Fire/EMS is back on the College Place agenda
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, April 12th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
COLLEGE PLACE – The College Place City Council meets tonight (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. and will hold a public hearing and possibly act on ambulance utility fees. According to city staff, the College Place Fire Department is at the point where the demands of the fire and emergency medical services need to be augmented to continue providing the same level of consistent service to the community.
Finance Director Brian Carleton said the deficit to operate fire/EMS for the 2022 budget is estimated at $907,000, of which $500,000 is attributed to ambulance/EMS. An ambulance utility fee is being recommended to provide the revenue source for the $500,000. The city’s current expense fund will continue to provide the $400,000 in funding for the College Place Fire Department.
The two rate options identified are a rate based on the demand and availability of the EMS services. The associated costs are charged on a per equivalent residential unit basis to each customer category, such as residential, multi-family, commercial, church, schools and public. The ERU is derived from a single-family home with an average square footage. The average for Washington state is 1,985 square feet. The second-rate option is to base the charge on the number of utility accounts.
Also on the agenda, the council will consider an ordinance prohibiting smoking and vaping at outdoor city-permitted events by amending the city’s municipal code. The proposal was presented to the city last month by Walla Walla Valley Blue Zones staff, who said making city-permitted events smoke and tobacco free will protect community members from secondhand smoke exposure and help limit triggering events for people who are trying to quit their nicotine addiction.
The council will also consider state grant applications to fund improvements to the crosswalk in front of the College Place Post Office, located at 500 South College Avenue and reconstruction of the 12th and Larch intersection. The meeting will be held virtually and can be viewed on the city’s YouTube channel or via Zoom. The meeting ID number is 876 9713 0420.
