New Fire 12 commissioners

Mason County commissioners appointed Trina Young and Dave Persell as commissioners for Fire District 12, positions 1 and 3 respectively, on May 24.

In their first action, Young and Persell quickly called an emergency meeting May 25 to suspend District 12 Fire Chief Bryan Walsworth and appoint Mike Brown as acting chief.

They also approved hiring attorney Eric Quinn as the district’s legal representative for $500 a month.

Young will serve as the commission’s chair and Persell will act as secretary.

Last week, Fire District 12 lost insurance coverage due to years of mismanagement, was declared a disaster area by the county and all three of its commissioners resigned.

Mason County Administrator Mark Neary called it an “unprecedented” event.

The district can’t provide fire and EMS services until new insurance is found and according to Fire 12’s broker Nicholson & Associates, that wasn’t going to happen until all commissioners and other officers who were in office prior to 2024 stepped down.

Having new commissioners is “a start,” Persell told the Journal, but it’s no guarantee District 12 will get new insurance, he said.

“We don’t know yet,” he said.

“We had to get started,” Young told the Journal.

Fire 12 commissioners are still prohibited from meeting on district property due to lack of insurance, so the new commissioners called a special meeting yesterday at the Matlock Grange, after the Journal went to press.

Young and Persell said they hope to appoint a new commissioner at the meeting, but if that doesn’t happen, the appointment will come next week.

Persell said he wants to have a full board.

The hardest thing is trying to prioritize what commissioners should do next, Percell said.

“There’s so much that has to get done,” he said.

“It’s a blessing that we’re going in the right direction,” Persell said.

Young said she’s “very proud” to have been appointed commissioner.

“I am excited to help build a new community fire district that is accountable and transparent to the public. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of good people willing to help us make the district strong. I am so proud of the people of this district who believed that change could happen and who fought to ensure that it did happen,” Young said in an email.

Persell also commended the Matlock community.

“Everything I do is based on what’s best for the community and Fire District 12,” he said.

Persell said he’s looking forward to getting decorum back at the district meeting.

Previously, if they could “make it through the meeting and not have mortal combat break out … that was the bar,” he said.