HomeMy WebLinkAbout1751 OrdinanceORDINANCE NO. 1751
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY' OF PASCO RELATING TO
ACQUISITION OF FIRE EQUIPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT
OF FIRE STATION, CALLING FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION
AND DEFINING THE EXCESS LEVY PROPOSITION TITLE.
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Pasco finds it necessary to
maintain a high standard of safety and protection within the City; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Pasco finds it necessary to
purchase one (1) aerial and ladder tower truck, one (1) pumper truck and ad-
ditional fire equipment to maintain its present standard of safety; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Pasco finds it necessary to add
one (1) bay to the existing Fire Station to house the aerial and ladder tower
truck; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Pasco finds the proper method
of financing the above acquisition and improvement is through a R.C.W. 84.52.050
Excess Levy Election; NOW, THEREFORE
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. A Special Election shall be held February 3, 1975 at which time the
proposition contained hereafter shall be, submitted to the voters.
Section 2. The ballot proposition to be- submitted at such Special Election shall be
in substantially the following form:
"Fire Station Equipment and Improvement -- One
year Two Dollar and Twenty -Five Cents per thousand
dollars of Assessed Value, Levy"
It
"Shall the City of Pasco levy a one-year general tax
of two dollars and twenty-five cents per thousand
dollars of assessed value,upon all taxable property
within Pasco for acquisition of fire equipment and
improvement of fire station at cost of $350,000."
YES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . —=
NO. . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Section 3. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect upon passage and
publication as required by law.
PASSED and APPROVED this 1 6 day of December 1975.
Attest: - .Donald D. Linton, Mayor
Leo E. Olney, City Clerk
Approved as to form: City Attorney
December 12, 1975
TO: Honorable; Mayor and.. City :Council and
Council. Members, Elect
FROM: George D. Smith, City Managers
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SUBJECT: Special Levy for Fire Department Equipment
As the Council Members will recall at our recent budget meetings there was
considerable interest in exploring this possibility for acquiring new fire
equipment. We have placed 'the proposed ordinance on the December 16th
Agenda in order to meet the statutory requirements for_ submitting this propo-
sition to voters at the February 3rd Special Election to be held by the School
District. The applicable Statute requires that the special ;levy proposition
be submitted to the County Auditor at least 4.5 days prior to the. election.
This means that the latest Council date for considering the proposition would
be December 16th.
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P.O. BOX 293_ : PASCO, WASHINGTON 99301
December 9, 1975
TO: George'D. Smith, City 'Manager
FROM: John Hager,,Fire Chief rU<--,/
SUBJECT: NEW EQUIPMENT NEEDED
The Fire Department comes under the heading of_ ,department of Public
Safety, meaning one for --the protection of life and property -of the
people wi'thi'n the community. To be able to carry out this protection,
there'.is 'certain equipment required.. The foliowi°ng recommendation is
being made. to `bring the Fire Department -.up to the level, of being able
to cope with its obligati -on to the community.
This recommendation outlines the equipment and station improvements
necessary to keep up with the.population construction growth of the
area, the.anticipated annexat;ton, and -to -.maintain the city's present
insurance Class V.
The reason that the Fire Departments needs appear so great at this time
is because there have been no major purchases since 1969. The Department
now needs an Aerial' Ladder Truck and a. -new Pumper for rescue, and'to combat
fire in such buildings as the hospital, apartment houses of three or more.
stories, the grain elevator, flammable liquid tank farms, schools, Columbia
Basin College, County Court House, Public Safety Building, and a number of
other tall buildings: The,City of -Pasco presently has fourteen (14)
structures three or more stories 'in height 'and 'the fo..11owing is our ladder
capability.
1 - 45' ground ladder
1 -,36' ground ladder
2 - 24' groundladders
As you can see, our rescue capability is very limited..
Page Two
Mr. George Smith
Aerial ladder trucks are necessary for two purposes: Life saving and
facilitating fire fighting operations. Ladders are most frequently
used to rescue persons from a building when all normal means of exit
are cut off by fire. In fire fighting, ladders are needed to provide
access to upper stories or the roofs of buildings. In addition to
rescue work, members of Ladder Companies let smoke, heat, and gases
out of building by ventilation. Therefore, you can see how this type
of equipment increases the overall effectiveness of the Fire Depart-
ment.
As you are aware, the City of Pasco is due to be graded by the Washington
Surveying and Rating Bureau within the next three (3) to four (4) years.
The City must start now to make necessary improvement to maintain the
City's Class V rating.
The grading schedule requires a Ladder Company in any community with
five (5) buildings of three (3) stories or higher. The normal life
expectancy for first-line pumpers varies from City to City, depending
upon the degree of maintenance and the relative amount of use of the
equipment. In general, a fifteen -year life expectancy has been considered.
normal for first line work. Some departments may be able to operate
pumpers efficiently up to twenty years, although obsolescence and undependa-
bility will make the older apparatus less desirable for first line service.
The following is a list of pumpers presently in use in the Fire Department.
One (1) 1956, 1000 GPM pumper - twenty years old; one (1) 1962, 1000 GPM
pumper - fourteen years old; one (1) 1969, 1250 GPM pumper - seven years old.
Another consideration by the Rating Bureau is the required pumping capacity
as determined by the required fire flow. (Example: The City of Pasco has a
required fire .flow of 4000 to 4500 GPM, therefore, the Fire Department is re-
quired to be able to pump 4500 GPM - presently our pumping capacity is 3000
GPM). The addition of a new Ladder Truck with a 1000 GPM pump and a new
Pumper with a 1000 GPM pump will fill this requirement. Therefore, it is
necessary to purchase one (1) 85' Aerial Ladder with pump, and one (1) new
1000 GPM pumper.
Therefore, if the City is to maintain its Class V rating and fulfill its
obligation to the community to provide fire protection, I would recommend
that -the City Council consider a special levy in February, 1976, to obtain
the funds needed to make these improvements.
Attached is the estimated cost to make necessary major improvements.
IMPLEMENTATION AND COST
The following figures are the cost of these major improvements.
(a) One, 1000 GPM Pumper truck $ 80,000
(b) One, Aerial Ladder Truck 225,000
(c) Remodel existing fire station 40,000
(d) Interest Charges 5,000
TOTAL: $350,000
Provided a special levy is passed'by the people in February, 1976, this could
be the implementation time table.
Fire Station Remodeling 1976
Delivery of Aerial Ladder Truck 1977
Delivery of Pumper Truck
1978
The above total cost represents a cost of.$58.0.0 for the owner of a $25,000
house.