Fire district goes to voters with Measure F
By Kara Chalmers
Residents in the Saratoga Fire District may vote on a $6 million general obligation bond measure to build a new fire station, during a special election on April 11. Part of the $6 million would allow the district to purchase property for a temporary station to use during construction, but could not, by law, be used for anything else, such as salaries or administration.
If passed, Measure F would cost taxpayers less than $6 annually per $100,000 in assessed property value over 30 years.
The district commissioners and the union firefighters were not able to reach consensus about the bond in time to get the measure on the March primary election ballot. The commissioners, also, do not want to wait until the November presidential election, since the present fire station is unsafe. Measure F is the only measure on the special election ballot.
According to the district, more space is needed to accommodate modern equipment and vehicles. Tentative plans for a new station include a first-aid area and a safety-training room.
The Saratoga union firefighters threatened not to support a bond measure last August, and halted the commission's plans for a November 1999 ballot measure for a new station. The firefighters said then, that the size of the new building, and the dispatch and administration centers planned might not be necessary, if the district contracted with the county's fire department.
The firefighters want a contract with the county department, which already serves half of Saratoga. The commissioners knew then that a bond measure for a new station would not pass without the support of the firefighters.
Now, the union firefighters support the bond, and Chief Ernie Kraule says Saratoga residents do, too, especially those who live close to the station.
"I have to believe people really want to replace the building," he said. He noted that it would have been detrimental for the community to have both the fire station and the new library campaigns going at same time, although that was not the reason for the choice of April over March. He said a majority of people he has spoken to are very supportive of Measure F. The City Council unanimously decided, on March 21, to support Measure F, as did the Public Safety Commission and the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce board.
The station at 13850 Saratoga Ave., on the corner of Highway 9, is unstable, according to a 1995 report by an engineer studying earthquake safety. The report says that upgrading the building to modern earthquake standards would not be cost-effective, and suggests a complete rebuild.
The building also is old. Although the district headquarters was established there in 1923, the structure was built earlier, and was used as an auto repair garage and gas station. In the 1960s, the district took over the entire facility. (It had formerly rented space in the building).
Campaigning for Measure F got off the ground on March 11. David Sharp, an independent consultant, leads the field operations from the campaign headquarters in the Azule Crossing Shopping Center. Many campaign volunteers are from the fire department. Mailers have been sent out, and calls have been made to residents.
Two polls, by the professional pollsters Evans/McDonough Company Inc., one in May and one in December 1999, show that the bond measure has a very good chance of passing by the necessary two-thirds vote.
The district is in the process of buying property in back of the station to house firefighters and equipment during construction. At the earliest, construction would start one year from now, although demolition could start next winter, Kraule said.
If the measure passes, the commissioners, next, would decide what the interior would look like. The district now has a preliminary artist's rendering of the exterior, but no specific design plans.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
