By KRISTI MAYFIELD
Though the contract will remain in place for a few years, residents in the outlying areas of Knights Ferry and Valley Home are keenly aware of the potential impact for changes to their fire and emergency services in the not-too-distant future.
Earlier this month, at the Community Club in Knights Ferry, residents and emergency services providers along with the members of the Oakdale Fire Protection District Board including Vice Chair Paul Rivera and members Mike VanDyke and Eric Feichter, continued their discussions on the future of fire service. The talks focused on the current contract with Modesto Fire Department and what they would do when the contract ends in a few years. Board members reminded the residents that in order to move forward, some kind of financial agreement – whether that comes in the form of increased taxes or special measures to help increase the flow of money coming into the department – would have to be implemented.
“If you pay a little extra every year, we wouldn’t be in this situation every ten years,” Feichter said to the crowd.
He also reiterated how important it is to stick together, how the communities of Knights Ferry, Valley Home and Oakdale should come together and pool their resources to find a solution to this problem. He proposed having one meeting that included the folks from all three towns instead of having separate meetings every couple of weeks to increase knowledge sharing and develop a more united front when making future decisions.
Modesto Fire Assistant Fire Chief Timothy Tietjen reminded everyone that the decision didn’t have to be made immediately, that they had time to evaluate options.
“We are your fire department and we are your neighbors, we care about this community,” Tietjen said when addressing concerns about the lack of staffing at both the Valley Home and Knights Ferry fire stations.
For his part, Rivera respectfully disagreed with Tietjen regarding the timeline, reminding everyone that time is of the essence with regard to making decisions.
“Everyone is struggling to stay afloat and we are doing everything that we can to make it work and sustain the fire department,” said Rivera. He went on to remind everyone that waiting to make decisions is part of the reason that they are in this situation now, not acting sooner to pass measures that would’ve increased funding has created this problem.
The Board also informed residents they are urgently working on possible solutions and that they are currently evaluating possible paths forward with Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Department in addition to other local entities and that they would also send a letter to the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services Fire Warden’s Office to request assistance as well to determine the best steps forward.
The next meeting concerning of the local fire board is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Valley Home Fire Station, 13200 Valley Home Road.
