REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
February 14, 2019
FROM: KERRI L. DONIS, Fire Chief
Fire Department
SUBJECT:
Title
Approve a three 3- year agreement between the City of Fresno and the North Central Fire Protection District (District) for the Fresno Fire Department (Department) to continue providing fire protection, emergency services, and execute an automatic aid agreement for the unincorporated areas in the northeastern region of the District, referred to as the North Central Metro Area and limited areas of the District along the Freeway 99 corridor.
...Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve a 3- year contract between the City of Fresno and the District for the Department to continue providing fire protection and emergency services in the North Central Metro Area resulting in uninterrupted protection to residents in unincorporated areas bordering northwest region of the City and limited areas of the District along the Freeway 99 corridor.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In a joint effort to ensure the safety of residents in the North Central Metro Area and limited areas of the District along the Freeway 99 corridor, the Department has agreed to terms on a 3-year contract and provisions for automatic aid agreement to provide uninterrupted fire and emergency service to residents in the affected area. The agreement will generate a total of $3,105,305 in revenues to the City of Fresno over the 3-year term.
Since fire infrastructure is already in place to service the North Central Metro Area, the Department recommends utilizing the revenues to partially offset the cost to relocate our existing truck companies for better city-wide coverage and open a new 3-0 staffed truck company at Station 1. The station will be staffed with positions that will come from the North Central unit. The Mayor and City Manager support this agreement, redeployment of trucks and the addition of a new truck company. This request has been discussed in great detail with the Mayor and City Manager and will be included in the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND
The current contract between the City of Fresno and the District will terminate on June 30, 2019. Under that contract, the Department provides service to all geographical areas in the District, including Kerman, Biola, and the Bullard/West county islands (referred to as North Central Metro) that are border areas in northwest Fresno.
To provide continued protection to residents in the North Central Metro, the District and Department have been in discussions to enter into a 3-year service agreement in which the Department would continue providing automatic aid for those unincorporated areas only. The Department already has the infrastructure (personnel and apparatus) in place with stations 2, 9, 11 and 13 to cover the North Central Metro area (maps attached). These stations are, and have been servicing this area during the entirety of the existing contract, which dates back to 2006. Accordingly, this new agreement, if approved, would not result in additional burden to these stations. During the next three years, the District will be building its own fire protection infrastructure for that area. Both the District and the Department agree the highest priority is uninterrupted fire protection for the affected residents.
As the Department already has infrastructure in that area to provide continued service (i.e., stations, apparatus, staffing), it is recommended that the revenues generated from the contract be utilized to partially offset costs to open a 3-0 truck company at Station 1, which serves one of the busiest areas of the City and has a great need for an additional apparatus. A new truck company, staffed with existing positions from the North Central unit, would improve service and response times in the area surrounding Station 1 and allow for the redeployment of all existing truck companies, improving our coverage and response times for the entire city (see attached maps). Finally, and equally important, the Department’s minimum daily staffing will be increased by 3; growing from 77 to 80 firefighters on-duty each day.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applied since this is an agreement to continue automatic aid for residents in the District.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this contract will provide revenues to the City of Fresno as follows: $1,003,735 in Fiscal Year 2020; $1,035,102 in Fiscal Year 2021; and $1,066,468 in Fiscal Year 2022. This revenue will partially offset the cost of the additional truck company, which has a total annual cost of $1.5 million. If approved by Council, the truck company will be included as part of the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2020 recommended budget.
Attachments:
3-Year Automatic Aid Agreement
- Exhibit A - North Central Metro Area
- Exhibit B - West of Hwy 99-FFD Fire Stations
Map 2A - Current Truck Deployment
Map 2B - Future Truck Deployment