CANTON — Fire protection and senior services and benefits will be discussed by the Canton City Council during its meeting on Thursday.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Canton City Hall.

The council will continue to discuss which route it wants to go when it comes to ways of enhancing its fire protection and services.

Canton began exploring ways to shore up its fire protection earlier this year with the establishment of a committee.

A committee made up of John Beresford, Glen Cummins and Bill Bryan reviewed several options on the table, including building up to three fire stations or merging its operations with the county.

The committee last month, however, returned with a recommendation to maintain its ISO rating of 4, which would include the city introducing routine testing of its fire truck pumpers, performing load testing on its ladders and using a secondary method of communicating, such as pagers, with on-duty and off-duty firefighters.

That option, a recommendation issued by a consultant, would keep the city’s Insurance Service Office, or ISO, rating at 4.

The ISO system is used to rate how well fire departments serve their area.

The scale runs from one to 10, with one being the best fire service.

The ratings are used to calculate homeowners’ insurance costs.

The council will also discuss and possibly take action on each councilman appointing one member under the age of 62 and one over the age of 62 to review issues facing the city, including senior services and benefits.

The council will also hear staff reports on accepting private streets in the Villas at RiverStone and Pinnacle Place.

Other items on the agenda include:

* Consider approval of the city’s Americans with Disabilities Act resolution and transition plan;

* Consider approval of granting an easement to Georgia Power;

* Consider approval of irrigation tap meter fees;

* Consider approval of rules, regulations and fees for the Southview Cemetery;

* Consider approval of a design contract for the city’s waste water treatment plant;

* Discuss the city’s defined benefits plan;

* Consider approval of the city’s open records policy and procedure;

* Consider approval of a resolution endorsing the city’s project to be paid for out of the Community Development Block Grant;

* Discuss preparing to host a Civil War sesquicentennial event; and

* Discuss a master plan for Heritage Park.