Dec. 11--MARTINEZ -- Contra Costa supervisors are expected to vote today on whether to shutter four fire stations as part of a cost-saving plan to keep the county's fire district solvent.
The board chamber was packed a week ago with affected city representatives and firefighters hoping to convince the supervisors -- who act as fire board trustees -- to find alternatives. The board delayed its vote, asking Contra Costa Fire Chief Daryl Louder to return today with more analysis on how he picked which stations to close.
The four stations recommended for closure are in Walnut Creek, Clayton, Martinez and Lafayette, and would go dark in early January.
The drastic cuts would come more than a month after voters shot down the fire district's Measure Q, a seven-year parcel tax that would have raised enough money to keep the stations open. The closures would save the district $3 million a year from its $102.4 million annual budget.
Stations on the chopping block:
--No. 4 on Hawthorne Drive in Walnut Creek, which leaves that city with three stations.
--No. 11 on Center Avenue in Clayton, its only fire station.
--No. 12 on Shell Avenue in Martinez, which would leave two Martinez stations.
--No. 16 on Los Arabis Avenue in Lafayette, also cutting the number of fire stations to two.
Supervisors plan to discuss and vote on the closures during their afternoon
session at 2 p.m. at 651 Pine St., Martinez.
Check back for updates.
Contact Matthias Gafni at 925-952-5026. Follow him at Twitter.com/mgafni.
Copyright 2012 - Contra Costa Times
