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Selma council approves design amendment to include EMS facility at proposed fire station campus amid neighborhood pushback
Summary
The Selma City Council approved a professional-services amendment to add an EMS facility design to a proposed fire station campus after public commenters urged reconsideration of the site and council members pressed for cost clarity.
The Selma City Council on May 28 approved a first amendment to a professional services agreement with Griffin Structures Inc. to add design work and bridging documents for a temporary EMS facility to be incorporated into a proposed fire station headquarters campus.
The amendment, described by Chief Webster as necessary to provide legally compliant sleeping and support space for municipal EMS staff, passed on a roll-call vote following public comment and council questions about location and cost. Chief Webster said the EMS facility is “absolutely critical to the operations of the fire department,” arguing the current temporary housing compromises staff privacy and safety.
Why it matters: council and the public debated both the site and the long-term cost of a multi‑phase campus that would house headquarters, operations and EMS on the same parcel. Public speakers told the council they preferred a site in the city’s southwest side and raised traffic and school-safety concerns about a site adjacent to the high school. Chief Webster and staff said the selected site meets response-time objectives and that the first phase (the EMS facility) could be built with available earmarked funds without drawing on the city’s general fund.
Councilmember questions focused on scope and timing. Several council members and the finance director pressed for clearer, phased cost estimates after several years of rising project estimates. Chief Webster said the amendment covers only design of the EMS portion and that construction would be a separate decision later; he also said the city had an earmarked pass‑through grant from state sources (identified in the meeting as Senator Hurtado’s earmark) that could fund design and much of the first phase.
Public comments: Joyce Cason and Stella Ramirez spoke during oral communications opposing the high‑school‑adjacent location and urging the council to consider building in the Southwest neighborhood instead. Cason asked how sirens and traffic around school arrival and dismissal times would be handled; Ramirez emphasized the Southwest’s current lack of stations and future housing growth across the tracks.
Action taken: Council approved the amendment to Griffin Structures to add design and bridging documents for a temporary EMS facility as part of the fire station campus. The approval was recorded on a roll call with all council members present voting yes.
What’s next: staff said the amendment allows the city to proceed with design work for the EMS facility so the temporary housing and infrastructure can be planned and, if council chooses later, constructed. Any construction decisions, funding strategies or subsequent phases of the campus would come back to council for separate approvals.
