The Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) isn’t ceding its fire services to the county without looking for workarounds as it continues to discuss ways to improve emergency response times.
San Luis Obispo County and the Five Cities Fire Authority will enter a contract starting on Jan. 1, 2025—if the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission approves it—to provide Oceano fire protection and emergency services through the Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande fire stations. Response times would be faster if the county could staff the Oceano Fire Station, but it’s in need of repair.
With a community divided over the upcoming change, OCSD General Manager Peter Brown informed the board during its Aug. 14 meeting that while adding a third special fire tax on the ballot likely wouldn’t pass (the first two attempts to maintain fire services in Oceano were unsuccessful), the area’s emergency services might be in luck if Proposition 5 passes.
The statewide public works infrastructure tax measure will be on the general election ballot this November.
“What’s different about Proposition 5 is the definition of ‘public works infrastructure’ is it has to be equipment, buildings, public construction projects,” he said. “It can’t be staffing or salaries, which from a fire standpoint, is the biggest driver of their cost but voters in Oceano could be asked to rehab this building and rehab the fire station in such a manner that we could return fire services here.”
The new contract between the county and the Five Cities Fire Authority will offer Oceano a minimum of two people per engine and response times of seven to 11 minutes from the Arroyo Grande Fire Station and seven to nine minutes from Grover Beach.
Brown said Proposition 5 would also drop the threshold for a general obligation bond for public infrastructure projects from needing two-thirds of votes to 55 percent to pass.
The district’s two failed fire tax measures on the ballots in 2020 and 2022 both fell short by a few votes. The district needed a supermajority vote of 66.7 percent. In 2020, the tax received 66 percent, and 2022’s attempt garnered 61 percent.
“You could also even include the sheriff substation if those were required and that type of measure could be packaged,” Brown said. “The basic change that would enable is … accelerating the conversion and the reestablishment of fire services here at Station No. 3.”
OCSD board member Linda Austin asked Brown how it would work with the county taking over services next year, and Brown said it would be a partnership. He added that the discussion was only about what the district could do if Proposition 5 passes this November.
“[We’d be] partnering with the county on what items, what public works infrastructure items we ask the voters to consider. We don’t have to own the building or the land to ask for it to be rehabbed and brought back to a certain condition, but it would require partners with partnerships and other agencies,” he said. Δ
This article appears in Aug 22 – Sep 1, 2024.