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TFR STEPS UP ITS FITNESS INITIATIVE

Imagine a room full of exercise bikes with riders pedaling at a rapid pace. At the front of the room is an instructor, giving commands to the riders. 

"Time to get out of the saddle,” she shouts to the class. "There’s a hill ahead!"

All of the riders rise on the pedals and begin the ‘climb’ up the hill, each grimacing with pain and exertion.  What you're witnessing is a spinning class, a relatively recent phenomenon, where participants take part in a group workout on exercise bikes.

In a recent effort to improve the health of its staff and the staff’s ability to serve the community, Thomasville Fire Rescue (TFR) has partnered with the Thomasville YMCA to create this type of fitness program for the Thomasville Fire Rescue staff.  Three times a week, spin classes are held for TFR at the Everett Milton YMCA. TFR has set aside specific time slots for the class in the same manner that any other training would be scheduled for its staff. Each member of the staff from each of the shifts is required to attend these sessions.

According to Fire Chief Bryan Croft, firefighters can know everything there is about being a firefighter, but if they are not fit enough to perform the duties of the job, that knowledge means nothing.

“The results of the program speak for themselves,” Croft said. “We have staff reporting weight losses of 10 to 13 pounds so far. The staff loves the program and we even have some who are taking the class during their own personal time.”

TFR has participated in previous fitness programs, but none produced the results of the spin class.  This fitness program is producing department-wide improvements.

An added benefit of the program is that it doubles as a team building experience. Each member of the staff attends regularly and participates in the program as a group, regardless of rank or age.

Although fire is a very serious danger, it is not a firefighter’s greatest threat. Issues related to overall health and fitness bring more firefighters down than any fires.

“Heart attack is the number one killer of firefighters nation-wide, and we needed to take action to prevent this within our staff,” said Croft. “This directive is aimed to protect the assets we have in our staff and also improve our ability to serve our community.”

 

 

CITY SERVICES LABOR DAY SCHEDULE

The City of Thomasville offices (with the exception of the 24-hour Energy Control Center) will be closed on Monday, September 6 in observance of Labor Day. Offices will reopen on Tuesday, September 7 at regular business hours.

Other City services’ schedules are as follows:

Residential Refuse
Monday residential customers will have pick-up on Tuesday
Tuesday residential customers will have pick-up on Wednesday
Thomas County customers with Monday pick-up will have their trash picked up on Tuesday

No yard trash pick-up on Monday, September 6. As yard trash pick-ups have no specific day assigned to any one residence or street, this will not affect the pick-up of any resident’s yard trash.  

Commercial Refuse
Commercial customers with Monday pick-up will be picked up on Tuesday (and Pelham).

Country Oaks Golf Course
No Change in Hours of Operation
Tee times are recommended.

Municipal Airport
The Municipal Airport will be open from 8am until 7pm from Saturday, September 4 through Monday, September 6. Normal hours of operation will resume on Tuesday, September 7.

Landfill
The Landfill will be operate under normal hours, from 7:00 a.m. until 5;00 p.m.

 

CITY PROPOSES LOWER MILLAGE RATE

At its workshop on Monday, the Thomasville City Council heard a proposal from City Manager Steve Sykes to lower the 2010 City Fire tax millage rate. The City Manager provided the Council with the options of lowering the Fire Tax rate from 2.5 mills in 2009 to a proposed rate as low as 1.44 mills for 2010.

The City of Thomasville levies the Fire Tax millage to provide partial funding of its ISO Class 2 Fire Department.  City residents also pay Thomasville City School, Thomas County, Emergency Services, and State taxes. 

If approved, the proposed Fire Tax millage rate means that City property owners will see their City Fire Tax rate reduced by more than 42 percent over last year’s rate.  The City Council agreed last year to implement a plan to reduce the City Fire Tax millage over the next three to five years with the goal of eliminating the Fire Tax altogether. 

“As you recall, the Council charged staff last year with reducing the Fire Tax over the next three to five years with the goal of eliminating the Fire tax altogether. We budgeted a 35 percent decrease in Fire Tax for 2010, but we have sufficient revenues from delinquent tax collections and from our utilities to reduce the 2010 rate by over 42 percent with Council approval,” City Manager, Steve Sykes said. 

This proposed reduction means a property owner with a home valued at $125,000 would see City Fire Tax reduced from $125 in 2009 to approximately $72 in 2010.  A property valued at $225,000 would have a savings of approximately $100 over 2009.

“With the economy still reeling from the recent recession, many cities are having to maintain or in some cases raise tax levels to continue to provide needed services for their citizens,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Max Beverly. “Due to the City’s foresight in managing our utilities business, the City of Thomasville is not dependent on property taxes and is now presented with the opportunity to offer our residents a tax break to ease possible financial strain.”

Revenues from the City owned utilities (electric, water, sewer, natural gas, solid waste, and CNS services) are transferred to the General Fund to provide funding for services like police protection, fire protection, street maintenance, and other essential services. 

The 2010 Fire Tax millage rate will be adopted at the City Council meeting on September 13, 2010.