Central Fire District Station 1 is on 17th Avenue. Central Fire leaders have placed a bond measure on the Nov. 5 ballot. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> Voters in the Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County will decide whether to approve $221 million in bonds with Measure R in the Nov. 5 election. The district includes much of mid-Santa Cruz County, including Capitola, Soquel, Aptos, Live Oak, La Selva Beach and Rio Del Mar.
The measure needs more than two-thirds of the vote to be adopted under existing law, or more than 55% of the vote if California voters concurrently approve Proposition 5 in the November election.
What is Measure R?
Measure R would allow the Central Fire District to issue $221 million in bonds to renovate or build fire department facilities and buy new equipment. Property owners in the district would pay about $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually for 30 years or until the bond is paid off. The average annual cost for homeowners would be about $200, according to a Central Fire report.
The measure will appear on ballots of voters in the Central Fire District, which serves Aptos, Capitola, Live Oak, La Selva Beach, Rio Del Mar and Soquel.
Under existing state laws, the measure needs more than two-thirds of the vote to be adopted. But California State Proposition 5, also up in the November election, would reduce the necessary level of voter support for bond measures that fund affordable housing development and public infrastructure. If that proposition wins, Measure R could be approved with 55% of the vote.
Measure R ballot text
Central Fire District 911 Medical Emergency Response and Fire Protection Measure.
To maintain 911 response times; protect local medical emergency and fire protection services; and prepare for wildfires, floods, and earthquakes by upgrading and repairing aging lifesaving equipment and stations, shall Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County’s measure authorizing $221,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, levying $29/$100,000 of assessed valuation, generating $11,600,000 annually while bonds are outstanding be approved, requiring citizens’ oversight, public spending disclosure, audits and all funds spent locally?
What does a “yes” vote mean?
A “yes” vote would authorize an annual property tax within the Central Fire District to fund $221 million in bonds.
What does a “no” vote mean?
A “no” vote would not authorize a new property tax or bond.
Things to consider about Measure R
Background on Central Fire District
The Central Fire District of Santa Cruz County serves about 55 square miles across mid-Santa Cruz County. It’s the result of the 1987 consolidation of Capitola, Live Oak, and Soquel fire districts, and a 2021 consolidation with the Aptos/La Selva Fire Protection District. Central Fire now serves about 90,500 people in 55 square miles of mid-Santa Cruz County with seven fire stations.
About 98% of the district’s budget comes from property taxes.
How the tax would work
The tax would apply to residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial land. Owners would pay an estimated $29 per $100,000 of the property’s annual assessed value. The assessed value usually changes when the property is sold, and it is typically lower than the market value.
Homeowners could pay up to $49 per $100,000 of assessed value, depending on the total assessed value in the district, the annual payment on the bond and the amount of the bond still outstanding. The tax could vary year to year.
The tax would be used to pay back $221 million in bonds. The bond money can be spent only on fire district facilities, not salaries or other expenses, according to the measure. An independent committee appointed by the fire district would oversee expenditures.
What the bonds would fund
The money could be used to:
- Build or repair fire stations in Soquel, Capitola and La Selva Beach.
- Buy land for new or relocated fire stations.
- Build or repair department staff offices, training rooms and other facilities.
- Buy land for, and construct, a training facility for firefighters and other first responders.
- Buy fire engines and other equipment.
Arguments for Measure R
At least three of Central Fire’s seven stations may need to be replaced or relocated, said Fire Chief Jason Nee.
According to a 2022 long-range master plan for the district, Soquel, Capitola and La Selva fire stations don’t meet the needs of modern firefighting. All three are more than 50 years old. “Their useful life is well passed by,” Nee said.
The Soquel and La Selva stations were built for volunteer fire departments, and can’t fit modern fire engines, according to the report.
The Soquel and Capitola departments are both within floodplains. In 2012, the Capitola station flooded and the department was forced to evacuate, Nee said. He said he wants to make sure that “when our residents need us to respond, we’re not evacuating our facility ourselves.” The department is searching for land that could be used for a new mid-county fire station, he said.
Money is also needed to replace aging fire engines, Nee said. The master plan found two of the department’s seven fire engines, and all three of its wildland fire trucks, to be in “poor” condition. Engines have skyrocketed in price following the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
A bond is the only way for the district to raise enough money for buildings and equipment, said John Lucchesi, Central Fire district supervisor and former Santa Cruz Fire battalion chief.
“Everybody in Central Fire and all the prior chiefs here have exhausted every other governmental remedy to improve the well being of our infrastructure,” he said at a July 11 Central Fire Board of Directors meeting.
If the bond doesn’t pass, Central Fire would not go broke, Lucchesi said. But the quality of emergency response “I guarantee will fluctuate” because of outdated facilities, he said.
The board July 11 voted 3-0 to place the bond on the Nov. 5 ballot. Two board members were absent.
Arguments against Measure R
Some residents in the district have spoken out against the bond and what they see as mounting costs for homeowners, especially those living on fixed incomes. “People are struggling right now. You know, I have neighbors that can barely make ends meet,” said Live Oak resident Michael Lelieur. Landlords will likely pass on the cost of increased property taxes to renters, he said.
In a ballot statement, Lelieur and others wrote that relocated fire stations could bring increased noise and traffic, and that a dedicated training facility is unnecessary.
Some critics of a public safety training facility in Santa Cruz County also oppose the bond. “The large bond and the potential use of a fire training facility is ringing alarm bells for me,” said City of Santa Cruz resident Reggie Meisler. Meisler has compared a potential public safety training center to “cop cities” in Atlanta and San Pablo.
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Jesse Kathan is a staff reporter for Santa Cruz Local through the California Local News Fellowship. They hold a master's degree in science communications from UC Santa Cruz.
