Welcome to Green Valley Fire District
Established in 1975, the Green Valley Fire District provides a wide variety of protection and emergency services to a suburban and rural area of more than 40,000 constituents...read more
Board Approves Proposed 2009-2010 Budget
Click here to review the budget approved by the GVFD Board of Directors on May 27, 2009.
By law, this proposed budget is subject to public comment for 30 days. The Board can alter this budget prior to ratification, but the bottom line cannot exceed the amount presented here.
Ratification of this budget will occur at a Special Board Meeting on July 1, 2009.
New fire station ‘going green’
By Jaime Richardson www.gvnews.com
Published: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 9:36 PM MDT
The Green Valley Fire District is “going green.”
The district’s new Station 151 on La Canada Drive will be the first LEED-certified buildings in the community.
A building with LEED certification — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — complies with standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C., run by leaders in the building industry. The council certifies environmentally sustainable businesses, homes, hospitals, schools and neighborhoods.
LEED has four designations — Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum — based on a point system that measures increasing degrees of a building’s sustainability. Station 151 is set to earn a Silver certification, with 33 to 38 points on a 69-point scale.
With the green craze sweeping the nation, the LEED rating system, established in 2000, has become a sought-after designation for new buildings.
Though it’s going to cost the Green Valley Fire District an additional $20,000 for review fees and engineering work, the district says that’s a minor investment that will pay off in the near future in money saved on electricity, building maintenance and other operating costs.
The new, 12,473-square-foot station, located next to the Santa Rita Health Care Center and across from the old Station 151, will cost $3,159,000 and is expected to be completed by March 2010.
The station is being built by WSM Architects in Tucson, who are also contracted to build Station 155 in Quail Creek. That station is also set for LEED certification.
WSM was behind construction of the first LEED Gold fire station in Arizona, and is in the process of building a new fire headquarters in downtown Tucson, as well as a city crime lab.
“Building cheaply for the short term is not necessarily the best use of public dollars... especially for public safety buildings” used 24 hours a day, said Craig Carter, a WSM architect who helped design the Green Valley station. He said in five years, a fire station has the equivalent of 15 years worth of wear and tear compared to a normal office building, and it’s important that stations be built to endure.
Though it’s possible to construct an environmentally sustainable building without being certified through the U.S. Green Building Council, Carter said one of the benefits of the LEED program is having the potential sustainability of a building verified by a third, outside party.
“The real benefit of the certification is ultimately to prove to people living in the fire district that the board is using their money wisely,” he said. Without that proof, he says, there’s no way to be sure the building really is as “green” as builders claim it is.
Better for employees
Dave Appleton, who heads the fire board’s Station Building Committee, urged the district to pursue a LEED certification not only because of reduced energy and operating costs, but for the safety of the firefighters who live there for long periods.
An air-quality system flushes out the toxic exhaust that builds up in station garages with the constant use of diesel-fueled fire engines. Now, when firefighters start their trucks to respond to a call, computerized sensors will activate a system that purges the air in the garage for 30 minutes, Carter said.
Prior to occupancy, the air in the building will be flushed out to get rid of dust in the air and fumes from paint and other building materials that could pose a health hazard. All LEED buildings go through this process, but it’s especially important in the case of fire stations, where workers will be residing for extended periods of time, he said.
LEED features
Among the features in Station 151
-A 25 percent reduction in energy usage compared to a building of comparable size, based on orientation, shading, insulation and ventilation.
-A 30 percent reduction in water usage, thanks in part to dual-flush toilets.
-A coating on windows to keeps out UV and infared light, which heats up a building.
-Walls in living areas made from pumice-like autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block, which improves thermal insulation.
-Natural lighting in hallways from skylights.
-Water heated from solar panels.
-A roof built to accommodate solar panels that power electricity, which the district may purchase in the future.
-Water-efficient landscaping.
-Minimized “site disturbance” — leaving most natural vegetation undisturbed and replanting what builders had to dig up to save on lanscaping costs.
Fire officials avoid tax increase, layoffs
By Jaime Richardson, www.gvnews.com
Published: Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:59 PM MDT
Green Valley Fire officials avoided layoffs and a tax increase while putting together a budget for 2010, but the cuts will still hit hard.
The fire district has been working for several months to cut about $300,000 from next year’s budget, which begins July 1. To reach the mark, they cut back on outside training for firefighters and paramedics and, for the second year, won’t be seeing pay raises, Chief Simon Davis said Wednesday at the fire board’s final budget workshop meeting.
This is also the first year firefighters won’t receive a cost-of-living allowance.
But Ed Clarke, GVFD board president, said, “We don’t have any layoffs, and that’s the most important thing.” He noted 600 Tucson Unified School District teachers lost their jobs this month.
Later this month, board members will vote on the provisional budget. If approved, it would be posted for 60 days. It is required to be posted 30 days, but Davis said the extra month will allow GVFD time to wait until the state approves its budget.
After the budget is posted GVFD will only be able make cuts, not increases, meaning the proposed $1.90 tax rate would not go up. The prospect of higher property taxes had caused a stir in the community since January.
To address the cuts, officials have spoken to about 500 residents at eight homeowner’s association meetings and have held five public budget workshops.
The next regular board meeting is set for 9 a.m., April 29 at district headquarters, 1285 W. Camino Encanto.
Crews Quickly Extinguish Roadside Brush Fire
updated April 2, 2009
Around noon on Wednesday, April 1, 2009, firefighters from the Green Valley Fire District quickly extinguished a two acre brush fire at I-19 and the Canoa Interchange. The fire appeared to be caused by workers using a grinder on roadway signage. The fire spread rapidly due to winds and very dry buffelgrass. Fortunately, the frontage road and interstate provided breaks that helped contain the fire. No structures were threatened.
Buffelgrass Invades Southern Arizona, Raises Fire Risk
updated March 25, 2009
Read GV News Reporter Jaime Richardson's story on the hazards of buffelgrass here
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Green Valley Fire Chief Simon Davis points out a large patch of buffelgrass north of Duval Mine Road. In this same spot in 2004, a brush fire, fueled by the dry, quick-burning buffelgrass, spread to the base of the mine tailings. Photo by Jaime Richardson | Green Valley News
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GVFD Now Offering CPR & FIrst Aid Classes
updated March 22, 2009
Starting next week, the GVFD will resume offering CPR & FIrst Aid classes to the  public. Classes meet on Saturdays at 9:00 A.M. at GVFD Headquarters, 1285 W. Camino Encanto. Costs for the classes range from $30-$50.
Some of the offerings include CPR, First Aid, and "Family & Friends"- a 2 hour CPR class that does not include certification. This class costs $30.
For more infomation, contact 625-9400, ext. 462.
GV Fire looking at budget cuts
By Karen Walenga
Published: Friday, March 13, 2009 9:49 AM MDT
www.gvnews.com
The Green Valley Fire District is getting closer to breaking ground on Station 151 but at the same time faces the harsh budget reality that means no pay raises and less money for training next year.
The GVFD board of directors on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a $3.159 million bid from Tucson-based Lang Wyatt Construction for the new building.
That number is “a couple hundred thousand dollars under earlier estimates” thanks to a buyer’s market in the construction industry, said Jerry L. Wyatt, president of Lang Wyatt. “You’re getting a very good value.”
The new fire station will be a LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building designed to last 40 years and deliver long-term cost savings, Fire Chief Simon Davis said.
Board member Dave Appleton said it would be the first LEED building in the area.
The station will be on the east side of La Canada Drive, almost directly across the street from the old station just south of the Pima County Government Center.
But while Green Valley waits on the building permits, due any day, Davis said the district also is looking to cut about $300,000 from next year’s budget, which begins July 1.
Current figures show estimated revenues of $8.048 million for next year and expenses of $8.99 million.
The district cannot operate at a deficit so is looking at reductions in training expenses and staff vacation liability. Staff taking college courses would have to pay their own way, as would employees attending conferences, he said. He said there will be no GVFD pay raises or benefit increases next year.
Among other proposals were buying back some employee vacation time, and the district’s volunteer Green Valley Fire Corps starting a subscription-based service for scheduled replacement of batteries in residential smoke detectors.
Board Chairman Ed Clarke said that in the past decade, the district’s annual budgets often increased and there was room to add items.
Now, “We’re in for a tough time for awhile. These are things we’d rather not do, (but) we’ve got to start cutting back.
“I regret seeing education cut,” Clarke said. However that’s the reality of today’s economics, and it’s not tenable to raise taxes on fire district members, he said.
The next GVFD budget meeting is April 8, and Davis is plans to present a budget to the board by the end of April, followed by 60 days for public review and comment.
kwalenga@gvnews.com | 547-9739
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