MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE
FIRE COUNCIL OF THE CENTRAL MARIN FIRE AUTHORITY
250 DOHERTY DRIVE, LARKSPUR, CA 94939
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2025
AT 6:30PM
(Or upon conclusion of the CMPA Police Council meeting, whichever is later.) The Central Marin Fire Council met in person. Members of the public had the option to attend the meeting in person, or view and participate in the meeting remotely through the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99034310040 Options provided for submitting public comment:
1. Email [email protected] prior to 4:00PM on the day of the meeting or during the meeting (Comments received prior to that time on the day of the meeting will be distributed to the Fire Council and made available in the online agenda packet).
2. Attending the meeting in-person at the Central Marin Police Authority Community Room, 250 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, CA 94939.
3. Selecting the “Raise Hand” icon during the meeting, or dialing *9 if calling in to the meeting.
1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL
The regular meeting of the Fire Council of the Central Marin Fire Authority (CMFA) was called to order on August 14, 2025 at 6:32PM by Chair Catherine Way.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
Scot Candell, Council Member, City of Larkspur
Pat Ravasio, Council Member, Town of Corte Madera
Rosa Thomas, Vice Chair, Town of Corte Madera
Catherine Way, Chair, City of Larkspur
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:
None
STAFF PRESENT:
Ruben Martin, Fire Chief
Adam Wolff, Corte Madera Town Manager
Dan Schwarz, Larkspur City Manager
Tom Bertrand, Authority Counsel
Lorena Barrera, Authority Clerk
August 14, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes
2 2. OPEN TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
Chair Way opened up the item for public comment.
No public comments were received for open time.
Way closed public comment and moved on to the next item.
3. REPORTS AND COMMENTS
A. COUNCIL MEMBERS
No reports were provided.
B. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
No reports were provided.
C. CHIEF’S COMMENTS
Chief Martin reported that on June 13th a graduation was held for two of the newest CMFA members. Council Members Casissa and Thomas were present for the ceremony. He also announced that a Sidewalk CPR event sponsored by the County’s Health and Human Services will take place on August 16th and CMFA will be participating. He also announced that CMFA will be participating in a county-wide, self-paced, voluntary evacuation drill on September 6th.
Chair Way asked if there was any staff assisting in an out-of-county fire. Chief Martin reported that one individual was assisting with the Gifford Fire down in the San Luis Obispo area.
Chief Martin also introduced Finance Director Chris Petlock who provided a brief background about himself.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
Chair Way asked if there were public comments or requests from Council or the public for removal of items from the Consent Calendar.
There were no comments received from online attendees and no comments received by email. No requests were received from the Council or the public to remove items from the Consent Calendar.
Way then called for a vote on the Consent Calendar.
August 14, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes
3 MOTION: It was M/S/C (Thomas/Ravasio) to approve Consent Calendar items 4A – 4C.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 4-0 in favor of the motion.
The approved Consent Calendar consisted of the following items:
A. Approve Minutes of May 8, 2025 Regular Fire Council Meeting B. Accept the General Fund and Measure C Fire Tax Fund Revenue and Expenditure Report for the Period Ending June 30, 2025
C. Acknowledge and File Accounts Payable Warrants and Electronic Payments to CalPERS for Health Payments for the Period of January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
A. Receive the Central Marin Fire Authority Facilities Master Plan Update, Discuss the Available Options and Provide Direction to Staff on Next Steps Fire Chief Ruben Martin introduced the item and provided a presentation to Council.
He explained the organizational history of the fire department, explained the facilities needs assessment, the various policy choices framework and deployment strategies to consider. Chief Martin also went over the standards of cover response recommendations and the number of stations and their locations. Chief Martin then explained the next steps to Council. He proceeded to respond to questions from Council.
Chief Martin provided some examples of how units are called to respond to a call.
Chair Way asked if we have a ladder truck and if there is a need for one. Chief Martin said that we need to pre-plan for one due to the various housing projects that are being approved for the future.
Council Member Ravasio asked for the average cost of a new fire station. Chief Ruben provided some examples of facilities in Marin County and he stated that they are budgeting between $1600 to $2000 per square foot.
Chief Martin asked for Council to consider approval of a needs assessment that would evaluate the structural integrity, compliance with modern fire codes, seismic safety and operational efficiency of the current stations.
Council Member Candell said he would like to see an assessment of what other jurisdictions CMFA can combine services and what that might look like. Chief Martin responded stating that the Fire Chiefs Association has reached out to the Local Agency August 14, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes
4 Formation Commission (LAFCO) and was informed that if they truly want to get a true deployment analysis, they need to do a county-wide standards of cover where all facilities within the county are looked at. City Manager Dan Schwarz added that the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority (RVPA) has no interest in combining with CMFA and the only fire district that might would be Kentfield. However, the Kentfield Fire Protection District requires taxpayers to pay 19% of their property tax to their district so anyone annexing with them would have to do the same. Merging Districts can get very political. Fire Chief Martin stated that what he sees as an opportunity might be when a Fire Chief leaves as that can lead other agencies to consider expanding the command staff and the control services of the area rather than replacing their Chief.
City Manager Dan Schwarz explained that Kentfield residents would not have much of an incentive to combine when they have a fire district that is well funded and that provides other community benefits.
Chair way asked Chief Martin if he is looking for feedback on hiring a consultant or a project management team to create a facilities master plan. Chief Martin confirmed and stated that the design group he has reached out to was a recommended group from the Public Works Director of the City of Larkspur. He added that an advantage about this team is that they have a recently retired Fire Chief on their team that could assist in putting the plan together. City Manager Dan Schwarz added that Kitchell was the project manager for the CMPA facility and the City of Larkspur has maintained a relationship with this firm. Kitchell also serves as the project manager for the Larkspur Library so there is a history with them.
Chair Way asked about timelines on the report. Chief Martin stated that Kitchell informed him it would take a few months to have the report completed. He is hoping that Kitchell might have something available by the end of the year that maybe he can bring to the Council in February.
Chair Way asked if there is a budget proposal for this item. Chief Martin stated that there are funds available within the professional services contracts budget that are used for incidental studies. Therefore, he can use funds from there. He also stated he can move some stuff around but he won’t know how much is actually needed until he receives a proposal.
Chair Way opened up the discussion for public comment.
No public comment was received for this item.
Way closed public comment. Following further deliberation, Chair Way called for a motion.
The Fire Council was supportive of Chief Martin working with Kitchell for the development of a facilities master plan.
August 14, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes
5 6. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Way adjourned the Council Meeting at 7:48PM to the next regular meeting scheduled for November 13, 2025.