Oak Leaf mayor also serving as ESD #5 Fire Chief

OAK LEAF – The city of Oak Leaf’s mayor Tom Leverentz said, “This has been an exciting and challenging time to be mayor and a fire chief.”

Wearing different hats depending on the day, Leverentz has been the ESD #5 fire chief since January of 2020 and the mayor of Oak Leaf since 2019.

Leverentz was previously the city of Ferris fire chief and he said, “This has helped in my new position as ESD# 5 fire chief.”

It was in November of 2020 when ESD #5 entered into a contract with the city of Ferris to help provide fire and medical services for the residents of the ESD#5 area. 

ESD#5 has been in existence since 1986 and as part of the services provided ESD #5, according to Leverentz “helps to pay for residents’ membership with CareFlite medical services.”

The ESD#5 area is comprised of approximately 9,000 residents. 

Leverentz said 2020 was the first year that ESD #5 and the city of Ferris had written a two-year contract. Leverentz acts as a go-between for the two entities and is also in a support role for the fire department and the board.

“It was a great opportunity for me being the fire chief for the city of Ferris,” Leverentz said. “I was a deputy chief for one year under Chief Birdwell – it was a great pleasure serving the residents of the city and many life long memories.”

Wearing his mayoral hat, Leverentz was appointed to that seat in December, 2019 after the departure of the mayor that year. The Oak Leaf city council appointed him as the interim mayor.  In 2020 he was elected mayor for the city, and will be running again this year in May for re-election.

“The two big challenges for the city are currently growth and grants,” Leverentz said. “We want to make sure that the growth is accurate the first time so that we continue to enjoy the city as we know it. The city has enlisted the services of a professional grant-writing group to guide and help up with this procedure.”