JULIAN — The standoff in Julian between its volunteer firefighters and the county is on hold while lawyers prepare for a court hearing Wednesday to decide if the county’s takeover of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Protection District should go on, be delayed or rescinded.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfeil will be asked by an attorney representing the volunteer fire district to issue an injunction preventing the county from gaining control of the district’s fire station and equipment.
Attorney Cory Briggs, citing a ruling in a different case made just last week, maintains that the decision Monday by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to have the County Fire Authority assume control of the district should be thrown out because a request to be dissolved made by a previous board of directors of the volunteer department has been declared null and void.
RELATED: Commission Recommends Shuttering CA Dept.Fate of CA Region's Volunteer FD Up to VotersVoters Appear to Drop CA County's Last Volunteer FDCA Department Dissolved, But Volunteer FFs Refuse to GoA ruling last week by Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp concluded the decision by the previous board to ask for the takeover had on several occasions violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting laws.
The recently reconstituted district board now opposes the takeover.
On Monday afternoon, just hours after the LAFCO board unanimously voted to accept the results of a special election in which voters approved the county takeover, Fire Authority Chief Tony Mecham ordered a transition team, comprised of a locksmith, a facilities manager and an information technology employee to enter the volunteer’s fire station off state Route 79 south of Julian, but they were denied access by those inside who locked the doors.
The team was going to assess the condition of the station in anticipation of making upgrades before county firefighters move in within the next couple weeks.
The county backed off and tried to obtain a court order to force their way into the stations, but by the end of the day had decided to wait until after Wednesday’s hearing to decide how to proceed.
The results of the special election that was certified last week showed 54 percent of the registered voters in the 87-mile fire district supported the dissolution of the volunteer department.
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