The Cedar Hill Fire Protection District plans to ask voters on Aug. 4 to approve an $11.6 million bond issue that Chief Mick Fischer says would provide funds to replace the district’s aging equipment, provide more training opportunities and hire more firefighters.
Fischer said the Cedar Hill Fire board will likely vote at its February meeting to place the issue on the ballot.
Voters rejected the same bond issue, called Proposition Fire, in the April 8 election by just 14 votes. The issue requires a four-sevenths majority for passage.
The official ballot language reads: “Shall the Cedar Hill Fire Protection District issue its general obligation bonds in the amount of $11,600,000 for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, extending, renovating, improving, replacing, furnishing and equipping fire stations and related facilities; acquiring and equipping life-saving and firefighting vehicles; and acquiring emergency rescue, fire protection and firefighting apparatus and auxiliary equipment to carry out the objectives and purposes of the district, improve emergency services and reduce response times?”
If Prop Fire passes, the district’s current tax levy of $1.2261 per $100 of assessed valuation would likely be raised by 29 cents, Fischer said, to $1.5161.
Passage of the bond issue would cost the owner of a house valued at $200,000 by the county assessor’s office about $110 more per year, increasing from about $466 to $576 annually.
However, Fischer said, the improvements the bond issue proceeds would fund could result in a better Insurance Services Office rating for the district, which, in turn, could lead to lower homeowner’s insurance premiums for residents.
“Our hope is that, if we can get this passed, we’ll secure purchasing the equipment and supplies that we need for the next 20 years, and that we’ll be able to make the building modifications that we need to make, as well as build a training center,” Fischer said at the first meeting of the Citizens for Cedar Hill Fire committee on Jan. 22. “In return, we should be able to lower the ISO rating, which, in theory, should lower insurance premiums to homeowners.”
Equipment
Fischer said about 90 percent, or $10.3 million, of the bond issue proceeds would be used to replace aging equipment, such as breathing apparatus, rescue tools, pumpers and tankers over the span of 20 years.
The district currently transfers $275,000 from the general fund annually into a pumper and equipment replacement budget, but Fischer said that annual supplement will run out by 2037 if the district does not seek additional funding.
By 2046, the district would be operating at a $7.2 million deficit, Fischer said, if the equipment were replaced on the recommended schedule.
If Prop Fire is approved, the $275,000 would be reallocated to the general fund for other needs, such as hiring more firefighters.
Currently, the district provides 24-hour emergency response service and has three firefighters at Station 1, 6766 Cedar Hill Road, and two firefighters at Station 2, 8800 Hwy. 30, as well as at Station 3, 8790 Byrnesville Road. Fischer said he’d ideally like to have three firefighters at each of the stations at all times.
“What we’re faced with when (Station 2 and 3 firefighters) pull up, is that we can’t send one guy inside a house fire,” Fischer said. “They have to figure out what to do until extra people get there. Where, at least, if we have three guys on each truck, they can start an attack right away.”
Fischer said the district also wants to improve the bunk rooms for the firefighters. All the fire stations were built for volunteer firefighters, so the living quarters are cramped, he said.
With a portion of the bond money, the current office space at Station 1 would be transformed into a training area for on-duty firefighters. The existing living quarters and training area on the second floor would be remodeled into more private bunk rooms. Station 2 and Station 3 would get the same treatment, with the communal bunk rooms remodeled for more privacy, Fischer said.
The district also plans to spend about $2 million to add a pole barn for storage and maintenance to the property at Station 1 near the corner of Hwy. BB and Cedar Hill Road. Fischer said that would allow crews to work on their trucks in a more spacious environment. Crews currently work on maintenance inside the cramped garage at Station 1.
“We’re fortunate enough that we have the guys who are capable of doing that (maintenance), and it saves us a ton of money, Fischer said. “We want to keep doing that; we just need a better area to do it, as well as storage.”
Fischer said the district also plans to build a training facility on Station 1 property. That facility would be similar to the one the De Soto Rural and Hillsboro fire protection districts own, which provides space to simulate house fires in a realistic environment.
The 3,000-square-foot facility, which cost $600,000, is made of shipping containers stacked three stories high.
Fischer said firefighters currently travel outside the district, to Eureka, De Soto or Festus, to undergo training.
This means they’re farther away from the district in the event there’s an emergency, and it also means firefighters are spending more time traveling to other areas when they could be training, he said.
Next steps
The Citizens for Cedar Hill Fire committee will meet at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month at Station 1 until the election. The next meeting will be Feb. 19. The meetings are open to the public.
Fischer said he is also planning a town hall for this summer, in June or July, that will allow residents the chance to learn more about Prop Fire.
For more information about Prop Fire, click on the Bond Election Info tab on the district’s website, cedarhillfire.com.