Truckee Meadows Fire outlines $16 million estimate, alternatives for Washoe Valley consolidated station

Deputy Chief Chris Kettering outlined a range of design, land and operating costs for a planned Washoe Valley consolidated fire station, telling the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Board of Fire Commissioners on Sept. 2 that the district “wanna[s] to build the station. We just need to figure out how we find it.”

Kettering’s presentation followed months of public comment from West Washoe Valley residents who urged a faster return of local fire protection after volunteer and state-run stations were closed or repurposed. The presentation summarized historical studies, current operational data, multiple financing attempts and interim options such as reuse of the Bellevue volunteer station and placing temporary modular facilities on the purchased site.

Kettering said the project’s estimated construction cost rose from about $7.5 million in 2022 to roughly $16 million in 2025, plus about $1.2 million in site-adaptation costs. He told the board the district purchased the site in 2020 for $475,000 and that if the district instead purchased the state-owned Station 30 property it would need to pay a market-value appraisal of about $275,000. He listed several non-construction expense items that proved costly in local conditions — commercial well infrastructure (estimated $1.0 million–$1.6 million), paving ($200,000–$250,000), a septic replacement (about $109,000), a diesel-exhaust recovery system (about $100,000) and other site utilities and equipment.

The presentation described staffing as a separate annual operating obligation of about $2.5 million if the district staffs a new station, with roughly $1.9 million of that attributed to personnel costs. Kettering said the district has kept several promotional or “floater” positions vacant to save money while the station remains unfunded.

Kettering reviewed prior financing attempts and constraints: a U.S. Department of Agriculture 40-year loan required market testing and the district received a private-market offer only for a 25-year loan that would have raised annual debt costs beyond what the district could afford; the district previously pursued a State Infrastructure Bank loan for other projects and did not have capacity to carry two large debt payments; ARPA funds and local grant opportunities were explored but did not yield a viable package; and outside federal-grant pursuit (via a consultant, Porter Group) would require further time and roughly $5,000 per month in consultant fees if the district pursued that route.

Kettering summarized interim alternatives under consideration: redesigning to lower construction costs (for example, non-block construction), installing a temporary modular building on the purchased site (modular estimate $261,000), reactivating and upgrading the Bellevue volunteer station (Station 300) which would require substantial site work, or redeploying seasonal wildland crews to provide limited presence in the valley. He emphasized the district’s priority: “We wanna build the station. We just need to figure out how we find it.”

Residents and local stakeholders who spoke during public comment said response-time changes since closure of staffed stations have affected insurance availability and perceived property values. Penny Brock, chair of the South Valley’s Washoe Valley CAB, told the board: “Safety and life and property is the number one issue that you are to address. Please help this area. We need that fire station.” Mike Goldie, a new resident, described a 20-minute emergency response and said the delay “was a long time” when a household medical emergency occurred.

Kettering also reviewed operational data used to justify the consolidation plan: combined population of the two districts covering Washoe Valley is about 7,303 people with roughly 111 square miles and about 2,700 buildings; the district’s standards of cover classify the area as rural, with a first-unit objective of 20 minutes 85% of the time and EMS zone standards that allow 20 minutes, 59 seconds for many priority medical calls. Kettering said data from Jan. 1–July 30, 2025 show Station 32 met the 20-minute rural objective about 95% of the time and produced an 11:56 average response time for many calls at the 90th percentile.

Board members and the chief stressed the difference between the district’s desire and its present fiscal ability to proceed. Fire Chief Richard Edwards told the board the district wants the consolidated station and would relocate personnel from Station 32 when a funded station exists, but “we still have to be able to make the loan payments. Today, we don’t have extra money in our budget.”

Kettering closed by asking the board to continue pursuing multiple funding sources, including federal grants, grants from local foundations, public–private options (for example, lease–purchase agreements with potential developers), and continued capital-savings efforts within the district. He urged increased outreach to the South Valley CAB and pledged regular updates.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation; commissioners asked staff to continue exploring funding options and return with more financial specifics and updates to the community advisory board.

Residents who asked for specific short-term relief repeatedly urged reopening Bellevue or using ARPA or other local funds as temporary measures until a funded consolidated station can be built.