The Kokomo Board of Works and Public Safety took two actions on Jan. 27 that had members of the Kokomo Fire Department smiling. First, the board agreed to bring a laid-off firefighter back to work. Effective immediately, firefighter Phil Decker was reinstated to active duty. Then, the board agreed to a two-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the members of Firefighters Local 396.

“This is a continuation of the contract we negotiated last year,” said board president Jim Brannon. “The extension will add the current language for 2011-2012. Hopefully, the economy will come back, and will be different in two years so that we can get some of the firefighters back. I’d like to thank the firefighters union for their effort in this. We look forward to a great relationship.”

Rick Daily, president of Local 396 was on-hand to extend the union’s appreciation to the administration for the extension.

“We want to thank the mayor,” said Daily, who indicated that discussions concerning the contract extension began in early December. “The union passed this on a 100-percent unanimous vote. We want to lock this up for two more years.”

The extended contract does include the surrender of a raise for firefighters that was won in arbitration during the last contract negotiation in 2008. The union conceded that raise last summer in an effort to repair its relationship with the city adminstration.

Kokomo Fire Department chief Pat O’Neill explained that bringing Decker back to active duty was a result of fiscal restraint exercised by the city.

“The administration has done a very good job of controlling spending,” said O’Neill. “As the money comes available, I’ve been proposing the return of firefighters. This is the fourth firefighter we’ve been able to bring back, and I look for more as finances improve. The administration had to make hard choices, and now it is able to reverse some of it. I’m thrilled.”

The fire department has done its part to save tax dollars, according to O’Neill. He pointed out that the department has been able to save significant sums by changing the way it addresses firefighter training, for instance.

“We’ve been able to redirect our training program to use more in-house instructors which has enabled us to take our training budget and use it for more complex training. It has saved us a lot of money,” said O’Neill.

In other board of works activity:

• The city’s department of development sought approval for a $15,000 low-interest loan to be awarded to Angie Meyers Design Studio from the city’s Emerging Business Revolving Loan Fund. The funds will be used to relocate the studio into downtown Kokomo.

“We are very pleased to partner with Angie Meyers Design Studio,” said mayor Greg Goodnight. “This business will enhance the downtown area and bring new people to the heart of our city.”

The studio is a retail outlet for handcrafted jewelry, embroidery, and custom gifts and will be located at 104 W. Walnut St.

This is the first loan made through the loan fund, established last year with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Debra Cook, department of development director

• The city acquired three more distressed properties with a federal stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The properties are located at 1403 Nicholas Ct., 1406 Nicholas Ct., and 614 S. Courtland Ave. To date, the city has  purchased 12 properties through the grant program.

“These properties will be rehabilitated and put back on market,” said Cook. “This will help stabilize neighborhoods by removing empty homes. We’re so excited because we’ve also added incentives to make them very attractive for buyers. We are marketing the properties to people with income levels of 125 percent of median family income or less.