Fire chief says that district bid request asks for too much
County still plans to respond to request
Union hails progress
By Kara Chalmers
A first draft of a request for proposals for fire and medical services that the Saratoga Fire District plans to send to three different fire departments, "for the most part, looks good," according to Capt. Bill Morrison, president of the firefighters union.
But the request, modeled after one done by the city of Los Altos in 1996, contains at least one requirement that could be difficult for any department to fulfill.
The requirement, which does not appear in the Los Altos request, is for the Saratoga Fire District to retain ownership of vehicles and fire station equipment, but have the contractor be responsible for replacing them.
Santa Clara County Fire Department Chief Douglas Sporleder said that he doesn't understand how such a business agreement would work. According to him, that provision does not exist in any of the other contracts his department holds. In the past, the county has encountered two options for bidders: For the bidder to retain ownership, but also be responsible for replacement; or to sell the equipment to the contractor, which would then be responsible for replacement and maintenance.
Still, Sporleder said he thinks that his department--one of the three candidates--would be able to do most of what the district is asking for.
"There's nothing that would make me not want to respond," Sporleder said of the request.
The request for proposals asks bidders to show they would continue all services the district now provides, plus additional ones.
Meanwhile, a group of people in the community who are lobbying for the district to contract with the county, are meeting every Thursday, at 7 p.m. in the Saratoga Senior Center. Some in the group are even saying they will run against the district commissioners--who have run unopposed for years--in the next election in November.
"We're a concerned group, that is a public group," said David Dolloff, chairman of the group--Firefighters and Citizens Task Force, or FACT. "We're trying to get things done properly according to what the citizens want."
The task force would like to postpone the building of the new fire station. The group contends that plans for a new station, which will be funded by Measure F, a $6 million bond measure passed by district voters last April, should be put on hold until the issue of a contract is worked out.
They say the planned station would not need to be as large, or contain as many administrative spaces, if the district contracted with the county department. The group also wants to postpone hiring an assistant chief for the district, because the position would be unnecessary, if the county takes over.
But Bob Egan, chairman of the district's commission, said during a Feb. 26 meeting that the district would have a contract in place before the new station is built
At the same meeting, in response to a question from district Capt. Jim Young, Egan said that no matter what happens with a contract, the district is heading in the direction outlined in the request for proposals. If, for some reason, a contract does not happen, the district will somehow provide for the increased level of services.
At the next commissioners meeting on March 15, the commissioners plan to accept a final request for proposals and send it to the county fire department, the San Jose Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The departments will have 30 days to respond to the district with their bids, according to commissioners.
The district administration is requesting a proposal from the county department, after repeated requests to do so by the district union firefighters, who say they want the level of service in the district raised to the level offered by the county department. For example, the firefighters have wanted to increase the number of firefighters and equipment that respond to fires. According to the request for proposals, a contract would have to allow for such an increase.
"This is positive," Morrison said. "It's the stuff we've been talking about for the last year and a half."
The commissioners will send the request for proposals to the other two departments since they are also located nearby.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
