All Fired Up
It’s beginning to look like Half Moon Bay and Point Montara fire protection districts will indeed merge.
After years of bickering, both districts passed resolutions of intent to consolidate and jointly hired a consultant to help with the process.
This is especially important for the Point Montara district, which just last spring was considering building an entire department from scratch after cancelling its service contract with Half Moon Bay.
The goals and proper administration of the consolidation is an important issue in both fire district elections this year.
Improved process
On a Tuesday morning mid-September, in the fourth joint meeting of consolidation committee, representatives from both districts and from labor met with the consultants and set a regular meeting schedule. In addition the committee decided to hold at least 2 evening meetings for the public to hear about the issues, progress and to give public opinion. The consultants are interviewing management, labor and staff, but the opportunity for public comment will be limited to the public hearings
Adding to the already complicated scenario, Chief Asche is retiring in December. The hiring process for a new chief will take 4 to 6 months, maybe longer.
Vern Hamilton, the consultant, recommended hiring an interim chief. Representatives from both boards expressed concern that they did not want just a ‘placeholder’ interim chief. Hamilton explained that an interim chief can be contracted with to assist with the recruitment of a new permanent chief and help implement the consolidation plan in addition to running the department. One advantage to hiring an interim chief is that the process is quick, taking only a few weeks, leaving the board free to concentrate on the consolidation issues.
Hamilton stated that the most difficult issues will be how the new board will be structured and how the new district will be financed.
How did we get to this point?
The need for consolidation began two years ago when the Point Montara Board cancelled the 7-year-old fire management and service contract with HMBFPD. The reasons given for that cancellation have not been made clear to many who thought the level of service was excellent. Circumstances have changed since the contract was entered into — now many other small districts are consolidating to ensure a high standard of emergency services in the future.
When it became clear that PMFPD had decided to “go it alone”, citizens got involved, circulating a petition to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) asking for municipal services review of the fire districts. The resulting LAFCo report made it clear that oneengine companies are not financially or functionally viable due to current staffing and training standards. LAFCo recommended that the 2 districts consolidate.
It has not been easy to get to this point. Members of both boards have had to set aside old grudges and move to ensure the future safety needs of the community are taken care of.
It’s time to get involved
Joint committee meetings will be held Oct 5, Oct 21 and Nov 2 at 1 p.m, in Half Moon Bay The public is invited to attend. The evening meetings will be held at the Adcock center, but the time and date are yet to be determined. All meetings will be televised on MCTV.