WOODLAND — Discussions regarding fire protection in Woodland were a focus of the city council’s Nov. 7 meeting as decisions regarding consolidation and a future fire station were considered by the board.
Clark County Fire and Rescue Chief John Nohr spoke before council regarding recommendations from the regional fire authority planning committee. He presented three options, including creating a regional fire authority (RFA), consolidating Woodland into CCF&R or renewing the current contract between the city on the fire district when it runs out in 2018.
In August, voters passed the consolidation of CCF&R and Clark County Fire District 2 by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. In the last several months, the discussion has focused on what to do with the extant two entities, Woodland and the fire district, currently served by CCF&R.
Nohr explained that annexation would likely be easier in the current environment as there are only two entities involved, the city and CCF&R, rather than creating a new layer of government in a RFA. He said that the planning committee brought up concerns about direct representation within the fire district, which an RFA would provide as it would require members from both jurisdictions for its board.
Currently, for the eight CCF&R commissioners, one resides in Ridgefield while the others live in unincorporated parts of the county, Nohr explained.
Regarding representation, Woodland Mayor Pro Tem Marilee McCall mentioned that in her experience with the CCF&R commissioners she did not have concerns of more partisan representation, explaining that the board was good in representing the area covered, not simply the municipality they were from.
McCall added that she felt an RFA would create another hardship in the addition of more meetings which council members would have difficulty in adding to their schedules.
“I think that we would be better represented to have someone from the community run for Clark County Fire and Rescue board as that seat became open, and have our representation that way,” McCall said.
Both the cities of La Center and Ridgefield have been annexed into the district for several years, Nohr mentioned.
The third option was simply renewing the contract, though Nohr said that it wasn’t a long-term solution for dealing with issues currently faced in the setup as it is now, specifically mentioning a need for depth of service in the city.
The decision regarding consolidation or establishment of an RFA would be sent to the city’s public safety committee before council would have any vote on the matter, Mayor Will Finn explained.
Council also discussed the possibility of a new fire station, specifically on a likely budget shortfall for construction based on the bids received for the project.
CCF&R Division Chief Mike Jackson explained that initially funding of the station was to be paid for out of excess bond revenue from a measure taken out to build the city’s new police station, about $955,000 according to council documents.
The rough shortfall for the station project, which would involve construction on city property on Scott Avenue, was at $500,000, Jackson said. The lowest base bid for the project was at more than $1.1 million, with Jackson explaining that increases in construction costs of 20 to 30 percent above initial projections coupled with higher demand in projects made the price tag higher than initially expected.
Jackson said there were a few options moving forward. Council could decide to address the major issues at the current station location on Davidson Street. Another option Jackson listed would be only constructing the vehicle bay portion of the proposed facility, eschewing the proposed living quarters addition. That option would only be $120,000 beyond current revenue.
In order to make up the $500,000 shortfall, Woodland City Administrator Peter Boyce said that a 20-year bond would mean an annual expense of close to $34,000 for the city.
Jackson said that the city would need to respond to the bidders within the first five days of December for the current bids. He added that for as high as the construction costs were he did not anticipate the numbers to decrease if the project was to be re-bid.
