SEEKING A FIRE STATION SITE - STILL

We'd like to know what the point was for tax payers funding a 2016 Fire Station study. Why in the world did we pay a company out of England to tell us where to put fire stations when our local fire department will end up doing what they wanted to do from the very beginning????

ESTRELLA'S FIRE NEEDS

In December 2014, I started tracking fire station needs in Goodyear and Estrella. Sadly, a residents' home burned down in Estrella on Easter Morning in 2016. In June, within a matter of hours, 300 hundred residents signed my petition asking Goodyear to prioritize funding for another Estrella fire station.

You can take a look at the reporting and blogging here to understand the progression of fire station needs throughout the City of Goodyear. Estrella is not the only community in need of additional fire services. West Goodyear has been identified as in need of another station, too.

This upcoming Monday night, Goodyear's Fire Chief will recommend to Council to build the much needed additional Estrella fire station at the original site it designated and dedicated - Rainbow Valley and Willis Road.

Why are we flabbergasted about this?

Because Goodyear residents paid roughly $53,000 for a Fire Station Study showing the next Estrella station would be more effective at a location a few blocks away - Estrella Parkway and Willis Road.

During all of the ongoing talks at the Goodyear level, fire employees told us response times in Estrella can take 17+ minutes in the southern portion of the community to CantaMia. The fire study confirmed that.

Newland Communities is constructing Lucero, near Star Tower - a community of 1,250 homes your Goodyear lawmakers approved prior to building an additional fire station as I requested at a City meeting. Fire services are even more necessary than they were when I started voicing concerns in 2014. Estrella is a linear community stretching resources north and south and out to F.I.N.S., a hiking and biking trail near Westar.

TRIGGERS AND THRESHOLDS

We found City Council meeting minutes stating response times in Goodyear were at 4 minutes or less. That was roughly 2007-ish. Over the past two years, we've shown the confusion at the City level as to whether it's now 6 minutes, 8 minutes, or as Estrella documents show... well over 15 minutes.

"In the south portion of Goodyear, average Effective Response Force or response times within 9 minutes are at 0%. The average ERF fire response time in the total area is at 17 minutes and 51 seconds." The ORH fire study report states, "While the performance impacts are notable city-wide, the local effects can be more substantial. As the city grows to the west and the south, 'new' incidents in these areas would receive the longest response times." Link

BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN

In Monday night's staff report, it appears a fire "team" has gone back to the two potential locations for the Estrella fire station.

Location #1: Rainbow Valley Road and Willis Road (Station No. 804) - Identified by Goodyear Fire

• This is the location the Goodyear Fire Department originally wanted to build Estrella's 2nd Fire Station
• March 5, 2018, Goodyear Fire will recommend this site still be the location of the next Estrella Fire Station
• The Site Cost is $1,399,573
  

Location #2: Estrella Parkway and Willis Road (Station No. 801)

• Identified by foreign company's 2016 Fire Study and  funded by taxpayers
• The Site Cost is $1,841,439
  

In addition to saving half a million dollars, a compelling reason Goodyear Fire wants the station be built on the original site location is due to convenience.

"...the team evaluated turning movements to and from the site, access to the frontage and surrounding roadways, new short-term and long-term development of the area and proximity to other city facilities and infrastructure." Goodyear Staff Report

MY TWO CENTS

I have no problem with building a fire station at either Estrella Parkway or Rainbow Valley roads. Our local fire station should have been the leader on this... rather than a taxpayer funded study by a foreign company.

How much time did our city waste with the study? Meanwhile, housing permits continue to be handed out for more growth and strain on fire response times and services.

Estrella's next fire station was to open Summer of 2019. We'll be watching Monday night to see if this is still the case.

Make no mistake, this station is being built because the residents started the process to move up the funding timeline.

"... and also I want to compliment the citizens. They weighed in on this, made a little noise, told us how important it is, and that helps council make decisions, too. It’s a team effort and thank you very much." ~MAYOR GEORGIA LORD, January 23, 2017