Fire and Emergency Services Consolidation Feasibility Study

Posted At:Thu, May 1, 2025 4:23 PMSealed Bid Process:NoPrivate Bid:No

In cooperation with Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County (Central Fire), Scotts Valley Fire Protection District (Scotts Valley Fire) and the Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Cruz County (LAFCO), the City of Santa Cruz (City) as the lead agency is accepting proposals from qualified consultants (Proposer) to perform a feasibility study of consolidating fire and emergency services between the City, Central Fire, and Scotts Valley Fire (together the Agencies).

The City will be the party to enter into a professional services agreement with the selected proposer. The City will have a separate funding agreement with Central Fire, Scotts Valley Fire and the Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Cruz County (LAFCO).

The intent of the RFP process is to identify a qualified consultant that can offer the highest quality service at a reasonable overall cost to the agencies.

SANTA CRUZ FIRE DEPARTMENT (CITY)

History and Background:

The City of Santa Cruz was incorporated in 1866 and formed its current charter in 1948. It is governed under a Council/Manager form of government. A directly elected Mayor and six district elected Council members set policy for the City of Santa Cruz and a City Manager serves as chief administrator of those policies. The City of Santa Cruz is located on the coast, 75 miles south of San Francisco on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay. It encompasses 15.8 square miles with cultural and ethnic diversity among its population of 65,000. Santa Cruz is part of the National Marine Sanctuary and is a popular tourist destination owing to its beaches, surf culture, and historical landmarks.

The City of Santa Cruz provides a full range of municipal services and facilities including fire protection, law enforcement, a recreational wharf, public golf course, over thirteen hundred acres of open space, full beach services, refuse management, and water and wastewater utilities. The City of Santa Cruz is also host to University of California Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Harbor, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park.

100+ years after being organized as a paid fire department, Santa Cruz Firefighters respond to over 9,000 emergency calls per year, from four stations with at least 15 firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It is with this rich historical heritage, that the Santa Cruz Fire Department proudly celebrated its 100th Anniversary as a professional fire department during the month of October 1994. The Department continuously strives to improve the services provided to the citizens and visitors of Santa Cruz, and looks forward to another century of community wide, all risk protection services provided by our highly motivated and professional firefighters.

In 2015 the UCSC Fire Department consolidated with the Santa Cruz Fire Department. The consolidation increased our coverage to include the university campus and added another station and nine more firefighters to our department.

Today, the Santa Cruz Fire Department includes four fire stations, one lifeguard headquarters and an administration building. Our frontline apparatus includes four Type 1 engines, one Type 3 engine, and one ladder truck. Additionally, we have 25 overhead, lifeguard, and other specialty vehicles in our fleet. Currently the department has over 60 staff members which includes firefighter/paramedics, engineers, captains, battalion chiefs, fire prevention staff, division chiefs, a fire chief, training staff, a marine safety captain, marine safety officer and administrative staff. Additionally, we have about 70 seasonal lifeguards.

Emergency Services Provided:

• Structure Fire Suppression
• Wildland Fire Suppression
• Emergency Medical Services (Paramedic)
• Hazardous Materials Incident Response
• Marine Rescue/Lifeguard Services
• Technical Rescue

Fire Station Locations:

Fire Administration - 230 Walnut Ave (built (1936)

Station 1 - 711 Center St (built 1940)
Station 2 - 1103 Soquel Ave (built 1947)
Station 3 - 335 Younglove Ave (built 1954)
Station 4 - 701 Chinquapin Rd @ UCSC (built 1975)

Lifeguard Headquarters - #1 Municipal Wharf (built in 1973)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Rob Oatey
Fire Chief, City of Santa Cruz
Email: roatey@santacruzca.gov
Phone: (831) 420-5 280

CENTRAL FIRE DISTRICT OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY (CENTRAL FIRE)

History and Background:

In 1987, the Central Fire District was created from the consolidation of the Capitola, Live Oak and Soquel Fire Districts.

In 1986, Aptos Fire District and La Selva Beach Fire District also consolidated, to become the Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District. By 2018, Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District and Central Fire Protection District entered into a Shared Services Agreement, combining services with their Administrative and Prevention/ Community Risk Reduction divisions.

In February of 2021, Central Fire Protection District and Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District consolidated into Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County. Central Fire District serves the communities of Aptos, Capitola, La Selva Beach, Live Oak, Rio Del Mar, and Soquel. The resident population is approximately 90,500, with a seasonal influx during the summer, and covers an area of 55 square miles. The District responds to requests for service for fire, water rescue, emergency medical services, hazardous materials calls, and assorted alarms.

Central Fire operates seven fire stations, an Administrative Office & Community Risk Reduction Division, Training Division and Fleet Services Facility. The District has several robust program areas including Community Risk Reduction, Community Education, Emergency Medical Services, Water Rescue, Fire Investigation, Hazardous Materials, Urban Search and Rescue, and Training.

Central Fire has a publicly elected Board of Directors consisting of five members who are elected to four-year, staggered terms.

Emergency Services Provided:

• Structure Fire Suppression
• Wildland Fire Suppression
• Emergency Medical Services (Paramedic)
• Hazardous Materials Incident Response
• Aquatic Rescue Response
• Technical Rescue

Fire Station Locations:

Station 1 930 17 ^th Avenue (major remodel 1997)

Station 2 3445 Thurber Lane (built 2000)

Station 3 4747 Soquel Drive (built 1956)

Station 4 405 Capitola Ave (built 1967)

Station 5 6934 Soquel Drive (built 1967)

Station 6 300 Bonita Drive (built 1973)

Station 7 312 Estrella Ave (built 1969)

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Jason Nee
Fire Chief, Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County
Email: jason.nee@centralfiresc.org

Phone: (831)479-6842

SCOTTS VALLEY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT (SCOTTS VALLEY FIRE)

History and Background:

Located 70 miles south of San Francisco, 28 miles Southwest of San Jose, and with a contiguous southern border to the City of Santa Cruz, California, the Scotts Valley Fire Protection District (Scotts Valley Fire) was organized in 1942 as the Eighth Area Fire District and later established as the Scotts Valley Fire Protection District in 1958. Organized decades before the City of Scotts Valley was incorporated, the legacy-District served the Scotts Valley and Branciforte communities, and the surrounding neighborhoods of unincorporated Santa Cruz County. Today, the district serves approximately 24,000 residents in a 30-square mile area, and includes the City of Scotts Valley and unincorporated neighborhoods of Pasatiempo, Branciforte, Glennwood, and Mission Springs.

As an independent special district operating under the Fire Protection District Law of 1987, the community elects five (5) Directors (at-large) who serve a four (4) year term to govern the organization. The Board hires a fire chief to serve as its general manager to lead and manage the day-today operations and the performance of the organization. Scotts Valley Fire levies its own taxes and fees to fund the services they provide. Scotts Valley Fire has an annual budget of $13 million, and is appropriated through two major funds: General Fund, and Zone A/Capital Budget. Scotts Valley Fire is also the lead administrative agency for Santa Cruz County’s hazardous materials response team which requires the adoption and management of its $300,000 annual budget.

In 2023, the Branciforte Fire District was consolidated with Scotts Valley Fire. The consolidation increased the service area by nine (9) square miles and approximately 1,700 residents.

Scotts Valley Fire is an all-risk agency that responds to a diverse type of emergency and non-emergency incident types. They are an advanced life support (ALS) medical first-response (non-transport) provider with nearly all of its staff being licensed paramedics. Scotts Valley Fire has twenty-five (25) emergency responders with a minimum daily staffing of seven (7) per day. In addition, Scotts Valley Fire employs a fire chief, deputy fire marshal, 2.5 civilian administrative personnel and 12 paid call firefighters. In 2024 Scotts Valley Fire responded to 2,432 incidents – a 4% increase from the previous year.

Emergency Services Provided:

• Structure Fire Suppression
• Wildland Fire Suppression
• Emergency Medical Services (Paramedic)
• Auto Extrication
• Hazardous Materials Incident Response
• Technical Rescue

The service area ranges from suburban density to rural wildland areas with limited ingress and egress. Scotts Valley Fire also serves State Route 17 which connects Santa Cruz and the Bay Area. FEMA has determined this area to be “relatively high-risk” on their disaster index, and the State has identified the region as “high risk” for wildland fire risk.

SCO 1 / Headquarters: 7 Erba Lane, Scott Valley CA

SCO 2 Glennwood: 251 Glennwood Drive, Scotts Valley CA

SCO 3 Branciforte: 2711 Branciforte Drive, Santa Cruz CA

• The 7 Erba Lane Station will be replaced by a Fire Station at 6000 La Madrona Drive once a funding source is realized. Scotts Valley Fire has run multiple funding measures but all have failed by a narrow margin.

Contact Information:

Mark Correira
Fire Chief, Scotts Valley Fire Protection District

Email: mcorreira@scottsvalleyfire.com
Phone: (831) 438-0211