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• "I think this in the best interests of the Township of Bath, to keep the station open," Meints said. "So I think it's a good decision for the citizens of Bath, it's a win-win situation."
• At one point in the meeting, a show of hands was asked for from residents of Bath Township that were not in favor of the annexation. While there were several Bath residents in the audience, no hands were raised.
• Burt Elliot, acting chairman of the Brown County Commissioners, asked if the Bath residents could change their minds at a later date if the annexation was approved.
• "If the residents of Bath decide later they don't want to be part of the Groton district, they may petition to leave and join another fire district," Bartling said.
• The Bath Fire Department and several other fire departments around the area have been struggling the last couple of years to keep their departments open. South Dakota requires every volunteer fire department to have at least 15 members. The Bath department could not meet this quota and faced the possibility of shutting down without outside assistance. The Bath Fire Department held several meetings and talked to other fire districts in the area before they decided that joining Groton was the best option.
• Since the Groton Fire District is in both Day and Brown Counties, Commissioners from both counties were involved in the decision. Both commissions voted unanimously in favor of the motion to place Bath in the Groton Area Fire District.
• The proposal became effective immediately.

• Char Telkamp