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Home My WebLink About3.D. Planning for Future Fire Service Needs 3.D. �I i City of Shakopee MEMORANDUM � TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator Rick Coleman, Fire Chief SUBJECT: Planning for Future Fire Department Needs DATE: November 18, 2011 � � Introduction Council will be asked to devote a large portion of the workshop to discussion of two significant issues i related to the provision of fire protection that will be facing the City in the coming two to three years. I ; The first issue is daytime response. The growth of the community combined with societal, economic ; and workplace trends is making it increasingly difficult for the City to ensure an appropriate level of response to daytime fire calls with on-call staff alone. One possible means of addressing this is through � the use of duty crews, but there are other options to be explored as well. The second issue is the long-discussed third fire station to serve the southeastern portion of the City. I l i The re lacement station #2 that is currentl under construction resented an issue of how to fund the p Y p capital costs of construction. Construction of a third station will present that issue and cost, as well as new costs for staffing, equipping and operating a third station, which were not an issue with our current � project as it is simply a building replacement. Staff will have a presentation at the meeting to provide additional detail on both issues as well as an overview of possible solutions. The Council will be asked to consider prioritization of the two issues and to provide feedback and direction to stafF for next steps. � I November 22, 2011 � � � ■ Da �me Res onse p • Call load increases during the day • # of firefighters responding decreases Firefighters Per Incident January 1, 2011 to October 31, 2011 30 �,�.�� 20 �� 10 0 �—�. _ ��-, , o ° o ° o ° o 0 0 0 0 0 0 ° o ° o ° o ° o 0 0 0 0� o 0 O !"'� N M � � � p ^ � � � � O O O O O O O O r1 r1 r-I e-I �i `� `1 �"'� r l e- I N N N N Incidents Firefighters • Issue seems unlikely to go away or reverse itself ■ Da � me Res onse p • Two issues: - • Availability (employer's willingness to allow response) • Distance (if they could respond, can they get here fast enough) • 23 of current firefighters work outside the City • Of the 17 that work within the City, 6 can not leave their job, 5 are full-time City employees • Which leaves the Fire Department on a good day with 11 firefighters • Ability to hire people who work nights and would be available during the day hampered by the fact that we only offer training at night. i Da i me Res onse � p • Possible Solutions • Daytime Duty Crews pulled from paid-on-call staff • Part-Time Employees • Full-Time Employees ■ ■ -- t�on #1 ns O Da �me Res o e p p • Daytime Duty Crews pulled from paid-on-call staff • Firefighters would voluntarily sign up for shift times • Paid their $10/hr. paid-on-call wage • May need to limit # of hrs. per week worked (definition of "public employee") • Cost for 4 person duty crew 40 hours a week $87, 360.00 • Would be a difficult to fill all shifts with current firefighters — unable to guarentee service level ■ ■ n — tion 2 Da � m e Res o se p p • H i re p a rt-ti m e staff • Would need to hire 8 part-time firefighters • Would work daytime, weekday hours — 16-24 per week • Wage and benefit cost = $211,000 • Possible Cons: • Turnover • Morale i m R n— tion 3 D a e e s o s e p p • Hire full-time staff • Would need 4 full time firefighters • Work week Monday — Friday (40 hours) • Would eliminate the need for 4 part-time salaried positions from the paid-on-call staff (- $6,530) • Estimated wage & benefit cost = $238,000 Da i me Res onse p • Full-Time Training Chief • Definitely needed with a 3rd station • Likely needed with either part-time or fulf-time employees • Estimated wage & benefit cost = $100,000 • Could eliminate about $20,000 in current costs for safety training by assigning it to Training Chief — brings new cost down to $80,000 ■ ■ ■ Third Fire Station • Original Parcel acquired approximately 10 yrs. ago • City began ramping up staffing levels and fleet previously • Recently part of three-way swap with County & MnDOT • Significant tribal land purchases in the area; affects the likely build-out of the area — fewer total rooftops • Slower growth in the City may mean timeline for a third station can be adjusted • Savage & Prior Lake have met their station needs for the adjacent portions of their cities — fittle remaining chance for partnering — at least on a physical structure. ■ ■ ■ Thir Fire �tat�on -- Costs d • Construction Cost / likely debt service • Personnel Costs • wages, benefits, training, and gear • 60 — 63 paid-on-call firefighters / 20 or 21 per station • Full-time Training Chief • Operating Costs • Utilities • Custodial • Insurance • Modest Fleet Expansion • Would spread out existing fleet • 1 addition — grass rig ' ' ' — r i n Cost Thir F�re Station onst uct o d • Estimated Cost = $3 million • Plan to use same floor plan as station currently under construction, but with fewer bays • Results in less square footage, which should equal a lower cost • But ... construction costs likely to be higher in 2014 • Proposed Funding Source = Sale of Bonds • Timed so that new bond payments come on just as debt service for current headquarters station is retired • Problem -- City is only levying for approximately half of the bond payments on current headquarters station • Even if we wait for current debt to be paid off, the levy for 100% of the new debt service will be higher than the current levy for 50% of the debt service, resulting in a tax increase ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Th�rd F�re � n--Tim line #1 Stat o e • 2012 • Add 6 new paid-on-cali firefighters • 2Q13 • Add 6 new paid-on-call firefighters • Add a full-time Training Chief • Begin work with architect in 4t" quarter of 2013 � 2014 • Add 6 new paid-on-call firefighters • Advertise for bids and award construction contract by March 1 • Construction (April — December) • 2015 • 3rd Station opens January 1, 2015 i . . . . . Third Fire tat�on--T�mel�ne 1 • 2012 • + $80,000 in new personnel costs • 2013 • +$258,000 in personnel costs � 2014 • +$330,000 in personnel costs • Sell bonds for construction cost (fall) • 2015 • Personnel costs should level out, new bldg operating costs start • Interest-only payment on bonds for new station • 2016 • Partial debt service payment on new station � Last payment on headquarters station ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Thir Fire St tion --T�meline #2 d a • 2013 • Add 6 new paid-on-call firefighters • 2014 � • Add 6 new paid-on-call firefighters • Add a full-time Training Chief • Begin work with architect in 4th quarter of 2014 • 2015 • Add 6 new paid-on-call firefighters • Advertise for bids and award construction contract by March 1 • Construction (Aprif — December) • 2016 • 3rd Station opens January 1, 2016 ' ' ' —Timeline#2 Thir F�re Station d • 2013 • + $80,000 in new personnel costs • 2014 • +$258,400 in personnel costs • 2Q 15 • +$330,000 in personnel costs • Sell bonds for construction cost (fall} • 2016 • Personnei costs shouid levei out, new bldg operating costs start • Interest-only payment on bonds for new station • Last payment on headquarters station • 2017 � 1 St full debt service payment on new station Summa � Daytime Response Cost = u p to $350, 000 Third Station Cost (once open) =$250,000 in debt service $331,000 in personne{ $100,000 in operating & fleet costs TOTAL = $680, 000 Tax I m act p • Afl in today's dofiars with today's tax base • Average value home in Shakopee =$246,200 •$350,000 levy increase =$24 annually /$2 per mo. tax increase (from $876 to $898) •$700,000 levy increase =$48 annually I$4 per mo. tax increase