Ross seeks delay in fire station closure

Ross is asking the Ross Valley Fire Department for a one-year delay in the closure of Station 18 because of concerns about paramedic services.

A letter from the town to the fire board says Ross officials want to explore paramedic coverage options because of uncertainty about the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority finances if Larkspur and Corte Madera leave the agency.

At issue is a request made earlier this year by officials in Larkspur, who asked that a planned fiscal analysis of the authority consider a change in the contract to exclude Larkspur and Corte Madera, which would instead receive service from the Central Marin Fire Department.

The move “might better align governance to the stewardship of jurisdictionally-generated taxes and resources,” Larkspur City Manager Dan Schwarz wrote in a letter to Marin County Fire Department Chief Jason Weber, the paramedic authority’s executive officer.

The Ross Valley Paramedic Authority, created in 1982, operates on a $3.3 million budget funded by parcel taxes in member communities. It provides emergency services to Corte Madera, Fairfax, Ross, San Anselmo, Larkspur, Kentfield, the Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District and unincorporated pockets in the Ross Valley.

The Ross fire station, built in 1926, is considered outdated and is scheduled to close by July 1.

Ross Councilmember Elizabeth Robbins, one of the town’s representatives on the fire board, said the absence of emergency medical responders in Ross would be unacceptable and would place residents at risk.

In the letter to the fire board, Ross Town Manager Christa Johnson wrote that when the Station 18 closure was agreed upon in 2021, it was unknown that the paramedic authority might be in jeopardy.

“Three years later, the fragility of the RVPA JPA is clear and its viability is in question,” the letter said. “It is reasonable to request a one-year delay in the closure of Ross Fire Station 18 so that every member of the RVFD and the RVPA can determine how best to maintain adequate levels of emergency medical response in the greater Ross Valley.”

Johnson said the departure of paramedic service would result in a two-minute increase in response time. An estimated 10-minute response time is considered an “edge suburban to rural level of response” and would be a significant decrease in service to the area, she said.

Amendments to the JPA would require approval by each member’s governing body before being considered by the fire board.

The Ross Valley Paramedic Authority has operated one of its two paramedic ambulances out of the Ross fire station since the early 1980s, according to a staff report.

A master facilities plan adopted by the council in 2023 included a new paramedic ambulance facility at an estimated cost of $2 million. The potential costs have dramatically increased since then, the staff report said, and the plans are on hold.

The town and the Ross Valley Paramedic Authority have had four-year leases for use of town facilities since 1982. The paramedic authority prefers the four-year lease because that is the term of its main funding source, a parcel tax, according to a staff report.

The latest four-year lease involving Ross, the Ross Valley Fire Department and the paramedic authority expired on June 30, but it has been was extended to Dec. 31.

Weber said the paramedic board would receive the fiscal analysis report, which would evaluate the potential change in jurisdictional boundaries, on Nov. 7.

“I am confident we are going to be around for another 40 years providing excellent service,” he said. “We will work this out.”

Ross Valley fire Chief Dan Mahoney said he looks forward to the presentation on Nov. 7.

“I am confident that the results of the study will provide RVPA board members the information that is needed to have informative deliberations and have confidence the RVPA will continue to provide excellent services to all communities served,” he said.

The Ross Valley Fire Department is funded by member contributions of $3.3 million from Fairfax; $2.8 million from Ross; $5.7 million from San Anselmo; $1.8 from Sleepy Hollow and outside revenues of $1.1 million, according to the 2024-25 budget.