After a spirited discussion about staffing, Goleta officials on Tuesday pushed forward plans to build a new Santa Barbara County fire station on the western end of the city.
Fire Station 10 is proposed for a 2-acre-plus, city-owned parcel at 7952 Hollister Ave., across the street from Sandpiper Golf Club and next door to the Hideaway residential development.
This week’s discussion was a long time coming, since western Goleta was identified decades ago as not meeting emergency-response guidelines set by the National Fire Protection Association.
Response times from Station 11 on Storke Road south of Hollister or Station 14 on Los Carneros Road average seven to nine minutes — more than the recommended five minutes or less.
Funding wasn’t available for the project until more recently, which is why the county Fire Department has been working with Goleta, which currently contracts with the county for fire protection services.
The Goleta City Council unanimously voted to approve a mMemorandum of understanding with the Fire Department and the county for development, along with an easement so the fire district can use the city property.
Officials also agreed to hire Santa Barbara-based Kruger Bensen Ziemer Architects to design the station for just over $750,000.
Council members Roger Aceves and Paula Perotte wondered if the agreement should explicitly prohibit the county from decreasing minimum staffing levels in the future — it currently sets initial staffing at one fire captain, one fire engineer and one firefighter with plans for future discussions — but city staff said trying to predict funding might be difficult.
“I don’t know that there’s anything such as a perfect agreement,” Councilman Michael Bennett said, calling the agreement a reasonable compromise, since staffing couldn’t occur without station construction in the first place.
County Fire Chief Eric Peterson assured the council that even during the 2008 recession, the county didn’t lower service levels in Goleta.
“The economy ebbs and flows,” he said, urging approval of the agreement sooner rather than later. “A lot of areas would be cut before we cut service levels in Goleta.”
Funding for the $7.6 million project, which could open as soon as summer 2019, is supposed to come from Goleta fire development impact fees over time ($3.1 million), county development impact fees (nearly $1.5 million) and from city agreements with the Hideaway and Village at Los Carneros residential developments ($1.7 million).
The city already put the remaining $1.3 million toward buying the site and conducting environmental studies for the land that will house the one-story station with three bays, at least one large multipurpose room for training and a fueling facility.
Aceves said he wants the project to be LEED certified, and noted he was a bit uneasy about the city fronting some funds until development-impact fees accumulate.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.