Issue Statement:*

R1

That the Napa City Council vote to approve the construction of a fifth fire station to be located in Browns Valley; and with the Board of Supervisors, establish a plan to relocate the Edgerly Island Station to Browns Valley. The establishment of this fire station is considered by this Grand Jury as a priority issue. City Response to Recommendation 1: This recommendation has been implemented in part, and will continue to be implemented in the future. The City Council has directed the Fire Chief to conduct a technical analysis to determine if the portion of the Westwood Hills Park site west of the parking lot is a suitable location for Fire Station No. 5, and it is anticipated that a report will be brought to City Council for consideration within the next three months. In addition, the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City Council has directed the Fire Chief to establish a funding strategy for the costs of capital construction, equipment and a fire engine. It is anticipated that a proposed impact fee for capital funding will be brought to City Council for consideration within the next two months. The City Council has directed the Fire Chief to study a possible joint Napa City/County fire station.

R2

That the Napa City Council approve the enlargement of Station #1. City Response to Recommendation 2: This recommendation will not be implemented in the short-term based on insufficient budget resources and conflicting priorities. The expansion of Fire Station No.1 has been a proposed Capital Improvement Project for a number of years. Because of the limited resources to fund a large number of city-wide capital projects, this proposal has not been funded. In addition, since the City's system-wide focus for emergency response is on moving forward towards the construction, equipping and staffing of Fire Station No. 5 as a priority, coupled with other critical infrastructure needs in the City, the City will not be able to move forward on the expansion of Fire Station No. 1 anytime soon.

R3

That a half-time Disaster Management position be placed in the Napa Fire Department 2008- 2009 budget. City Response to Recommendation 3: The City agrees that adding a part-time position to assist with disaster management and training would benefit the Department and the community. The City has a two-year budget cycle and the 2008-2009 budget has already been adopted. The addition of a part-time position will be considered during future budget considerations. Funding approval will depend on the resource/need priority analysis that occurs as part of the budget review.

R4

That the Napa Fire Department positions eliminated in 2007 be restored and the number of firefighters per shift increased. City Response to Recommendation 4: This recommendation has been implemented in part, and will continue to be implemented in the future. The City Council has restored two of the three eliminated firefighter positions. The remaining firefighter position will be requested to be restored as soon as current budget constraints allow. The number of firefighters per shift may increase, at least temporarily, with the City Council's direction to move forward with Fire Station No. 5, which will require the City to hire an additional nine (9) firefighters.

R5

That all Municipal Fire Departments continue to actively provide information about the Safely Surrendered Baby Law program to the public, including all middle and high schools in Napa County, as a part of their public education programs. City Response to Recommendation 5: This recommendation will be implemented in part in the future. The Fire Department does not have the resources to expand the public education program to include the Safely Surrendered Baby Law Program to middle and high school students. The Fire Department does have public information materials regarding this program at all four Fire Stations. In addition, the materials are available during public education displays throughout the community and can be provided to the middle and high schools.

R8

That all Municipal Fire Departments conform to the recommendation of the National Fire Protection Association regarding the number of firefighting personnel on engines responding to a fire call. City Response to Recommendation 8: This recommendation will not be implemented. While the City Council recognizes the value of complying with NFPA 1710 guidelines regarding the number of firefighting personnel on each engine or truck, it would require the hiring of 15 additional firefighters to implement this recommendation. From an economic perspective this is not possible especially with the City Council's direction to move forward with Fire Station No. 5 which will require the City to hire an additional nine (9) firefighters. The engine company assigned to Station No. 5 will respond to calls and provide additional resources at critical incidents, which is also the intent of NFPA 1710. The following are corrections to the 2007-2008 Grand Jury Report: - Appointment of Fire Chief The Napa Fire Department Fire Chief is appointed by the Napa City Council and is responsible to the City Manager. Correction The Napa Fire Department Fire Chief is appointed by the City Manager. - Napa Fire Department Personnel Paragraph 1 The Napa Fire Department, serving the public safety needs of a population of 74,966, currently staffs 59 sworn firefighters. Correction The Napa Fire Department, serving the public safety needs of a population of 74,966, currently staffs 63 sworn firefighters (which includes command personnel). - Napa Fire Department Personnel Paragraph 1 There is a residency requirement that all firefighters must live within 1-1/2 hours of their station. Correction There is a residency requirement that all firefighters must live within 45 minutes of the closest City fire station. – Napa Fire Department Budget Paragraph 1 The Napa Fire Department budget for 2007-2008 is 11.5 million dollars. Included in this allocation is 3 million dollars for emergency or disaster situations. Correction The Fire Department does not have a 3 million dollar allocation within the budget for emergency or disaster situations. - Napa Fire Department Budget Paragraph 2 Other source of funding include Homeland Security, which provided $300,000 for the upgrade of the Napa Communications Center. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services provided funding in the amount of 1.3 million dollars for the Bioterrorism Working Group and Hazardous Materials training. Other grants provided for a new Jaws of Life, new breathing apparatus, the repair of Station #2's roof damaged in the 2000 earthquake and the seismic retrofit of this Station. Correction The Governor's Office of Emergency Services provided funding in the amount of 1.3 million dollars of which provided $300,000 towards the upgrade of the Napa Emergency Communications Center. In addition, the grant amount of 1.3 million dollars is the total amount to be utilized by all jurisdictions in Napa County not just by the City of Napa. Disaster training for City employees is currently provided by City of Napa Fire Department personnel. - Napa Fire Department Browns Valley Paragraph 1 To this end the construction company involved in the Hussey Development in Browns Valley has agreed to pay a fire development fee of $281 per single-family residence. The Fire Chief would like to keep the development fee, which is currently being used to pay for Station #4, to pay for the construction of this new station. In 6 years the debt on Station #4 will be paid. Correction The developer of both the Hussey Project and the Carmel Project offered (as a voluntary mitigation measure) to pay $3,000 per lot, at the issuance of each building permit, to be used exclusively towards studying and/or improving the fire and emergency response time serving the Browns Valley area. This payment is in addition to all of the other fees. In addition, the debt for Fire Station No. 4 is close to being paid. City staff plans to present a recommendation to City Council in the next two months for the adoption of a new development impact fee to cover the costs of designing and constructing a new Fire Station No. 5, to be located in the Browns Valley area. FINANCIAL IMPACTS: None. CEQA: The Fire Chief has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c). DOCUMENTS ATTACHED: None. RECOMMENDED ACTION: City staff recommends that the City Council move, second and approve each of the actions set forth below, in the form of the following motion stated as: Move to approve the City's responses to the 2007-08 Grand Jury Report findings and recommendations (as outlined above, and incorporating any changes made to the responses by City Council during the meeting), and direct the City Manager to prepare the formal response to the Grand Jury on behalf of the City Council and the City Manager, and submit the formal response to the presiding judge of the superior court. My funes by ward CITY MANAGER