GIRARD, Ohio - Vienna Township trustees met with Girard City Council Monday night to discuss servicing confusion of the Upper Girard Lake.

Trustees are fed up with their crews having to respond to 911 calls at Upper Girard Lake. The lake is located within Vienna Township limits but it's owned by the City of Girard. While this would mean Girard is responsible for responding to calls, Vienna crews continuously respond. 

Due to the lake's location, it would take Vienna first responders just a few minutes to get to the lake for an emergency, while it would take Girard first responders about 20 minutes to get there, according to Vienna Twp. Trustee Phil Pegg.

In the past, there have been multiple emergencies at the lake that Vienna Township had responded to. This includes a boat that capsized, as well as a van in the lake with a woman and three children inside.

"It's your lake, please service it," Pegg said to the council on Monday. "We cannot continue to send out staff there, and while our staff is there, we've got another 25 square miles that we don't have coverage on."

Pegg jokingly said the township sometimes refers to the lake as "Upper Vienna Lake" because their crews always respond in emergencies. 

Pegg hoping to work out an agreement with the City since the lake is Girard's property. Girard Fire Chief Jim Petruzzi explained when a 911 call from the lake comes in through dispatch, it's pinged to Vienna Township based on its location. He added a simple solution could be informing dispatch that those calls would go to Girard.

"It's not anyone's fault," Mayor Jim Melfi said. "It's just the property that your calling from comes up Vienna instead of us."

Mayor Melfi agreed it's a territorial debate that needs to be evaluated and he is aware Girard is responsible for responding to calls.

"It isn't that Girard is trying to short its responsibility, we would never do that. It isn't that Vienna is trying to throw a burden on us, it's not their burden. It's just that the lake is far removed from the body of the City." 

Pegg tells 21 News Vienna Township does not have a mutual aid contract with Girard, so they shouldn't have to service land that they do not own. Pegg isn't against Vienna crews still assisting with emergency calls, but they hope to work out a contract involving compensation for their efforts. 

Girard's Health and Safety committee said they will work with both police departments to come up with a solution.

Both towns agreed they would always respond to an emergency call.