Fairfax looks at $1.5M fire station upgrade

Fairfax plans to pursue a $1.5 million upgrade of Ross Valley Fire Station 21.

The Town Council gave direction at its meeting on Wednesday after a presentation on the fixes the station needs. The station is slated to take on an additional firefighter amid a Ross Valley Fire Department reorganization and the closure of the Ross station next year.

“The intent of the fire station remodels is really to bring all of our fire stations to a contemporary standard,” said Chief Dan Mahoney of the Ross Valley Fire Department.

The council favors an option that would remodel the upstairs to include an additional dorm room and bathroom, upgrade the kitchen and implement code upgrades on the ground floor. The cost estimate is about $1.5 million.

Fire Station 21 is at 10 Park Road, part of a cluster of municipal sites.

The discussion comes as the department moves from two-person to three-person fire engines — the last department in the county to do so — before Station 18 in Ross closes by July 1, 2025. One additional firefighter will move to the Fairfax station, with San Anselmo also receiving additional firefighters and upgrading Station 20.

Fairfax Town Manager Heather Abrams said a comprehensive budget evaluation for the upgrade is forthcoming. She said loans, fees or tax increases were all potential options to pay for the project. The option might require a loan from the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District or the county.

The plan could also include the development of a separately funded flood wall, she said.

“Investing a lot of time and effort at that location, that is a flood risk,” Abrams said. “It takes time and money to do that.”

The two-story station, built in 1974, is outdated and has not been updated since its construction, Mahoney said. The second story consists of a kitchen, a bathroom, a day room, sleeping quarters and a large unoccupied room intended as an operations center.

The first floor consists of an engine room, a shop, a makeshift exercise room in the engine room, two bathrooms, sleeping quarters and offices.

The building flooded in 2005, causing about $337,000 in damage that took six months to repair. The structure has also not been updated for seismic safety, fire suppression or upgrades under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fairfax spends approximately $15,000 a year for maintenance, which is handled by the department, Mahoney said.

“Our main emergency response team is in a precarious situation and they are living in that situation,” said Councilmember Chance Cutrano, who is seeking reelection this fall. “It seems like we need to do everything we can to remedy that.”

Councilmember Stephanie Hellman said, “If we are going to break ground and do some enhancements, I want to do it right.”

The department’s staffing increase was approved by the agency’s board last fall. The updated staffing plan required an increase of approximately $632,000 to the department’s budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, with each member jurisdiction paying a proportional share of the total.

Fairfax is budgeted to contribute $3.3 million this fiscal year for Ross Valley Fire Department operations. The remaining contributions come from the other members of the joint powers authority: San Anselmo, Ross and Sleepy Hollow.

The joint powers authority was created in 1982.