GILROY
– Gilroy’s much -advertised third fire station will not open
until April 2004 – three months later than originally planned – but
the delay has nothing to do the city’s budgets woes, according to
fire and city officials
GILROY – Gilroy’s much -advertised third fire station will not open until April 2004 – three months later than originally planned – but the delay has nothing to do the city’s budgets woes, according to fire and city officials.
Due in large part to a backlogged workload weighing down city planners and architects during the past few months, final architectural plans for the $3.5 million station were not complete until last week and will not go out for construction bids until next week, said Bill Headly, the city facilities manager.
“There was some attention required surrounding design issues,” said Headly, who is directing the project for the city. “The design took longer than expected, and we didn’t want to put a document out to bid until we had it correct – that would’ve potentially caused a lot more delays in the future.”
Gilroy Fire Department Chief Jeff Clet said the delay won’t significantly affect the city’s fire coverage from the new Sunrise fire station planned at 880 Sunrise Drive, pointing out that the department is scheduled to open a temporary fire facility at the Sunrise site in July.
Sunrise’s development is seen as essential by the GFD, which wants to improve its service to the city’s growing northwest quad – an area of the city that currently records many of the slowest fire and emergency medical response times. So until the station is complete, the GFD will operate the two-man, one-vehicle station out of a single-wide trailer on the Sunrise site to boost its service to the city throughout the construction process.
The temporary facility will house the department’s new $268,000 Supplemental Transport Ambulance Resources vehicle, or STAR Car, which is a specially designed heavy-duty rescue ambulance that also carries an assortment of fire-fighting tools and rescue equipment. The car was purchased using city general funds; the Sunrise Station is being paid for by earmarked capital improvement fund money collected from developers during the last decade.
“(The Sunrise Station) will dramatically increase the emergency medical service to the northwest quad,” Clet said, “and that’s our focus right now.”
But looming in the station’s future are budget cuts that will likely hit every city agency due to Gilroy’s shrinking, tax revenue-based general fund – the bulk of which pays for fire and police services, including the newly hired staff for the city’s third fire station.
Staffing the new fire station will cost $862,622 in salary and benefits next year, according to the GFD, which will eventually hire a total of nine new firefighters for the station.
Gilroy’s General Fund money is projected to hover around $31 million next fiscal year, but due to the recent economic doldrums the fund’s reserves, which swelled to a peak of $24 million just two years ago, will be drained by late decade, barring an economic turnaround.
“We have the budget dollars already approved for this year and next, so we will go from there,” Clet said. “I think if more budget problems continue we will all have to make some priority cuts, but I don’t want to necessarily say they will be in the area of staffing.”
The good news for the GFD, the city and especially residents of the northwest part of town is that the construction of the 8,500 square foot Sunrise Station – which will be the largest of Gilroy’s fire stations – will not be affected by the general fund budget.
Following the selection of a construction company, groundbreaking on the station will begin in late June or early July, Headly said.
Actual construction of the facility will cost approximately $2.8 million, while three years of city staff time planning the building and related costs raises the total price tag to $3.5 million.
“We are excited about getting this under way,” Clet said. “(Sunrise Station) will make a big difference in our future coverage of the city; (the STAR car) will give us a second transport (ambulance) in the city. … We will work with the budget.”
