By Clarence Cromwell
Saratoga Fire District's plans to build a new firehouse on Saratoga Avenue could be stymied by the U.S. Postal Service's refusal to sell the land.
The fire station steering committee, charged with replacing the district's seismically unfit, 73-year-old fire station on Saratoga Avenue at Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, wants to buy the property next door, now occupied by the Village post office and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department substation. But Postal Service representatives apparently prefer to lease the property to the fire district.
John Kolstad, a member of the steering committee, reported at its Feb. 2 meeting that he had met with Postal Service asset management official David Klement on Jan. 24.
"They just want to hang on to it," Kolstad said. "That's it."
Klement declined to be interviewed.
Committee member Bob Egan said the fire district should probably purchase the land to be occuped by the new station.
Kolstad agreed. "The city's going to be around 200 to 300 years," he said. "I can't imagine [leasing] would be worthwhile in the long run."
But both emphasized that the fire station committee hasn't decided yet.
The committee decided to try buying post office land because it would solve many of the problems with the current fire station site and would also provide enough room for a sheriff's substation. They wanted to keep both stations near the center of the city, where they are now.
The current Saratoga Avenue building, which the fire district moved into in 1923, needs so much seismic retrofitting that structural damage could limit fire service after an earthquake. A July 1994 report by structural engineer Ed Meserve detailed weak walls, an improperly attached roof and a decorative parapet that could fall from the roof and trap fire trucks in the building after a quake.
The district wants to locate the new fire truck bay about where the post office now stands. That would put it far enough from the corner of Saratoga Avenue and Saratoga-Los Gatos Road to avoid the
traffic backups that sometimes block the fire station's exit.
An equipment bay at that site could have a rear entrance, allowing firefighters to drive straight in, instead of blocking traffic and backing up, as they now do.
Yet another reason for building the larger station would be to provide a larger substation for the sheriff's department. Deputies currently occupy a cramped substation inside the post office.
The district's three fire commissioners appointed 12 people to the fire station steering committee in July. The members, who all live in the district or represent organizations located here, convene about once a month.
The committee will take its plans to the public, probably in April, after it decides what to build, and where. Egan said the project could involve a bond or a property assessment.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 21, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved