Nearly three years after initial designs were discussed for a new fire station in the Chapel area, the Sedona Fire District Governing Board has butted heads again.

On June 24, the board came to its second impasse on the issue by voting 2-2 to move ahead with the $2.76 million proposed station.

Board member Charles Christensen voted against building the station in the current economy, because he fears it could increase taxes in the future, he said. Bert Berkshire voted against it, stating he prefers the issue be voted on by the public in a referendum.

Board Chairman Don Harr was absent, but had voted against it May 27, in favor of waiting to hear new SFD Chief Nazih Hazime’s opinion. The May 27 vote ended in a 2-2 tie, with Berkshire absent.

The board’s latest vote came after hearing from both sides of the public on the issue and Hazime’s opinion.

Plans for the station were put on a six-month hold in October to wait out the economic storm.  On April 22, after the hiatus, the contractor, Amon Builders, delivered a guaranteed maximum price of $2.76 million with a guarantee of 90 days.

The guarantee expires Tuesday, July 21, the day before SFD’s next board meeting. Board member Liza Vernet has requested the issue be on July 22’s agenda.

After attending a meeting on the proposed station and gathering as much information as possible, Hazime concluded there is a need for a station in the Chapel area, he said.

“There certainly is an area there that is not covered by EMS or by fire protection,” he said. “So to staff apparatus there along with personnel is critical, as far as I’m concerned. I think it needs to happen.”

Chapel resident Mark Casper would like to see the district wait for better economic times to build the station, he said. He also prefers a smaller, two-bay station in favor of the proposed 10,000-square foot, three-bay station.

But if SFD is going to build, Hazime prefers to build a three-bay station, he said.

“We have apparatus that can fill that station. We have personnel that can fill that station to immediately respond in that community … as well as mutual aid, or backup to the other stations.”

Stressing that it was just his opinion and the ultimate decision would be with the board, Hazime said he keeps in mind the proposed station isn’t a problem SFD is creating; rather it’s something that enhances the community.

“We’re trying to make it a better place to live, a safer place to live,” he said.

Chapel resident Diane Schoen pushed for a station to get faster response times in that area.

“When I was waiting for my husband, who was on the floor of his bathroom for the paramedics to arrive, no one had the feeling that I had in my heart, waiting,” she said. “And this delay, and delay, and more delay … I think what it smacks of is manipulation and avoidance and delay in the way this board performs.”

Village of Oak Creek resident Maralynne Flehner urged the board to let the voters decide in a referendum, when and how big to build.

“The issue, as I see it, is whether construction should go forward now, or be deferred until taxpayers can afford the nearly $3 million cost plus any additional staff and the cost of maintenance and operations,” Flehner said.

SFD’s approach to slash $1 million from operations to go toward the one-time building expenditure was appropriate, Business Director Karen Daines said, and it will be staffed by current staffing.

“We are not planning to touch our $2 million general fund reserve for this station, or even to fund operations in the upcoming year,” Daines said.

The operational costs of running a new station is $29,000 in the five-year projections, starting in fiscal year 2011, she said, for things like janitorial supplies and operational expendables.

So far the district has spent $932,426 on the proposed station, including $644,458 for the land.

The board also voted, 4-0, for Assistant Chief Bill Boler to pursue finding a temporary building in the Chapel area to house a roving unit in the area.

Boler is opposed to the idea of apparatus constantly roving the area because it’s bad for the environment, SFD’s vehicles and personnel, he said.

An ambulance in the Chapel area, “won’t be there

very much,” Boler told the board, due to the district’s call load.

The board directed Boler to search for a temporary structure that could be heated and cooled to keep the drugs in the ambulance properly maintained.

Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail

aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com