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AGENDA ITEM REVIEW FORM |
5.J.
Regular City Council Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 08/12/2020
- Department Head:
- Angel Ramirez
- Submitted By:
- Angel Ramirez, Fire Chief, Fire Department
Action Requested:
Motion
ITEM:
Discussion and possible action on any and all matters regarding the building of a temporary Fire Station #2. (Angel Ramirez, Fire Chief)
SUMMARY:
The Fire Station #2 project will get us to the east side of the city. Fire Station #2 will be built as temporary housing in order to respond in a more efficient and timely manner to the residents of East San Luis. We have seen our city grow exponentially, and it’s time to have a presence in this area.
We also had our annual audit from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), and they recommend having a station on the east side because our response times keep increasing due to the location of Fire Station #1. Being able to maintain our response times down will make us provide better services and meet the standards imposed by ADHS on our Certificate of Necessity (CON).
Also, by having a station on the east side will also help us with our ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating. Right now, we are a class 3 Fire Department, but we were two (2) points away from obtaining a class 2 designation, which only 1,597 can say they have this designation in the country.
Fire Station #1 was built to house ten (10) firefighters. Today, we have 14 firefighters on a daily basis. During this pandemic, we have been actively seeking ways to minimize the spread of COVID-19 amongst the crews. It has been very difficult, but we have managed. It is necessary to be able to split up the crews because if one gets infected, there is a possibility that all crew members might get exposed and infected. This is something we don’t want to have since it would create a shortage of personnel, and we would want to keep the same levels of staffing throughout this pandemic.
We also had our annual audit from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), and they recommend having a station on the east side because our response times keep increasing due to the location of Fire Station #1. Being able to maintain our response times down will make us provide better services and meet the standards imposed by ADHS on our Certificate of Necessity (CON).
Also, by having a station on the east side will also help us with our ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating. Right now, we are a class 3 Fire Department, but we were two (2) points away from obtaining a class 2 designation, which only 1,597 can say they have this designation in the country.
Fire Station #1 was built to house ten (10) firefighters. Today, we have 14 firefighters on a daily basis. During this pandemic, we have been actively seeking ways to minimize the spread of COVID-19 amongst the crews. It has been very difficult, but we have managed. It is necessary to be able to split up the crews because if one gets infected, there is a possibility that all crew members might get exposed and infected. This is something we don’t want to have since it would create a shortage of personnel, and we would want to keep the same levels of staffing throughout this pandemic.
RECOMMENDATION / SUGGESTED MOTION:
I MOVE TO APPROVE STAFF TO EXPLORE OPTIONS FOR A SECOND PUBLIC SAFETY STATION IN THE EAST PART OF SAN LUIS.
Fiscal Impact
- IS THERE FISCAL IMPACT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ITEM:
- YES
- CITY/STATE/FEDERAL FUNDS:
- CITY
- TOTAL:
- $250,000
- BUDGETED AMOUNT:
- $250,000
- AVAILABLE AMOUNT TO TRANSFER:
- 0
- ACCT NAME & GL#/REMAINING BALANCE BEFORE PURCHASE:
- 806-860-90015.182
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT (IF THIS IS A BUDGET TRANSFER, YOU MUST ATTACH THE BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FORM):
n/a