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The Truckee Fire Protection District provides fire rescue and emergency medical services to a 125 square mile area and has 50 full-time employees and 11 volunteers. Courtesy photo |
CommentsTruckee Fire District in the Hot Seat
Jim Porter leads the charge to put them there
By Beth IngallsPublished: June 22, 2010
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An overflow crowd spills out into the hallways at the Truckee Fire Protection District board meeting on May 18. The audience is a who’s who of local government types, community activists, concerned citizens, and fire personnel from throughout the region. At issue for most is the recent incursion, and subsequent withdrawal, by Truckee Fire into the Squaw Valley Fire Department’s emergency service area. Truckee Fire Chief Bryce Keller rented a condo at the Tavern Inn next to Squaw’s fire station, parked an ambulance there, and stationed on-duty personnel at the rented digs to respond to calls for ambulance service. The move incited a turf battle and has been a sore point between all the districts in the region as Keller continues to pursue the legal creation of an exclusive operating area for Truckee Fire. This area would include Northstar and Squaw Valley, which are both outside of Truckee Fire’s legal boundaries.
Jim Porter: A Thorn in the District’s Side
The temperature in the meeting room begins to build, and no sooner does the pledge of allegiance end than the fireworks begin. Former Truckee Mayor Josh Susman, longtime resident Jody Sweet, and Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery take turns at the mic expressing various concerns and displeasures, while Truckee attorney Jim Porter readies himself for his first shot. Porter had arrived early to secure his spot in the front row directly behind the public comment chair. Considering that he will end up occupying that chair at least a dozen times throughout the night, it’s a strategic and practical choice. To say Porter’s on a mission to bring the Truckee Fire board out of the dark and into the light is an understatement. His briefcase is packed with hundreds of yellow legal pages full of handwritten notes, sandwiched between months of Truckee Fire agendas and meeting minutes.
Having been on the front lines of tense development battles for years, Porter is comfortable and even thrives in over-capacity board rooms. Now it’s his turn to speak, and he’s quite blunt. “You wouldn’t be in this pickle if Chief Keller hadn’t rented a condo at Squaw,” Porter says. “The chief has put us in this position. This is not how you do business.”
Porter has been following fire district issues for several years and has clearly become a thorn in the board’s side. He’s working tirelessly to fix what he sees as a broken system. “The Truckee Fire board is the poster child of bad government,” Porter says. “My interest in the board is to make them more transparent and responsive to the public. I’m not getting paid. Chief Keller and the fire board do all of their key business behind closed doors — falsely claiming threatened litigation — which is a violation of the Brown Act.”
Squaw Valley Fire Fires Back
After Porter exhausts his first round of public comment time, Squaw Valley Fire Chief Pete Bansen takes the floor, explaining how Truckee Fire’s move into Squaw poisoned what has always been a positive relationship, distressing him considerably. “This is not an issue between the firefighters. We got their backs, and I trust that they’ve got ours. I’ve been dragged into this, and it’s extraordinarily painful to be in this situation. There is no good reason for this. It’s ridiculous,” he said.
In a later interview, Bansen elaborates on the situation between the districts and a possible next move to help improve relations. “It would be healthy for the boards to get together and work this out,” he said. Above all, he stresses that the riff in no way compromises emergency services. “Firefighters are firefighters. When the bell rings, we are going do the right thing. Credibility is our currency,” Bansen says.
In regard to Truckee Fire’s ongoing pursuit of an exclusive operating area, Bansen believes “the most appropriate outcome would be for Truckee Fire to have an EOA (exclusive operating area) that follows the boundaries of their district. No one would have a problem with that, and it would be beneficial for them.”
Issues with the District Abound
Truckee Fire’s short-lived encroachment into Squaw, and the brouhaha it created, is just one in a string of actions by the district that have offended a range of constituents over the last few years. The Town of Truckee red-tagged the district’s temporary station in Glenshire (the former Glenshire Mutual Water District site) on April 22 because the district failed to obtain the necessary minor use and building permits prior to working on and occupying the building. Town officials maintain that the permit requirements were clearly delineated, but Chief Keller said he was unaware. As of this writing, the permits have still not been secured. In the eyes of the town, the fire district is occupying the building without town approval.
In 2008, after the approval of Hotel Avery in downtown Truckee, the district attempted to force the creation of Mello-Roos (special assessment) districts in areas around the project, citing its inability to pay for fire services for new development without the added revenue. Also that year, the district passed a Community Benefit Assessment for all Truckee property owners, which some believe was conducted improperly and possibly even illegally. Despite ongoing complaints over inadequate operating funds, Truckee Fire continues to annex new territory and embark on new building projects, like the nearly $2 million renovation and expansion of Station 95 in Glenshire. The district also recently purchased a parcel from the town at the new government center above Glenshire Drive for $1.2 million.
While these moves have angered Porter and others, the heart of the issue for him still lies with the district’s lack of openness and transparency. Unlike the Town of Truckee, the Truckee Donner PUD, and other public agencies, Truckee Fire doesn’t televise board meetings and only recently began audio taping them at Porter’s insistence. Porter also says agendas are difficult for the public to come by, and attachments for agenda items are impossible to get. Complaints about improperly or inadequately noticed meetings, actions being taken behind closed doors, and votes without much discussion abound. “The board members are upstanding citizens,” Porter says. “They just don’t know their role as a public body and they seem unable to change.” Porter is adamant that his ongoing pursuit to bring daylight to the fire district has nothing to do with the incredible firefighters and competent staff employed by the district, but he does believe that morale is slipping as a result of it and change is desperately needed.
Will Elections Bring Change?
Change might be coming in the form of the November election when the board seats held by Gary Waters, Joe Straub, and Ben Malone will be up for grabs. One possible candidate, former firefighter Victor Hernandez, has already surfaced. Hernandez was the opening speaker at the start of public comment on May 18. “I’m concerned with recent issues and bothered as a taxpayer … where are the answers?” he said. Hernandez suggested that a public workshop be scheduled soon.
In a meeting that lasted over four hours and was quite contentious at times, very little was accomplished or resolved, and some of the board members were visibly shaken and unnerved. Board member Straub, who has held his seat for more than 30 years, was downright perplexed by the whole scene. “I don’t even know who any of you are and what you’re doing here,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never even seen most of you.”
That may have been the most telling statement of the night considering that every seat in the room was full, occupied by five former mayors and a plethora of citizens and activists who have lived here just as long as Straub has.
Author’s note: Attempts to interview Truckee Fire Chief Bryce Keller for this story were unsuccessful.
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