No Action From Fire Board After Saline Firefighters Show Support for Chief Sperle

The Saline Area Fire Board took no action after a special 90-minute meeting that took place in the board room at Saline City Hall Wednesday morning. 

City of Saline Mayor Brian Marl, one of city's representatives on the board, refused to reveal the reason for the meeting. Firefighters from Saline and other departments had an idea: To fire  Jason Sperle, chief of the Saline Area Fire Department.

About 25 firefighters attended the meeting. All who spoke did so in support of Chief Sperle. 

After about 13 minutes of comments in support of Sperle, the fire board retreated into closed session for more than an hour to discuss, according to the motion, a written legal opinion.

No action was taken when the fire board re-opened the meeting to the public. Any vote must be taken in open session.

Immediately following the meeting, Marl may have dropped a clue about the purpose of the meeting.

"You know my long-standing policy is not to discuss personnel matters," Marl said.

Any vote or action must happen during open session. The fire board next meets at 7 p.m., June 5, at the Saline fire hall.

What We Know

The Saline Post was told Monday by firefighters that Mayor Brian Marl, one of two City of Saline representatives on the Saline Area Fire Board, was privately campaigning to remove Sperle from the position. Sperle has been the chief since 2021.

Compared to his predecessor, Craig Hoeft, Sperle has kept a low profile in the community. At the same time, Sperle has found himself beset by controversy when list of fire code violations on South Ann Arbor Street convinced city council to end Umbrella Square - the restaurant patio on the street that was scarcely used outside of a few weekend evenings. Sperle's warnings caused Saline Main Street to move the summer music series to North Ann Arbor Street, where the crowds were smaller. Both Summerfest and Oktoberfest organizers rearranged their festivals to be in accordance with fire code concerns.

Firefighters told The Saline Post that Mayor Marl was going after Sperle because of Sperle's "by-the-book" approach to the fire code. With more and more empty storefronts in downtown Saline (especially on North Ann Arbor Street or the north side of Michigan Avenue), city officials are once again considering a social zone for downtown Saline. Firefighters say Sperle hasn't been as pliable as Marl wants.

Sperle declined to answer questions for this story.

Other Issues?

Monday, a source told The Saline Post that Marl had told at least one fire board member that Sperle had lost the support and faith of firefighters in the department. A member of the fire board confirmed this allegation.

The showing at Wednesday's fire board meeting clearly demonstrated the many Saline firefighters totally support Sperle.

The Saline Post has sent freedom of information requests in search of other unsubstantiated issues raised by sources.

NO COMMENT

Mystery Packet

The Saline Post was told by a source that Marl delivered a packet to Lodi Township Supervisor Jan Godek, who is one of two Lodi representatives on the board. The Saline Post sent a freedom of information request for a copy of the packet on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, Lodi Township Clerk Christina Smith said she could not provide that information because the packet was shredded at the request of Marl. 

"The requested material was shredded per direction of Mayor Marl after being read by Supervisor Godek, the envelope was addressed to Supervisor Godek, and marked confidential," Smith wrote. "Jan told me she read and then shredded the letter. I have no further information to supply to you. Please feel free to reach out to Jan with any further questions."

Tuesday, before learning of this packet's shredding, the Saline Post reached Godek by phone. Godek said she wasn't aware of the purpose of Wednesday's meeting and said she didn't know anything about the packet.

It's not verified that if the packet existed  it had anything to do with Sperle.

Immediately following Wednesday's fire board meeting, Marl was asked if he delivered a packet to Godek and if he asked that she destroy it.

"No comment," Marl said. "That's a pretty egregious, pretty salacious accusation."

Board Support

There are nine members of the Saline Area Fire Board. There are two members from each of the communities served by the department and an at-large member. Scott Brodie was recently named the at-large member. Marl and Councillor Janet Dillon. Representing Lodi Township are Supervisor Godek and Trustee Craig Swenson. Representing York Township are Supervisor Chuck Tellas and Trustee Asa Swallows. Representing Saline Township are Supervisor Jim Marion and Trustee Robert Marion (alternate Tom Hammon replaced Robert Marion at Wednesday's meeting).

While nobody would say what was discussed during closed session Wednesday, two board members expressed support for Sperle.

"I have supported Chief Sperle. From what I heard from the firefighters and from my experience, it seems like he's passionate about what he does," Supervisor Tellas said. "There seems to be friction between the chief and Saline City Council that doesn't exist between the chief and some of the townships."

Supervisor Marion noted there was hesitation about Sperle, who wasn't from Saline, when he was named chief

"As long as I've been around, the fire department has been local. But that was then. Now everything seems to be working fine," Marion said.

Support for Sperle

Among those who spoke at the fire board meeting, support for Sperle was unanimous.

Here's a sampling:

"I've been a firefighter for a long time. If you go by the fire station, there's never a problem there. That starts at the top."  - SAFD Captain Dan Speicher

"I'd like to let you know we stand behind Chief Sperle. I am personally pleased with how things are being run. I am just as proud to be a member of the Saline Area Fire Department as I was 24 years ago when I got here." - SAFD Captain Kurt Schneider

"I can speak on behalf of everyone in the union. Chief Sperle has been awesome. He's pushed us to be better - training, personal education. He's gotten us better equipment. He's gotten us new trucks. All the things he's done have done nothing but better the department and the citizens we serve benefit from that." Saline Professional Firefighters Union President Jake Herter.

"We work really close with Saline Area Fire. We both cover parts of York Township. It's come to our attention there are efforts to terminate Chief Sperle. From our professional interaction and collaboration we have consistently found him to be an exemplary leader and highly competent professional. He dedication to public safety and efforts to foster cooperation between our departments have been deeply appreciated." - Milan Area Fire Department Chief Bob Stevens

Transparency

Wednesday's meeting was held in the small boardroom at city hall and not the council chambers. It was posted the fire board would retreat into closed session.

Sperle's supporters were gathered in the council chambers before the 10 a.m. start time. No effort was made to invite the firefighters to make a public comment before going into closed session. In fact, Saline City Councillor Janet Dillon said she was going to "close the door now" before the meeting actually began. 

Meetings must begin and end in open session. The vote to go in to closed session must also be done in open session.

(Note: Lodi Township Clerk Christina Smith's name was corrected.)

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