Cahaba Valley Fire District looks toward future

Plans to implement the Cahaba Valley Fire District’s 2020-25 Strategic Plan are now on hold following a special election vote at the end of August.

The plan was created after a 2019 survey in which residents in the district were invited to share their thoughts and ideas for the future. After the results were in, a strategic planning committee was created to consolidate and evaluate the surveys.

The proposed two-step increase would have taken place over two years and increased fire dues by a total of 75% from their current rate. Year 1 (fiscal 2022) would have a 35% increase, followed by a 30% increase in year 2 (fiscal 2023). This would have allowed the department to increase its current budget from about $3,600,000 to $5,800,000.

“What it boils down to is around a 65-70% increase overall, but it would have accomplished everything we needed to accomplish,”  CVFD Fire Chief Buddy Wilks said.

A FAST VOTE

Wilks said the vote came about rather quickly, as the opportunity for a new fire station fell in their lap and needed to be voted on before the fiscal 2022 budget.

“We knew we had to go to a vote at some point, and this put it on the fast track,” he said. “We really moved really fast.”

Approximately 1,257 residents came to the polls with 781 (62%) voting no, and 476 (38%) voting yes.

“We are really pleased with the amount of people who came out and voted,” Wilks said. “We didn’t win, but felt like we made a connection to the community to have that many people come out and vote.”

Wilks said there were several ideas the voters had they were trying to overcome. One was that there are people who are against any increase that would always vote no. Another was those who support the department but could not get behind the amount of the increase. Others believed it had to do with the potential annexation by the city of Chelsea.

A GROWING COVERAGE AREA

The CVFD covers the northern end of U.S. 280 from Inverness Parkway back to the Lee Branch area. It also includes Cahaba Beach Road, all of Brook Highland (except the shopping center), Alabama 119 close to Greystone Legacy, parts of Eagle Point, Highland Lakes, some of Essex Drive and down Shelby County 41 to Lake Wehapa.

“The funds would also go to staffing the fire truck in The Narrows community and staff an extra ambulance in Mt Laurel area, giving us three ambulances for the community,” Wilks said.

The department has three stations: across from The Village at Lee Branch, The Narrows and Mt Laurel. The Lee Branch station has long been outgrown. Built 45 years ago, the building has been through eight renovations. The plan was to build a new station on Brook Highland Parkway that would include an administrative area, training area and a safe room for weather events.

Wilks said the original plan was to rebuild at the same location, but due to the possibility of a Chelsea annexation, if the department no longer existed, the property would go back to the original deed holder, so the financial institution would not fund the building of a new station on that property. That’s when they began looking at new property sites.

“The plan is now to try to do renovations at that building,” Wilks said. “We are trying to work on issues and need to see what level of renovation we can do that the bank is willing to finance.”

GETTING THE FUNDING

Wilks said the yearly 5% increase is basically a cost-of-living increase, but it won’t cover any of the other projects needed for the department.

“Basically the fire dues are our only source of revenue right now,” he said.

Shelby County does not provide any funding for the department, although there are some potential discussions in the future to assist with ambulances.

As for money from other sources, Wilks said the department applied for two federal grants but did not receive them. Grants have already been awarded this year, and he is not sure how much more money is available.

Ways additional funds would be used

► Increase the number of dual certified firefighters and paramedics for the Narrows station and Mt Laurel station

► Improve response times and resource deployment by placing an additional engine company and ambulance in service

► Maintain a present ISO rating, and actively pursue an improved rating

► Pursue accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence and Commission on Accreditation to become an accredited professional organization meeting the diverse needs of a growing community.

► Build a new fire station at the intersection of Brook Highland Parkway and Missionary Ridge

► Service and maintain existing firefighting equipment and upgrade as needed

► Service and maintain existing ambulance and pumper units and upgrade and purchase new units as required

► Increases the number of available ambulances available to the district. Increases the department’s Effective Response Force on critical incidents (number of personnel available to respond)

► Increase staffing decreases the number of times units are unavailable for calls (currently 83 times per month multiple calls are dispatched simultaneously)

► Reduces response times districtwide

► Reduce the amount of time to put the proper number of firefighters on scene, which reduces proper damage

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Since the vote, Wilks said the department has received an outpouring of support from the community, and residents are trying to find different strategies for funding.

“We posted the election results at 7:45 on that Tuesday night and by 8 p.m. I  had emails from the community wanting to help, offering donations and looking for ways to set up donation sites for us to be able to help out,” he said.

Wilks said it is time for the department to replace two cardiac monitors, which will cost around $100,000. He said that if the community helps to purchase those items, that will free up funds for personnel and other goals in the long run.

“When we send out our notices, the board approved that we can put a spot on them asking for $100 donations from anyone who can and is willing,” Wilks said. “If we start getting donations, that money will go toward the equipment replacement we need to make, and I can turn some budgeted money back into personnel. That’s our immediate thing we’re working on.”

Wilks said another vote is planned for 2022 with input from the community.

“We hope to present something to the fire board in January and start the process of once again communicating to the community and get feedback on what they’re willing to accept and help us do,” he said. “We just need a bump to get us where we need to be. The overwhelming support we’ve gotten since the vote shows how great this community is.”

For more information on the department’s improvement plan, visit cahabavalleyfire.org/2021-election.