Supervisors Agree to Negotiate For New Lafayette Fire Station

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, acting as the Consolidated Fire District board of directors, unanimously agreed on Tuesday to enter into negotiations with the Moraga Orinda Fire District to purchase land and build a new fire station in west Lafayette.

There was one important condition: the board wants to defer Con Fire’s share of the operating costs until the district can recover from its current financial meltdown.

Con Fire chief Daryl Louder recommended the partnership to the board, which turned down a similar proposal in May. But this time, the board, facing the possible cessation of Lafayette from Con Fire, and the subsequent loss of a large portion of Con Fire revenue, chose to come to the bargaining table with MOFD. By waiving the operating costs of a new station for five years, or whatever time table the districts can negotiate, Con Fire can continue to try and emerge from its financial quagmire.

Since Con Fire closed Station 16 earlier this year, in addition to a number of other stations throughout its jurisdiction—including Walnut Creek, Clayton, Martinez, and Pittsburg--western Lafayette has faced long response times for fire and medical emergencies. Lafayette officials and residents say they are paying an unfair share of tax money to a fire district that only provides them with one station, and leaves a major portion of their city relatively unprotected.

City Manager Steve Falk used a Zen-like analogy to board members to explain his support for the joint operation of the proposed Station 46 at 1035 Lorinda Lane.

“You have a dam in front of you,” Falk said. “There are six holes, all leaking. Each hole is a different size, and you need a cork for each one. One may require a bigger cork than another. But in this instance, a cork has appeared. It may not be the cork that fills the biggest hole, but it will fill at least one of your holes, and allow you to move forward and look at the other five.”

“The closure of (Station 16) has produced longest response time of any of the closures,” said city councilman Brandt Andersson. “We need to have fire services in western Lafayette and we’ll do what we need to do to get those. This site is unique and on the border. There’s not going to be another site like that available in our lifetimes.”

Andresson is part of the Emergency Response Task Force that is examining the possibility of severing ties with Con Fire and joining MOFD, with the idea of building Station 46.

“This is a win-win for both of our agencies,” said supervisor Candace Anderson, who represents Lafayette. “These are the partnerships we need to look at with other districts in our county.”

“This is a great opportunity,” said board chair Federal Glover, whose district includes Pittsburg, the latest fire station to be closed. “But the devil is in the details.”