The Durango Fire Protection District is starting a conversation about what it would take to construct a new fire station in Three Springs and what funding options are on the table to expand the department’s resources.
At a Wednesday meeting with City Council, DFPD officials voiced their need for additional funding for the new project and presented ways to raise that money, either through an increase in city sales taxes or property taxes. But, as city manager José Madrigal explained, City Council was not making any formal decisions on whether it would approve the funding.
“For (DFPD) to be able to impose a property tax or a sales tax, they need the city's permission to be on a city ballot,” Madrigal said.
DFPD has a contract with the city of Durango to provide services through 2028. But Fire Chief Randy Black said recent growth of the Three Springs neighborhood and realignment of U.S. Highway 550 south of Durango have put strain on the fire department’s ability to respond to emergencies. Building a new station in Three Springs would solve that problem, he said, but voters must first agree to fund it.
“We can improve our response times to the Grandview/Three Springs area substantially,” Black wrote in an email to the Herald. “Our data shows this area already should have a paid station based on call volume and demand for service.”
Adding a new station with 20 personnel, two new fire engines, a brush truck and an ambulance would improve the department’s ability respond to the Florida Mesa, Highway 550 south, Grandview and U.S. Highway 160 areas. It would also improve DFPD’s ability to respond to emergencies through its 325-square mile district, Black said.
The city of Durango plans to notify the county that City Council is considering bringing the issue to voters and to hold space for it on the November ballot. The notification, which will be conveyed through Madrigal signing an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the county, must be done before the city can present the measure to voters.
However, City Council has not made any decisions as to whether it will approve DFPD’s request to put a tax question on the November ballot. If approved, the specifics of the ballot language will not be decided until August, Madrigal said. If they move ahead with a ballot question, City Council would decide whether it is a sales tax or a property tax they put before voters.
“This is just to let the county know that we anticipate that there's going to be a city ballot measure in the election in November,” Madrigal said. “So it just allows them to get prepared.”
Madrigal said he trusts Black’s and DFPD’s judgment when it comes to the department’s ability to respond to the growing needs of the district. Durango and many of the surrounding communities within DFPD’s jurisdiction are on the urban-wildland interface, and wildfires are becoming more of a threat. Giving the department the tools it needs to keep the community safe is important, Madrigal said.
“If Chief Black says that it’s something that needs to be done for them to continue to provide quality services for the city of Durango, I wholeheartedly agree with his recommendation and am supportive of it,” Madrigal said.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
