressed concern that state grants, insurance funding and other financial resources could be consolidated and redirected to the larger regional entity.

Grimm noted that participating in the next meeting would not commit the borough to the merger itself, but would simply allow officials to hear more details about the study and available options.

“This is just to get more information,” he said. “We’re not committing to anything.”

Grimm emphasized that he believes the next step would primarily involve DCED representatives explaining funding opportunities, potential costs and possible organizational structures. They said no financial information or formal commitments would be required at this stage.

Questions were also raised about how a regional department could affect volunteer staffing. Some participants noted that merging departments could potentially cause some volunteers to leave the fire service, while others warned that communities may ultimately need to move toward paid fire departments if volunteer numbers continue to decline.

After discussion, a motion was made to allow Grimm, as a borough representative, to attend the next meeting, strictly to gather additional information and report back to council.

The motion was approved in a roll call vote of 5-2.

Council will review any new information presented during the next regionalization meeting before deciding whether to continue participating in the regional study.