New North Natomas Fire Station In Works

Natomas residents have a long history of working and advocating for our fire protection. When I was elected to the city council in 2001 North Natomas had a small fire station in the county area known as the Panhandle, and the city council had no plans to build another in the near future. This was unacceptable, so I worked alongside residents and fire fighters and in June, 2005 we celebrated the grand opening of Fire Station No. 30 in North Natomas. It is a state of the art facility fully equipped to serve Natomas residents.

After nearly two years of community meetings, earlier this year I led the City Council vote to spend $9.6 million to build a new fire station west of Interstate 5 at El Centro Road and Arena Boulevard. The city is moving as quickly as possible to build the station. Within the next month the city will choose both the architect and the contractor for the fire station, and we are on schedule to open the fire station by Summer 2012. The new fire station will be a two story facility fully equipped with the best technology and equipment.

The new fire station is one piece of the city’s commitment to fire service. I have voted continuously on increases to the operating and capital budget to the fire department. In the last five years the city’s budget for our fire department increased 34% or $25.7 million, totaling $100.1 million. Also we are placing additional fire fighters into our neighborhoods. Since 2004 the number of sworn fire fighters has increased from 539 to 568. And even in difficult budget times like today, we were able to balance the budget without laying off any firefighters.

I want to thank the community members who have been committed to our fire protection over the last several years that I have been in office. Whether it was weekend meetings to learn about the city’s finances or walking door-to-door to generate support for building the fire station, it was working together that we have succeeded in building Natomas into a great community.