SHFPD AGENDA

To provide information regarding the activities of the District with respect to a request by the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association for the District to participate in the Sleepy Hollow Community Center Rebuild Project.

 

               And

To receive public comment with respect to the activities of the District with respect to that Project.

Community Center Project

Any decision regarding our participation in this project will be based on an objective and complete evaluation of the project's costs, benefits and alternatives and will include consideration of the views of residents expressed today and over the coming weeks.

Presentation Topics

Basic facts about the district

A review of the budget

Our history including how and why we accumulated our reserves

The details of our strategic plan and its relevance to the project

Recommendations from public safety professionals regarding the project

An evaluation of the safety risks for our community

An analysis of the safety, financial and intangible benefits of the project

A discussion of the pros and cons of alternative projects 

Our evaluation criteria in order to approve this or an alternative project

Process going forward for additional input and steps for approving or rejecting

Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District

SHFPD FAQ'sOur mission is to safeguard the community through the delivery of

professional, efficient and effective fire, EMS, and community preparedness services.

Full voting member of the Ross Valley Fire District Joint Powers Authority including Ross, San Anselmo, Fairfax and Sleepy Hollow

Full voting member of the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority

District includes approximately 850 households with a resident population of about 2500.

Served primarily by Fire Station #20 - 363 responses in FY 12-13

SHFPD BUDGET

Per Prop 13, we are allocated 17% of local parcel taxes collected by the county.

If SHFPD were dissolved, your parcel tax bill will not change.

$ 1,172,159 Total revenue in FY 12-13

$ 998,166 Total expenses in FY 12-13

$ 3,749,872 Reserves at end of FY 12-13

SHPFD Expenses FY 12-13Fire Services $893,393Administration $ 46,141Fire Training $ 33,420Preparedness $ 25,210

Fire $893,393

Admin $46,141

Training $33,420

Prepare $25,210

Ross Valley Fire Department

The Ross Valley Fire Department traces its history to the early 1900s with the formation of small volunteer fire departments in the newly formed towns of Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax.  Built near the wildfire prone slopes of Mount Tamalpais, these communities were acutely aware of the risk of fire - many residents had relocated here following the devastating earthquake and fire in San Francisco in 1906.  

More than 100 years later, three fire departments, and the traditions they were built upon, have merged to become the Ross Valley Fire Department.  

Ross FD circa 1910

SHFPD Early History

1949 – SHFPD formed by resolution of County Board of Supervisors

1949-1956 – Fire protection provided by County Fire responding through White's Hill Tunnel

1956 – San Anselmo agrees to provide fire response to Sleepy Hollow

1961 – Station 20 opens on Butterfield

1966 – Oak Crest & Alameda annexed & San Domenico built

White's Hill St. Rita'sTrain Tunnel Fire

1970

Contract Disputesthe start of a bad relationship

1956-1962 – 1st contract was based on Sleepy Hollow paying a share of all fire service expenses in proportion to its assessed value, good relations at first

1970 – San Anselmo threatens to terminate 2nd contract in dispute over fees for San Domenico

1975 – Breakdown in negotiations over 3rd contract – assessed value +5% and capital costs of Station 19

1975 SHFPD Tax ElectionA resolution was placed on the ballot to collect additional

revenue for a new fire station at the entrance to San Domenico staffed by County FD. A plot of land was identified and plans were drawn up.

It passed but SHFPD decides to accept SA contract.

1976-1980 – relations at all time low. Constant disputes over charges

1978 – Prop 13 establishes income for SHFPD based on assessed value of Sleepy Hollow relative to the County

SHFPD income dramatically reduced (24% to 17%)

1979 Special Tax ElectionSpecial tax ($0.06 per sf) was overwhelmingly approved

SHFPD's reserves were almost depleted

Sacramento eventually provided additional funding and the Special Tax was never implemented

1980 San Anselmo faced Prop 13 cuts and the threat of SHFPD setting up its own fire service. A new contract signed based on 23% of labor costs

Relationship remains strained, still considering a SHFD

2004 contract renegotiated to 25% of labor in exchange for keeping St 20 open, increased reimbursements

Ross Valley Fire Services JPA

1982 Ross Valley Fire Services JPA formed by San Anselmo and Fairfax with one non-voting board seat for Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow still in contractual relationship with San Anselmo for fire services.

2002 – SHFPD proposal to become a full voting member rejected

2010 – After lengthy negotiations, SHFPD becomes full member of JPA paying 16.7% of total cost

2012 – Town of Ross joins JPA – our share now 12.8%

New Chief Mark Mills

2010 SHFPD Strategic Plan

1. Develop and implement fire safety projects that reduce the fuel supply and potential for conflagration

We provide annual support to the Tam Fire Crew to maintain defensible space on our ridge tops including equipment purchase and partial labor reimbursement

We recently began funding for “Youth2Work” to help clear brush and other flammables

We plan to start a “Chipper Day” or similar program for vegetation management this year

2. Analyze and improve the fire fighting water supply system in Sleepy Hollow including expansion of storage capacity, fire mains and auxiliary water supplies.

We worked with MMWD and homeowners in the Fawn Drive area and provided partial funding to increase the size of water mains in the area.

We continue to fund installation of additional fire hydrants to increase fire fighting efficiency.

We provide portable fire pumps that utilize the water in swimming pools for firefighting.

We provided partial funding for improvements to both firefighting water supplies and emergency drinking water at the Brookside School Upper Campus, a critical staging area in the community.

We support the County Fire-Flow Improvement Plan.

3. Enhance the Fire Department training program by expanding opportunities for members to participate in outside training programs offered by the National Fire Academy and state and local fire training programs.

We created a $25,000 annual fund to help pay eligible expenses for attendance at specialized national, state and local fire service and management training programs as authorized by the Chief of Department.

This program has helped make RVFD one of the best trained and effective fire departments in the county.

4. Improve overall emergency preparedness through assessment and infrastructure improvements at critical evacuation and staging sites, implementation of citizen preparedness programs, and development of local emergency preparedness plans.

FROM THE OUR 2011 STRATEGIC PLAN

Our community has several important sites that would be utilized for evacuation and/or staging of emergency resources in the event of a major disaster such as a large wildfire or earthquake. The Sleepy Hollow Clubhouse is an ideal evacuation site due to its central location, ease of access and indoor facilities. The District intends to assess the infrastructure and facilities at each of these sites to determine if improvements should be made to enhance capabilities for use in emergencies.

The District will continue to support the delivery of citizen preparedness programs like Get Ready Marin for our homeowners and will explore working with the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association to consider development of neighborhood response teams.

SHFPD funded a Horse/Large Animal Evacuation Plan

911 Memorial

5. Ensure the District's sustainability through prudent fiscal management, development of new revenue programs such as grants, and maintenance of an adequate reserve.

The District now has a permanent and fiscally prudent agreement for providing services to our homeowners when we joined the RVFD JPA. It is no longer necessary to maintain a reserve to start our own FD.

The District has and will continue to maintain a healthy reserve to ensure that its operational expenses can be met even if there is our revenue is negatively impacted.

Clubhouse Project

Last year the SHFPD was approached by the incoming and outgoing Presidents of the Sleepy Hollow Homeowners Association to see if we could help pay for rebuilding the Sleepy Hollow Clubhouse.

We said no. The District is an independent public entity, not affiliated with the Homes Association, and the District is focused on its key mission on behalf of residents i.e. safeguarding the community through the delivery of professional, efficient and effective fire protection services.

Sleepy Hollow Emergency Center

However, the SHFPD, consistent with its Strategic Plan, was interested in exploring the possibility of providing up to $2 million dollars to construct a building that could be utilized:

For evacuation and/or staging of emergency resources in the event of an emergency such as a wildfire, weather related event, power outage or earthquake.

Function as an organizing center for citizen preparedness programs like Get Ready Marin and encourage the Sleepy Hollow Homeowners Association to develop neighborhood response teams.

Provide much needed office space for the SHFPD

Emergency Responders Give Input

The SHFPD and Sleepy Hollow Charitable Foundation facilitated a meeting that included the Ross Valley Fire Chief, Marin County Fire, the Director of the Marin Office of Emergency Services, Marin County Sheriff's Office, Red Cross, and RACES (emergency communications) to discuss the potential value of a local Emergency Center and which safety features should be incorporated.

Emergency Features

1. Emergency power not dependent on PGE supplied natural gas

2. Emergency Communications

3. Water for drinking and hygiene

4. Red Cross shelter supply cache including basic first aid supplies

5. Charging stations for computers, phones, etc.

5. Equipment for Citizen Response Teams

6. Adaptability as a Fire Command Center and dormitory area for firefighters during an emergency

Is there value relative to risk?

Sleepy Hollow Wildfires1976 Tam Cemetery - 250 ac.

1984 White's Hill - 650 ac.

1984 Glen Drive - 100 ac.

1996 Del Grande - 15 ac.

2002 680 Trail - 20 ac.

2009 San Domenico Fires: 1- 4 ac.

Wildfire Lessons from Mill Valley 1929 & Oakland

Fairfax Town & CountrySeptember 2012

35 EntradaJuly 2012

Memorial ParkSeptember 2013

Additional RisksFlooding – last major flood 1982

Frequent minor flooding has impacted multiple homes

Power outages – 3-day outage 2003

Extreme weather – heat & cold

Earthquake

Fair to safe we are safe from Tsunami

1982 Flood

Is there financial value?Is it equitable?What is the cost of building an emergency facility

at a different location?

What is the rental expense of office and meeting space?

Is an emergency center of equal value to all residents and will all residents have equal access?

Is this a unique opportunity that will not be available again in the future?

We asked two commercial brokers Cornish & Carey and Cassidy Turley to research the value of usage rights

Local comparable leases were analyzed

Ross Valley location new, custom-built

use: office + storage + events emergency use 24x7

50 year term fixed price = certainty

full service = no pass-throughs

They calculated the total present value to SHFPD to be:

Emergency use $ 65,000

Total use $ 1,060,000

Total $ 1,125,000 Plus intangible values

Is this a good value? These top commercial brokers tell us: yes

Could SHFPD Build Its Own Emergency Center?

Again we consulted with local real estate experts.

1. Where? No suitable property is available

2. Would need empty flat lot, one-half acre or larger, on or near Butterfield

3. Land costs alone are prohibitive

140 fawn drive 1.5ac, sold in july 2012 for $1,650,000

5. Neighbors unlikely to tolerate non-residential use

6. Would unnecessarily duplicate clubhouse facilities

7. Clubhouse site is ideal

centrally located

no change in use

reconstruction of existing facility

Is there intangible value?

What is the value to the community of a prepared and dedicated site for evacuation/shelter?

What is the value to the community of a center for organizing, training and equipping citizen preparedness groups?

What is the value to the community of a center that is guaranteed to be up and running and able to provide information and communication links during a disaster?

Alternative Proposals

1. Refund some or all of our reserves

Does nothing to improve public safety

No viable way to do it equitably

Tax refunds are complicated, subject to disputes (divorced parties, etc), difficult to implement

2. Remove all combustible vegetation

Difficult to define and agree on the hazard

Inequitable benefit for larger and hillside properties

Vegetation management is not a one time expense

It is a legal responsibility of property owners

We will continue to support effective programs

3. Improve Roadways for Evacuation

Construction of new roadways is not feasible

Butterfield is a relatively wide road by Ross Valley standards

Paving or grading of fire roads is not always possible and may not provide easily utilized evacuation route due to width, access, steep terrain, competition with firefighting efforts, etc. However, Youth2Work may be able to do minor maintenance

Proposed County Roads & Trails plan calls for decommissioning of many fire roads

More possibly can be done inexpensively to utilize Stuyvesant to Fairfax, Fawn to Terra Linda, The Alameda to San Anselmo, etc

4. Improve Fire FlowMMWD will spend $ 929k in 2015 and $ 861k in 2017 on

improvements to Sleepy Hollow mains

Tank capacity is substantial and not easily increased

Most of the domestic water system supplied fire mains meet all fire flow requirements.

Additional hydrants will continue to be added as needed

The Fire Pump program will be maintained and expanded

Utilities / Schools5. Replace all gas lines and underground utilities Tremendously expensive - $100k per pole for overhead in Tiburon Disproportionate benefit to larger and more remote sites Very expensive to connect underground from the main lines to individual properties Would require 100% community support

6. Utilize San Domenico, Brookside & Presbyterian Church San Domenico & Brookside need space for their students Presbyterian Church has a preschool and is inadequate None of the sites has emergency power, supplies or storage space available

Prerequisites for SupportWould this project improve our capability to protect the residents of our

Fire District in the event of an emergency?

Is the project supported by our community?

Is the project supported by public safety professionals?

Would all residents of the Fire District receive equal benefit?

Would our participation in this project require increased taxes or fees?

Are we getting fair value for our investment?

Would we still be able to fund additional safety projects?

Would we still have sufficient reserves for other contingencies?

Will this opportunity be available again in the future?

Have we considered alternative projects?

Is it permissible? 

Process Issues

We will now accept questions related to the content of the presentation.

We will then allow public comment. We ask that you limit your comments to 3 minutes.

We will accept additional comments for 30 days and then convene another meeting where we will consider whether or not to adopt a resolution to approve some level of participation in the project.

We repeat that any decision regarding our participation in this project will be based, in part, on consideration of the input received today and over the coming weeks.

Prerequisites for SupportWould this project improve our capability to protect the residents of our

Fire District in the event of an emergency?

Is the project supported by our community?

Is the project supported by public safety professionals?

Would all residents of the Fire District receive equal benefit?

Would our participation in this project require increased taxes or fees?

Are we getting fair value for our investment?

Would we still be able to fund additional safety projects?

Would we still have sufficient reserves for other contingencies?

Will this opportunity be available again in the future?

Have we considered alternative projects?

Is it permissible?