Title
Interlocal Agreement for Transition of Services for Fire Station 19 and Forest Park (B)
This item recommends that the City Commission approve the Interlocal Agreement Between the City of Gainesville, Florida and Alachua County, Florida for the transition of services for Fire Station 19 and Forest Park.
Explanation
At the Joint City and County Commission meeting on August 10, 2015, staff were directed to develop an implementation plan for the transition of fire rescue services in the area of Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) Station 19 from the County to the City and to include development of an operation and maintenance plan by the City for Forest Park, which is adjacent to Fire Station 19.
During their November 10, 2015 meeting, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) received a presentation from Alachua County Fire Rescue Chief Northcutt which included the draft language for an Interlocal Agreement which has been reviewed by the law offices of both the City and the County. The agreement specifies:
1. The suspension of payments under the Fire Services Assistant Agreement (FSAA) Section 5 from October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2017;
2. That effective October 1, 2017 the City will be assigned fire rescue responsibility for the SW 20th Avenue area and the FSAA agreement will become compensable. The GFR unit assigned to the area will be recognized as a compensable unit. If Engine 19 has not been relocated it will continue service but not be recognized as a compensable unit;
3. That the County maintains ownership of Station 19 and agrees to explore the co-location of units; and,
4. That ownership and responsibility for Forest Park will be transferred to the City on October 1, 2017.
The BOCC directed County staff to send the agreement to the City for first approval. City staff recommends the City Commission approve the agreement and forward it to the BOCC for approval.
Fiscal Note
The fiscal impact of the proposed transition plan is based on the suspension of payments in the FSAA for a two year period. Per the FSAA, the City has regularly been paying the County $350,000 or more annually. Over the last year, the impact of the City’s Squad 2 has significantly reduced payments to the County. In FY 15, consistent with the FSAA, it is expected the County will have paid the City approximately $102,500. In terms of FSAA payments, this represents a net financial impact to the City of $450,000 (reduction in payments of $350,000 plus over $100,000 in revenue) in FY 15.
The FY 16 budget adopted by the City Commission doesn’t budget FSAA payments to the County or revenue to the City, which is consistent with the proposed temporary suspension of FSAA payments. In FY 17, the City will need to fully fund the positions supported by the SAFER grant that helped fund staffing for Squad 2. The expectation is that Squad 2 staffing will be used to help staff an engine as the fire rescue service responsibility transitions to the City. Expected costs for maintenance of Forest Park are approximately $150,000 annually. Funding for operation and maintenance of Forest Park will need to be provided in the City’s FY 18 budget.
Recommendation
The Commission approve the Interlocal Agreement and authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement subject to approval by the City Attorney as to form and legality.