Opinion

10-10-2006 03:27 PM

Funding public safety in Grants Pass
Guest Editorial by Public Safety Director Joe Henner

By JOE HENNER

On November 7, 2006, Grants Pass voters will be voting on whether to approve funding for the purchase of two Public Safety stations, three fire trucks and one multi-story training tower for citywide fire and police response. No funding will be used for parks.

Over the past several decades, Grants Pass has grown in every direction from a city with slightly over 5 square miles to a community of almost 11 square miles. The City’s firefighting resources must now respond to new homes in N.W. Grants Pass, large businesses in the new industrial development in east Grants Pass, new subdivisions in the Redwood area and around the Reinhart Volunteer Park, as well as numerous assisted living and retirement facilities, and a large multi-story hospital complex.

A structure fire requires the response of our only 2 fire stations. With the present 2 station configuration, when a structure fire call is received, it will delay response time for any subsequent fire or rescue emergencies in all other areas of the City. This is because mutual aid firefighting resources must respond from neighboring departments, including the Rogue River Rural Fire District. The bond measure would fund a station on the Grants Pass Parkway capable of housing our only ladder truck, as well as police officers and a third City fire station on Leonard Road.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends firefighters arrive within 5 minutes to 90% of fire emergencies. The 5-minute NFPA response standard is partially attributed to the fact that fire doubles in size each minute. Today, the City’s firefighting resources are not able to achieve that in many locations, including an elementary school, senior care facilities and many neighborhoods.

The Parkway Fire Station is 82 years old and will only house one fire truck. It is too small to house the City’s ladder truck. The City’s ladder truck deploys from the Hillcrest Fire Station. The Insurance Services Office has advised us to move the ladder truck to a south station in order to better serve the many multi-story and commercial facilities in that area.

The city has three pumpers, two with nearly 100,000 miles on them and a 27-year-old reserve pumper. This bond measure would fund new fire pumpers to replace older equipment and to equip the new fire stations.

The 1974 wooden training tower has been decommissioned because it is no longer safe. Therefore it can no longer be used to train firefighters. The bond measure would provide funding for the replacement of this tower.

All City property tax revenue received by the City of Grants Pass is dedicated 100% to Public Safety. Increased revenues based on new construction and annexation has already been earmarked for the new police and firefighter positions necessary to staff the proposed stations if construction is approved by the voters.

If approved, this bond measure will:

* Be paid off within 12 years.
* Replace the “temporary” 82-year-old Parkway Fire Station with a permanent police/fire facility to provide deployment locations for pumpers, the ladder truck and police officers.
* Acquire land and construct a smaller fire/police station on Leonard Road.
* Construct a training tower to replace the training tower that is no longer available at the Hillcrest Station.
* Purchase three fire engines for the two stations.

The proposed bond cannot be used to hire employees, or to build, buy or maintain parks or park land. If the proposed bond measure is not approved, the 2 fire stations and fire training tower will not be built since there are no other alternative funding resources available. Additional information is available by calling Chief Joe Henner, at 474-6370.

Copyright © 2006 Grants Pass Climate