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Spat may double up fire stations
By MICHAEL SANDLER © St. Petersburg Times, published May 18, 2001 PEBBLE CREEK -- For years, residents of unincorporated New Tampa have had no fire station to call their own. Now they might have two. The city and the county each plan to build fire stations less than a mile apart near Cross Creek Boulevard. The two sides tried to work a deal for a single station to provide joint coverage five years ago, a county commissioner said Thursday, but couldn't agree on funding. Now it appears there could be two stations in the area, one costing taxpayers $2-million to build and another costing taxpayers 1.6-million to build. Critics say it's waste of money and resources. "Wouldn't it be better to build one bigger and better facility?" asked George Faugl, a Pebble Creek resident and former Philadelphia firefighter. "They could go a long way toward making this a safer neighborhood if they could cooperate." Pebble Creek was one of several new stations county commissioners discussed at their regular meeting this week. Approved by the commission two years ago, construction has yet to be scheduled, but could begin by 2003, fire officials said. Commissioners questioned the need for the station while approving three new fire stations elsewhere in the county Tuesday. They reasoned that the city had recently begun construction on its station off Cross Creek Boulevard, less than a mile from a possible location for the county's station. County Commissioner Jim Norman said the county's station, which would cost about $750,000 to operate each year, is necessary because the two sides were unable to agree on a long-term contract. Norman said he initially hoped to negotiate a 20-year contract five years ago. But he said the city wanted to increase the cost to the county each year by at least 10 percent. "When you talk about government cooperating, that kind of rate is not government cooperating," Norman said. The county subsequently negotiated a two-year contract that gets renegotiated every two years with 3- to 5-percent increases. The fee this year to provide protection to the roughly 6,900 people living in unincorporated areas such as Pebble Creek and Cross Creek was about $159,000. "If you add 10 percent to that contract per year, you would pay (a new fire station) off in the 10-year period," he said. "That's why those rates are so outrageous." Norman said the county was being held hostage by the city. Since his comments Tuesday, he has heard from city officials who want to reopen negotiations. He said he is willing to talk about a long-term contract if the city lowers its annual increases. The county's station would include a pumper truck with advanced life support equipment and a staff of 12 firefighters to work three shifts. While the location has yet to be determined, Norman said, Hillsborough Fire Rescue officials have looked at several properties in Pebble Creek and Cross Creek. Tampa Fire officials say it could be as close as a quarter-mile away from the city's new station on Green Pine Lane, just off Cross Creek Boulevard and east of the intersection with Bruce B. Downs. "We are literally right across the street from Pebble Creek," said Tampa Assistant Fire Chief David Keene. "I'm just thinking, is this a wise expenditure of tax dollars? Do we really need two stations in that close proximity?" The increasing growth of New Tampa has been a challenge to fire departments. With the largest coverage area among all of Tampa Fire Rescue's stations, it is no surprise that Station 20, on Bruce B. Downs in Tampa Palms, has held the record for providing the longest response times -- nearly eight minutes. Most stations average slightly more than five minutes per call. Keene said the city's new station should help lower response time for all residents at a minimum cost. "The response time is probably going to be faster to Pebble Creek than it will to Hunter's Green," Keene said. "For that whole area, with Wharton (High School), we think that is a heck of a deal, a tremendous bargain for the taxpayers." Both stations would include only pumper engines with advanced life support equipment but would be without ladder engines and ambulances. Faugl, the Pebble Creek resident, said the two agencies should put aside their personal differences and pool resources to build a larger, more comprehensive station. "I don't care that it's city or county," said Faugl. "But from an economical standpoint, it would be better served if they worked together." - Michael Sandler can be reached at (813) 226-3472.
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