Reorganizing the BV Fire Protection District

A Summary of Upcoming Changes

Marilee Jensen

On September 5, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Sonoma County held a public hearing about its proposed change to the sphere of influence for the Windsor Fire Protection District (WFPD), to include the geographic territories of the Rincon Valley Fire Protection District (RVPD), the Bennett Valley Fire Protection District (BVFPD) and the Mountain Volunteer Fire Company (Mountain VFC) in County Service Area No. 40. This hearing included a careful review of the three fire districts plus Mountain VFC. LAFCO approved unanimously the change in the sphere of influence for the WFPD.

The next step was for the Board of Directors for each Fire District (Windsor, Rincon Valley and Bennett Valley) and Mountain VFC to approve the changes. This includes dissolving the fire districts, annexing them into the newly Reorganized Regional Fire District, and then requesting Sonoma LAFCO to undertake the proceedings to accomplish the proposed reorganization. If everything proceeds smoothly, these changes will become effective on April 3, 2019. Depending on the action by the Board of Supervisors, in regards to the County Service Area No. 40, on December 4, 2018, this reorganization may either include three or four agencies, with the County Service Area No. 40's inclusion depending on financial support by the county.

The Fire Protection Districts and possibly the County Service Area No. 40 want the proposed Reorganized District to be subject to the following terms and conditions:

  1. The name of the Reorganized District shall be the "Sonoma County Fire District."
  2. The Reorganized District should achieve greater economy and efficiency in providing fire protection and emergency services.
  3. All assets, unrestricted, restricted or fiduciary, held by the parties shall be transferred to the Reorganized District.
  4. The parties shall enter into a property tax allocation agreement to transfer the dissolving districts' property tax allocation to WFPD to fund the Reorganized District.
  5. All liabilities of the parties shall be transferred to the Reorganized District.
  6. The Board of Directors of the Reorganized District will authorize an annual work plan for services.
  7. Sonoma LAFCO is requested to undertake proceedings for this Proposed Reorganization according to the terms and conditions stated above.
  8. The Fire Chief of WFPD, is authorized to perform all acts required to complete the Proposed Reorganization.

During October, the changes were approved by the Board of Directors of each of these Fire Protection Districts. These changes also designated the new Board of Directors for the Reorganized District to be composed of seven members: three of the existing directors of the WFPD, three of the existing directors of the RVFD and one existing director of the BVFPD. This consolidation of seven existing Board members for the Reorganized District was first suggested during public comments at the dual Fire Board meeting on October 16 in Windsor, by me. It has since been adopted and approved by all three of the Fire Protection Districts. At their special meeting on October 23, 2018, the BVFPD Board of Directors selected Arnie Tognozzi, as their existing director, to serve on the new Reorganized Fire District Board of Directors. It was also decided that the Sonoma County Fire District Board of Directors would rotate its meeting location to hold one or more of its meetings each year at the Bennett Valley Fire Station to provide for direct public input by Bennett Valley residents without them having to travel to Windsor for a Board meeting.

The current Fire Chief for the WFPD and the RVFP is Mark Heine (707.838.1170). Heine attended the BVFPD Board meeting on September 11 to explain the proposal. One Bennett Valley resident expressed concern regarding specific, localized issues in Bennett Valley getting lost in a larger organization. Heine said that residents could contact him directly with concerns and he would respond and follow-up.

I have personally contacted Heine four times in the last seven weeks and each time he has provided me with excellent support and information. In Bennett Ridge we're working on a "Bennett Ridge Community Wildfire Protection and Vegetation Management Plan" and I asked him for help in working on this community report. The next day he responded, "I'm so glad that you reached out to me on this. I am going to have Cyndi Foreman, our Fire Prevention Specialist (and yours soon) reach out to you. Cyndi is working with several communities right now on similar programs. A hazard assessment is the first step towards a few programs I would like to see your community partner with us." Cyndi Foreman has since contacted us and met with seven Bennett Ridge residents regarding the wildfire areas of concern in Bennett Ridge. As a part of this meeting, she visited some of these areas of potential hazard in Bennett Ridge with us. She is proving to be very helpful in our efforts to better prepare for future wildfires. During the week of October 9, 2017, Bennett Ridge had 92 of 128 homes burned to the ground with one fatality. These losses for all of us, even those with our houses still standing, were staggering.