The Wright City Fire District Board voted this month to allow Fire Chief Ron MacKnight to live temporarily outside the district, a decision that split the board on the position’s residency requirements. MacKnight said he made the request to reduce expenses of renting his Wright City apartment, while his girlfriend of two years tries to sell her Wentzville home. He said the home is located about five miles outside the district boundary. The couple is trying to save money to eventually purchase a home in the fire district, MacKnight said. The fire board voted 3-2 to approve MacKnight’s request contingent on reviewing the matter in six months. The action was taken at the board’s Jan. 13 meeting. The board members who voted in favor were Keith Thompson, Dan West and Rudy Janovic, while Randy Lewis and Larry Zuhone opposed the issue. The vote was taken after fielding an informal request by e-mail from MacKnight in December. In the e-mail sent to all the district’s firefighters and board members, MacKnight asked for feedback on the matter. He further said he had only one response from a firefighter who did not object to the temporary move. No one spoke out against the request until the Jan. 13 meeting. The issues splitting the board is whether MacKnight is supposed to be living in the district and driving his district-assigned 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe to the new residence. MacKnight acknowledged when he was first hired as assistant chief in the district in 2007 it was a requirement for him to reside in the district within six months, a condition he met. However, the department doesn’t have a written policy for the fire chief to live within the district, Thompson said, though Lewis and Zuhone disagreed and said they feel it was a condition as part of the job posting. According to department policy, district-assigned vehicles shall remain within 10 miles of the district boundaries, unless ordered to respond to an incident or perform other specific functions outside the district boundaries. Furthermore, the policy states the fire chief will be permanently assigned a vehicle for his personal use and may use it outside the district at the discretion of the board. The only instance mentioned in the policy where a district employee is required to live in the district and be assigned a vehicle for personal use is for the assistant chief or training officer. Fire board members who opposed the residency request questioned the extra expenses associated with the wear and tear related to the extra mileage to be incurred and fuel costs. Issues also were raised about MacKnight spending time away from the community and losing interaction with residents. “What benefit is it to the district?” Zuhone asked. “He’s the face of the district. He needs to be in town. We want him in the community and we want him involved in the community.” Thompson said he feels MacKnight will continue to stay involved in the community. He also added that MacKnight could still live inside the district boundaries and have a longer response time in many instances compared to living at the Wentzville residence in question. “Ron is committed to the job,” Thompson said. “He is around. I don’t see that being an issue. I can see an exception at this point in time.” MacKnight said since being hired as chief last February, he has advocated transparency and watching district expenditures. He noted that after his promotion from assistant chief, he implemented a policy requiring district personnel to log mileage when a vehicle got gas to curtail excessive use that may have been occurring in the past. For now, MacKnight said he will continue to live at his apartment in Wright City since his lease doesn’t expire until April and then look at living full time in Wentzville at that time. “When April is here, I have a decision to make,” MacKnight said.