ST. GEORGE - St. George Fire officials met on Thursday with discussions of the fire chief's succession plan on the agenda.

"This is not a retirement, at least not today, though some people say. I know my day is coming. I thought it would be good to develop a succession plan to have someone in my place. You never know, I may not wake one morning," St. George Fire Chief Gerard Tarleton said in the meeting. "I could see me leaving in a year or two, depending on what's going on."

St. George Firefighters Union President Jason Turner spoke during the public hearing, asking the commissioners to let the union be a part of discussions when the time comes to bring on a new fire chief.

"When his time comes, having a national search for a fire chief, put it out there, let's get somebody, maybe even not somebody local or from this department," Turner said.

But that discussion will be had another day, commissioners deferred plan discussions to the June 19 meeting.

As previously reported, St. George Fire is also facing criticism regarding a fire station that was set to be built near the University Club subdivision. Tarleton said the department could be receiving ownership of the property next month.

Board of Commissioners President Darrell Ourso said progress for the station is in motion.

"I know they've had many discussions with the developer, it's a very nice development, there will be additional access to the University Club location, a lot of things are in the works for that to happen at this time," Ourso said.

One resident at the meeting wanted to know more about the ongoing lawsuit and countersuit regarding pay discrepancies for firefighters.

"Our biggest concern is we depend on the firefighters every day to give it their best every day without undue hardship, concern or fear of retaliation, so we would like to know what the board's intent is to resolve that issue," the resident said.

"I think everybody on the board understands your question but as the board's lawyer, I would be committing malpractice if I didn't advise the board not to discuss its legal strategy in public," Attorney for St. George Fire Department Henry Olinde said.