The Rock Community Fire Protection District will ask voters on April 8 to approve a $20 million bond issue to provide funding for capital improvements.
Rock Fire Chief Kevin Wingbermuehle said the revenue would be used to cover the cost of buying land and building a community education and safety training center; replacing a 1998 fire engine and a 2006 ladder truck; and upgrading technology to improve emergency response and reduce response times.
The measure, called Proposition Safety, would require a four-sevenths (57.14 percent) majority vote for approval.
If passed, the bond issue would not increase Rock Fire’s tax levy, but the district’s bond debt would be extended by 20 years. The district’s outstanding bond debt is set to be paid off in 2031, and if the ballot measure is approved, the debt would be extended to 2051, fire district officials said.
The district’s total tax levy is $1.2344 per $100 assessed valuation. Of that, 11.8 cents per $100 assessed valuation is for the debt service levy.
Wingbermuehle said the bond issue is needed to keep up with ever-increasing operational costs, as well as rising costs for firetrucks and other firefighting equipment.
He said Rock Fire would issue bonds in phases, with the first series to be issued this year for somewhere between $10 million and $12 million. Those funds would be used to move forward with the community education and safety training center.
He said the center would not only provide a place for Rock firefighters to train and to provide CPR classes and other community education programs, but also it would provide space for the community to use.
Wingbermuehle said the additional bond issue phases would be dictated by equipment replacement schedules and cost. In addition to the firetrucks, some of the equipment that needs to be replaced over the next few years includes heart monitors.
The district last sought a bond issue in 2013 when voters approved a $10 million bond issue.
Rock Fire covers approximately 38 square miles in Arnold and Kimmswick and portions of Imperial, Barnhart and surrounding areas.
