TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND FROM: Councilmember Esparza
CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: 5/16/2022
Approved Maya Esparza Date: 5/16/22
SUBJECT: MEASURE T STATUS REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
1. Accept the staff report and recommendations, as well as the memo from Councilmembers Arenas, Cohen, and Carrasco.
2. Prioritize utilizing $2 million of the $5 million identified by staff to reserve for Fire Station Rehabilitation and Potential Overages, to close the identified $2 million funding gap needed to design and build Fire Station 32 as a dual company station, as requested by the Fire Department, to meet the demand of one of the highest need areas in the City.
BACKGROUND
Of the critical infrastructure projects we promised our voters when they passed Measure T in 2018, none have greater priority than those that directly impact our ability to deliver life-saving public safety services. Bringing new Fire Stations online to fit the changing and growing needs in our City is absolutely crucial to addressing this priority. The next new Fire Station scheduled for design and construction is Fire Station 32 on Olinder Court.
Fire Station 32 will sit at the nexus of areas currently served primarily by 4 of the busiest Fire Stations in the entire City, including Station 26, which is by far the busiest station in the entire County, taking on 6661 calls for service in FY 2020-2021, comparable to the total number of calls seen in our neighboring cities. Surrounding Stations 3, 8, and 16 are our 3rd, 4th, and 5th busiest stations, respectively. Combined, these four stations respond to well over 18,000 calls for service annually, about 20% of total responses citywide. Fire Station 32 will become one of the busiest stations in the city, if not the busiest.
COUNCIL AGENDA: 5/17/2022
ITEM: 3.5
Given the extraordinary need in this part of the city, which will only grow in future years and decades, the Fire Department requested that this station be designed and built to accommodate two companies, as is not only appropriate, but highly needed if the station is going to successfully absorb the extraordinary burden already felt by the existing stations. These areas include much of Downtown and adjacent portions of the East Side, for which we expect continued growth, and with it, growing need. Smart planning requires us to take the current and future need for Fire services into consideration and ensure that we will be able to meet it.
Heat Map of proposed Fire Station 32 Service Area based on 2019-2020 Calls for Service
Staff reports that the funding gap to allow for dual company buildout is approximately $2 million, which would bring the total cost for the station to about $12.5 million. Staff has prudently identified funding to keep in reserve for our public safety projects, including a $5 million set aside for Potential Overages and Rehabilitation for Fire Stations. Prioritizing $2 million of the identified funding toward the dual company buildout for Fire Station 32 will maintain $3 million in reserve for Fire Station projects. Furthermore, as the next new Fire Station in our project pipeline, with contractor procurement expected in only a few months, the need for this funding is immediate and urgent.
I urge my colleagues to join me in prioritizing fully funding the build out for Fire Station 32 through strategic use of our Public Safety Program Reserve in our Measure T fund. Our Fire Department has made it clear that a dual company Fire Station 32 is needed to meet the needs in our communities, and we must rise to meet those needs.