After many years of effort on the part of countless people here at the firehouse and in the community we finally have the opportunity to sign petitions in support of the formation of a Fire District. Many have already signed and over the next 10 months we will be updating you regularly on our progress. This is a big step for us as an organization and for the community as a whole. We want to be certain that everyone of our current members understands the process and what they can do to help.

We will be circulating 2 different petitions. One is for property owners to sign and the other is for those who are registered voters. There will not be separate petitions for Pima and Santa Cruz Counties. If you are within our proposed district and are either a property owner and/or a registered voter you may sign one or both petitions.

The petitions will be available at the fire station in Sonoita during normal business hours. In addition you can contact any current board member or District Committee member to sign a petition as well. We will also come to your home or your neighborhood and meet with you and your neighbors to answer questions and provide the petitions to sign. If you would like to set up such a meeting for your area please contact the station and let us know when and where. We will provide a representative from the fire department at your convenience.

As a member of SEESI you have the most to gain from the formation of a Fire District. For too long you have been supporting our efforts while 30-50% of the community gets a free ride. The only way to spread the cost of emergency services equitably throughout the community is to form this fire district so that everyone pays their fair share. Now is the time to take a stand in support of the fire district.

If you have questions please get in touch with us so that we can answer them to your satisfaction. The clock is ticking and time is running out. The time for sitting on the fence about this decision is past. If this community wants a fire district we must come together and get these petitions signed. The fire department has done all the leg work and we will see this process through to completion. However, you as a community member have the final say here. We need your support NOW.

Fire District Committee		SEESI Board of Directors	2005-2006
Bonnie Chambers	455-5227	Doug Ruppel, President	455-5507
Terri Clark	455-5626	Terri Clark, Vice President	455-5626
Pete Daniels	520-394-2448	Deborah Dover, Secretary	520-603-9136
Deborah Dover	520-603-9136	Jim Dettmer, Treasurer	455-5303
Mickey Parker	455-4724	Bonnie Chambers	455-5227
Doug Ruppel	455-5507	Jane Lind	455-4666
John Slattum	455-4797	Mickey Parker	455-4724
Beth Sullivan	455-5757	John Slattum	455-4797

Fire District Meeting, September 10, 2005

A community meeting to launch the petition process for the proposed Fire District was held at the Fire Station on Saturday, September 10, 2005. Following is a summary of the information presented, with special emphasis on changes that have been made in the plans for the Fire District as a result of community input to the original impact statement. It is important to note that the initial impact statement submitted to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is no longer valid; a totally new plan and budget have been developed, as summarized below.

Fire District Board of Directors: The members of the proposed Board of Directors will be: Pete Daniels, Mickey Parker, Doug Ruppel, John Slattum, and Beth Sullivan. If the Fire District is approved, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will set staggered terms of service for the Board members. As their terms expire they will be replaced by individuals elected by the registered voters in the Fire District during general elections.

Five Year Budget: Beth Sullivan, CPA, distributed the proposed five-year budget for SEESI and the Fire District. The time span covered are budget years 2005/06-2009/10. This is a very conservative budget that assumes:

Revenues:

• The Board is committed to keeping the tax rate at $1.50 per $100 of assessed valuation (not market value); any increases in tax revenue in the budget are due to anticipated growth and increases in County assessments.
• There will be an initial decrease in donations when the Fire District is in place, but donations will gradually increase in future years.
• No grant funding is included in the budget, since grants are difficult to predict and usually must be used for restricted purposes.
• The budget anticipates SEESI dues income for 2005/06 and half of 2006/07. Fire District funding would start with the first one-half assessments in the fiscal year ending May, 2007.

Selected Expenses:

• Liability insurance coverage has been increased from $5 million to $10 million effective with the 2006/07 budget year.
• Projected building expenses include $10,000 to provide electricity for the Elgin site in 2006/07; $6,000 for upgrading the septic system at the Sonoita station in 2007/08; $40,000 for a well and 30,000-gallon water storage tank at the Sonoita station and $40,000 for a well and 30,000-gallon water storage tank at the Elgin site in 2008/09; and $65,000 to provide living quarters at the Sonoita station in 2009/10.
• Personnel costs include staffing the Sonoita station 12 hours a day/ 7 days a week.
• Equipment costs include replacing one freightliner fire engine in 2007/08 and one brush truck in 2008/09.
• All other expenditures in the budget are based on actual 2004/05 expenditures adjusted a minimum of 2% for inflation. Fuel cost increases are projected at 20%.

Copies of the proposed five year budget can be obtained at the Fire Station.

Highlights of Changes Made to the Original Fire District Impact Statement and Responses to Community Concerns:

Ambulance service : The Fire District Committee does not feel that we can afford to fund our own ambulance service during the next five years, and keep the tax rate at $1.50 per $100 of assessed valuation. State of Arizona requirements for ambulance service mandates a minimum of 2 vehicles/equipment plus 2 EMTs on staff 24hrs. per day/7 days a week. Once a solid Fire District is established, and if the tax base continues to increase due to growth in the community, it may be possible to support ambulance service.

24/7 Fire Station : Even though the Fire Department’s call load has increased significantly, the call volume is not high enough to justify the expense of 24/7 coverage. Labor costs would more than double due to the requirements to pay shift differentials. And, sleeping quarters would need to be constructed at the Sonoita station. The proposed budget does include sleeping quarters construction in 2009/10, in anticipation of the need for this type of coverage in the future. Currently SEESI volunteers are available to respond to calls after 7 p.m., and we anticipate that we will continue to have dedicated volunteers even after the Fire District is approved.

Elgin Station : The budget no longer includes plans to construct a station on the Elgin site. By providing electricity and water at this site by 2009 it should be possible to lower the ISO rating (which affects homeowner insurance rates) for properties located outside of the 5 mile radius of the Sonoita station. In the future, the Board may decide to build a “super garage” in the Elgin site to house equipment, so that volunteers who live closer to the Elgin site could respond more rapidly to incidents in that part of the district. If the Board is successful in obtaining grant funding to cover currently budgeted expenses, it may be possible to accelerate development of the Elgin site.

Rural Metro : The Board explored the possibility of contracting with Rural Metro to provide fire/emergency service. Rural Metro responded that they would not consider contracting with us unless we were a Fire District (to provide a guaranteed source of income), and that we are too small a district for them to consider providing services.

Pima County Tax Collection: Pima County has agreed to have Santa Cruz County supervise the Fire District, if approved. The fire district tax for Pima County residents will be included in their regular property tax bill. Upon receipt of the funds Pima County will transfer the money to Santa Cruz County, which will in turn fund the Fire District.

Debt : The proposed budget does not include incurring any long-term debt with the possible exception of vehicle replacement. As vehicles are replaced, leasing will be considered. Currently, however, leasing is not an option due to the high number of miles that are put on the vehicles.

Assessing Developers : If the Fire District is approved one of the first actions the Board will take is to adopt the National Fire Code. This code provides Fire Districts with the right to review all building plans within its district, and allows the district to require developers to build water storage and install hydrants. The Board is committed to insuring that developers pay a fair share of the infrastructure costs for the Fire District. Plans for individual dwellings will also be reviewed to insure that there is adequate ingress and egress for fire protection.

Future of SEESI : If the Fire District is approved there will be a transition period during which SEESI assets will be transferred to the district. After the transition period SEESI, Inc. will cease to exist.

Meeting attendees were then given the opportunity to sign the Fire District petitions. Everyone unable to attend the meeting is encouraged to contact members of the Fire District Committee (see contact information on p. 1) for answers to questions, to obtain additional information, or to host a meeting in their neighborhood. Or, if you are ready to sign the petitions, stop by the Fire Station to do so.

Questions Recently Asked about the Fire Department

Doesn’t the Fire Department have a well? No, The station is on a community water cooperative. The cooperative supplies water to all the structures in a two block area on the north side of Highway 82. When the department has to use a lot of water, it affects the water pressure of everyone else served by the cooperative. If lightning strikes the pump of the community well; the pump may be down for some time. The department has permission to use the County water supply at the county buildings, but the department does not have its own well. See the article above for plans to change this situation.

Will I have to pay both SEESI dues and taxes? Absolutely not! As soon as the Fire District begins to receive the District Tax, you will no longer have to pay dues. You will be paying the Fire District Tax ---no more dues.

Continuation of Our 4 th Fire Chief—Wess Chambers, 1991-1998, by Bonnie Chambers

In our last newsletter we brought the history of the Fire Department and the time of Chief Chambers up to May 1993. This article completes Wess Chambers’ term as Fire Chief.

In August of 1993 the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) from Phoenix inspected and tested our Fire Department to see if an 8 fire rating was appropriate. The department’s training records as well as a fire drill was required. The Fire Department passed all aspects of the test, and the ISO rating was changed to an 8 for residential structures within a 5 mile radius of the station. To reduce the rating for commercial structures would require the department to be capable of pumping 200 gallons of water a minute for two hours, which equates to 24,000 gallons of water. The water sources and capability of the department to transport that quantity of water will prevent the department from reducing the rating for commercial property until sometime in the future.

In October of 1993 Chief Chambers approached the SEESI Board to fund a new structure engine to replace the 1969 engine the department owned. He recommended that the new engine and an existing engine, number 826, be equipped with compressed air foam which reduces water usage by two-thirds. The compressed air foam makes the hose much lighter and requires less manpower to move it around. Foam is a much better fire retardant than plain water, and can be used as a fire barrier around structures. In addition, a structure can be coated with foam ahead of advancing fires.

The Board approved the recommendations and began a fund raising drive to pay for the new and modified engines. By February of 1994 $60,000 had been raised, and a contract was awarded to Canyon State Emergency Services of Phoenix to modify Engine 826, and provide a new E-One Engine with compressed air foam capability. The total cost was approximately $178,000.

Engine 826 was modified and returned to the department in May. The new E-One Engine arrived in August, and the department began to train the firefighters on the new system. The Board made a down payment of $107,157 leaving a balance of $77,000.

The department needed more space for training, and to provide for a helicopter landing pad for use in medical emergencies. Mrs. Beck again came to the aid of the community by leasing us one acre of land immediately east of the Fire Department for $1.00 per year.

In November of 1994 the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) declared the model of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBAs) used by the department. to be unsafe, and required that they be replaced. New SCBAs were ordered at a cost of $19,127.

Many training exercises were held during the period of 1993 to 1998. These include a Disaster Drill, and Fire Fighters attending the State Fire School in Mesa, AZ. Again one of the most fun exercises was held at the Santa Rita Abbey. The scenarios included the Sisters of the Abbey as make- believe-victims. The Department had to control an imaginary fire as well as rescue and treat the victims.

In April of 1996 the fire departments of Tubac, Rio RIco, and Sonoita burned down five (5) model homes in Rio Rico for training. This exercise took place over two weekends, and allowed the Departments to learn to work together, and much cross-training took place as neither Rio Rico or Tubac had compressed air foam. Teams entered the burning buildings in rescue efforts, while others performed the fire suppression. A really great live training exercise!!

Dr. Jud Marston retired as our Emergency Medical System Captain in May of 1996, and Laura Sink was promoted to Captain to fill the vacancy. Dr. Marston had been in charge of the EMS since 1990, and had made our medical team a first class unit.

A new rescue vehicle was now needed, as the old one was not equipped to handle and support some of the new medical equipment now possessed by the department. The new vehicle was ordered through Canyon State Emergency Services, and Cholla Ford, Darrel Srader’s dealership in Benson, AZ, supplied the chassis.

The new rescue vehicle (830) arrived in April. At that time a decision was made to keep the 830 in the station instead of having the EMTs taking it home at night. This was due to some of the new medical equipment on the vehicle requiring electrical power to keep it fully charged. Also, the new vehicle had a diesel engine which would be much harder to start on real cold nights.

The future of SEESI was discussed by the Board in November of 1997 and the establishment of a Fire District was discussed. Other options were also discussed; however, it was decided to continue as a volunteer organization.

The SEESI Board selected Captain Ed Schaeffer to become the Fire Chief when Chief Chambers retired. Sparky Sparks was selected to become Assistant Fire Chief.

Chief Wess Chambers retired as Fire Chief in March of 1998, but remained with the department as a volunteer fireman and EMT.

In closing Wess Chambers would like to add a few words about his time with the Department:

As you have learned from the last two newsletters there was great progress made in the Sonoita-Elgin Volunteer Fire Department from 1989 through 1998. The progress was due to the hard working volunteers, FIREMEN, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS, DISPATCHERS, SEESI LADIES, and THE SEESI BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Their hard work, dedication to the Department, and contributions of much time, made this progress so remarkable. However, none of this would have occurred without the support of the Sonoita-Elgin community who stood behind the Department with money and encouragement. All of this made my job so much easier!! I want to THANK EVERYONE for their help, support, and encouragement. It totally was a COMMUNITY EFFORT. I know that the current members of the Department, the SEESI Board, and the Future Fire District will continue to receive outstanding support from this Community. AGAIN,THANK YOU ALL.

Fire Department Training and Community Outreach Update

In August, several of our personnel attended the 13 th annual Southwest Trauma Conference in Tucson. The conference stresses new ideas and concepts in trauma, as well as strengthens previous knowledge. Lectures attended included weapons of mass destruction, hypothermia, electrocution, pediatric assessment, concepts in shock, and preserving life while protecting a crime scene.

We currently have three volunteer firefighters enrolled in Whetstone Fire Department’s 140 hour EMT class. They will finish their class in November. Four Firefighters have gone to Phoenix for Fire School. One is to study Extraction, two will study Engineering, and one is enrolled in Basic Firefighting.

The fire department has a busy schedule in September and October. It starts with the Santa Cruz County Labor Day Rodeo. This is followed by Arizona Fire School in Mesa, the County Fair, and the National Fire Prevention week activities in the local schools. We will also be providing stand-by coverage for the two weekends of the Grass Ridge Trials. After last year’s success, Sonoita will host another Mini Trauma Life Support class. Finally October ends with a Basic Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification refresher class. This 32 hour class is required by the Arizona Department of Health Services for all EMT’s to re-certify

News Credits: Editing and layout: Alison Bunting and Bonnie Chambers