The city is paving the way for more land to become part of the city, but a fire official warned that the extra territory may overstretch Marion firefighters.
At a Marion City Council meeting last week, Marion City Council members voted to approve three resolutions related to the proposed annexation of a combined 531 acres of land, all located in Marion Township.
The council members' votes last week did not annex the land, but rather declared that the city would provide fire protection, policing and other services to the properties upon annexation, one of the first steps in the annexation process, said Marion City Law Director Mark Russell.
Before the votes, fire officials warned that the annexations could place more strain on already taxed firefighters.
"I just feel that Marion City Fire is beyond its threshold of staff and equipment to handle what they have, let alone all the additional that is caused by the annexation," Marion Township Fire Chief Ben Meddles told City Council.