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By JEANNE RICHARDSON
Staff Writer

The Cowley County Commission agreed, in an informal decision on Tuesday morning, to recommend Arkansas City officials and the Rural Fire District 5 Board meet with a mediator and come to an agreement on the District 5 coverage issue. The three county commissioners are still concerned about the division between the parties and conferred with county counselor Bill Taylor about what they could do.

The fire district may create its own department to avoid rising costs for services from Arkansas City.

"I wish I had the answers," said Taylor. "But I think the best thing you can do is be advisory."

Leroy Alsup, county administrator, suggested the possibility of a mediator to encourage dialogue and to arbitrate the discussion. "We all have something at stake in this," said Commissioner Gary Wilson.

The commission agreed to wait until after the Tuesday election to see who would be on the Ark City City Commission. It was also the consensus of a citizens meeting Monday evening that the negotiations between the fire district and Ark City continue for at least 30 days.

In other business commissioners:

* Approved the submission of the SFY2008 federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant application by the county department of community corrections. A presentation was made by Tex Gough, director of Cowley County Community Corrections.

* The commission also heard from Jim McGuire, environmental technician of the City-Cowley County Health Department, about the outstanding 2005 nuisance property cases. There is one case involving three properties for whom the commission has extended the deadline several times, the latest one being April 6. Commissioners will wait and see if the citizen complies this time. The commission's next meeting is 7 p.m. April 10.