DOWAGIAC — The city of Dowagiac and Wayne Township have partnered on a project to ensure the safety of residents in both municipalities.

Monday evening, the Dowagiac City Council approved a resolution to authorize a Memo of Understanding with Wayne Township for automatic aid on all confirmed or believed working structure fires and personal injury accidents in either department’s primary response areas.

“This is something I’m actually really excited about,” said City Manager Kevin Anderson.

The partnership was born out of a mandate by the state government to all municipalities to report on all intergovernmental agreements they had. At the time of the mandate several years ago, Dowagiac had 51 intergovernmental agreements. Anderson said the new partnership with Wayne Township is an extension of that.

“This is just one more example of how Dowagiac and the surrounding communities work together,” Anderson said. “In this particular case, we both have a need to ensure that we have enough firefighters available, especially during the day and that [the firefighters] can be at a scene very quickly, in a timely fashion.”

Anderson said the city has been working with Wayne Township for some time. The agreement specifies that if there is a confirmed structure fire or personal injury accident in either the city or the township, both departments will be called out at the same time. If a fire takes place within the city, the Dowagiac Fire Department will take lead on the scene, but if a fire takes place in the township, Dowagiac firefighters will assist the Wayne Township Fire Department.

“Everyone will race to the scene,” Anderson said of how the agreement will work. “The township has already signed off, and this has been several months in the making. This will help us address a problem we have both been having.”

The resolution was passed unanimously.

Also Monday, Kathy Johnson, of the Ladies Library Association, presented to the city council about the work the Dowagiac District Library is doing in the community.

“Our library has experienced tremendous growth in the last five years,” Johnson said to the council. “This is a trend that is nationwide. I’m here to let you know about that boom in usage and also what the library does.”

Last year, there were 37,541 items checked out from the library, 1,677 reference questions researched and more than 3,510 people visited library programs and meetings, according to data compiled by the Ladies Library Association. Also in 2017, the library had 60,000 visitors, up from 38,000 five years ago.

“People are really appreciating and using the library,” Johnson said. “And all the information provided is free of charge.”

Johnson also detailed the ways the library aids the community beyond books, speaking about library programs, computers and internet access.

“The library is a place that people come to interact and explore,” she said. “It’s really one of the places in our community where people can come and interact on an equal footing.”

Johnson concluded her presentation by saying the library is vital to Dowagiac and that she is grateful to the city council for supporting it.

“The library adds value to the community in ways that we might not think about,” she said. “It revitalizes neighborhoods, it attracts people for economic benefit. … I’m glad we have the Dowagiac District Library here. We have so much to offer.”

In other business:

• The council approved a resolution to authorize two purchase orders for the repair of roofs at various city-owned buildings, including the Dowagiac History Museum. The council approved contracts with Midland Engineering Company for $19,925 and Fryman Roofing Company for $9,475 to complete repairs.

• The council approved a resolution to authorize the update of a retail market study with the Gibbs Planning Group to the amount of $3,400.