Coastside Fire Board Sends $14.4M Station 44 Project to Bid

The Coastside Fire Protection District's biggest construction project in years is headed to bid. Directors voted 5-0 on a single resolution that approved Fire Station 44's design, called for bids from six pre-qualified contractors and capped the construction contract at $14,415,483 plus a 15% contingency. The board also adopted a FY 2026-27 budget that Board President Gary Burke called conservative, backed by more than $20M in uncommitted reserves.

---

• Station 44 approved 5-0: design, bid call and $14.4M construction cap for the replacement station
• FY 2026-27 budget adopted 5-0, with $1.5M added to the CalPERS exit plan
• $60,000 training increase traced to joint classes with CAL FIRE that were never billed on time
• Montara fire survivor thanks crews and describes being burned by a heat-swollen metal door

---

Station 44 Clears Its Last Big Hurdle

The basics: Station 44 is a replacement fire station estimated to cost $16M to $17.5M in total. It follows six to seven years of effort and is the district's largest capital project.

Why it matters: This vote moves the project from design to construction. Only contractors with fire-station experience are eligible to bid, which narrows the field to six pre-qualified firms.

Where things stand: Fire Station 44 Project Manager Sean Rose said the action formally approves the design and authorizes the bid. The bid would be open for at least four weeks.

Architect Austin Dunkley, principal at PBK, described the building:

• About 10,000 square feet on two stories
• A drive-through loop for engines that exits onto Stetson
• A retaining wall at the back property line
• Polished-concrete floors, fiber-cement siding and a stone base

Design scrutiny from the dais: Directors asked about durability, acoustics, fencing above the retaining wall and the station's number and address. One director said he did not care for the red spandrel glass panels.

Director Patrick Hanna asked about slip risk on the floors where engines park: "Is there any concern about the texture in the apparatus area as far as how slippery polished concrete can be?" Dunkley said the building uses two finish levels and that "in the apparatus bay, it's a level 2."

Another director asked about washing engines and storm drainage. Staff answered that engine washing is no longer allowed on site.

What's not in this vote: Construction management and inspection will be handled by a separate contract that returns in October. "What we have asked for in the RFP is a half-time inspector," Rose said. That inspector would average 20 hours a week over about 18 months.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Board President Burke read out the six actions bundled into Resolution 2026-54. He had introduced them as five items.

• Approval of the plans and specifications
• A notice inviting bids
• A construction contract with the lowest responsive bidder, capped at $14,415,483 plus a 15% contingency
• Two agreements with BAGG Engineers, for $42,812 and $133,714
• A $15,700 contract amendment with PBK

Vote: For: 5 (Burke, Vice President JB Cockrell, Hanna, Bruce MacKimmie, Cynthia L. Sherrill), Against: 0, Absent: 0.

Later in the meeting, Director Cynthia L. Sherrill said the schedule had been slowed by county review. "I thought that Sean Rose's report and Austin's report were outstanding," she said.

For coastside residents, the vote starts the clock on a new station. For contractors, the pool is small and specialized. For the district's finances, the final bid will show how much of the $16M to $17.5M estimate holds.

What's next: The bid goes out for at least four weeks. The construction management and inspection contract returns to the board in October.

---

A Budget Built for Uncertainty

Why it matters: The FY 2026-27 budget keeps personnel costs near 68% of spending, under the board's 75% ceiling. It also adds $1.5M to the plan for paying down CalPERS pension obligations. Large reserves cushion the district against unknowns.

Where things stand: Staff reported FY 2025-26 revenue of about $17.3M, which was $1.2M above projections. The new year starts with a fund balance of about $12.2M.

The budget assumes revenue grows 1.5%. Secured property tax is projected to rise 1.6%, and other revenue is held flat.

Spending increases include:

• $60,000 for printing and education
• $150,000 in contractual services for construction projects
• New Fireside inspection software

"The budget, at least in my opinion, as presented to me today, is conservative," said Board President Burke. He cited several uncertainties: Station 44 costs, CalPERS rates, and state and county budgets. He noted the district holds more than $20M in uncommitted reserves. Burke also recounted the history of the board's 75% personnel cap.

The training line item: Asked about the $60,000 increase, Fire Chief Wilson said "there was a communication challenge." After a training chief left, invoices for classes serving both district and CAL FIRE staff were not paid on time. The district has since set up a reimbursement plan and a cost-sharing ratio with CAL FIRE.

Director Hanna asked whether the district earns money from its training tower. "So we do not receive revenue for use of our training facility," Wilson said. He added that live-fire (Class A) training at the tower is limited. Burke said the city imposed those limits when the tower was approved.

Wilson also said he will chair a county working group studying a regional training facility on county land.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The budget passed 5-0. Taxpayers get a plan built on modest growth assumptions with a large cushion. CAL FIRE now has a formal cost-sharing arrangement for the joint training it previously did not pay for on time.

Vote: For: 5 (Burke, Cockrell, Hanna, MacKimmie, Sherrill), Against: 0, Absent: 0.

What's next: Watch the county working group on a regional training site, which Wilson will chair.

---

Montara Fire Survivor Thanks Crews

Where things stand: Montara resident Austin Cuellar described a fire that spread quickly and burned his RV and a propane tank. He was burned when his metal front door expanded in the heat and would not open.

"I just wanted to thank you all for everyone who responded to that night," Cuellar told the board. He credited crews with containing an intense fire and protecting his neighbors.

Why it matters: Directors asked about his family's housing and recovery. One director said the district should do more to educate residents about the hazards of metal doors in a fire.

What's next: Chief Wilson said he and Burke discussed a recognition connected to the incident for the next meeting.

---

Minor Items

• CalPERS health rates: Resolutions 2026-49, 2026-50 and 2026-51 passed 5-0. They pass through a roughly 1.6% increase, effective Jan. 1, for staff on HMO Premium Plus plans. Burke called the resolutions boilerplate the district is obligated to adopt.
• CFD No. 40: The board voted 5-0 on two resolutions setting the boundaries and voting membership for a Community Facilities District at a warehouse at 142 California Avenue in Princeton. A director noted the documents lacked a map and the town name.
• Consent calendar: Approved 4-0, with one director recused. The recused director was not named.
• Zone Zero: The state's new defensible-space rule is still awaiting approval by the Office of Administrative Law. Once approved, the district will inspect homes in very high fire hazard areas starting next calendar year.
• Retirement: The district honored retiring Fire Captain Paramedic Ryan Tankersley for a 32-year career.

---

Looking Ahead

• October meeting: The Station 44 construction management and inspection contract returns, along with a proclamation honoring former Chief Lord.
• Oct. 6, 2026: CAL FIRE leadership is scheduled to visit.
• Great Coastside ShakeOut: The earthquake drill includes neighborhood tent drills in 17 neighborhoods on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. About 150 people signed up for the related webinar, and 77 attended the earlier Shake and Bake event, Sherrill reported.
• August workload: The district answered 271 calls, with an average response time of about six minutes. Five Coastside cadets are in the volunteer academy.