Modesto council OKs fire service contracts stretching to Tuolumne County line
The Modesto Fire Department will manage large expanses to the east under contracts that got final approval Tuesday night.
One of them renews a 2019 agreement with the city of Oakdale and the surrounding Oakdale Rural Fire Protection District. The other is a first-time deal with the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District, which stretches from Riverbank to La Grange.
The Modesto City Council voted 7-0 for both contracts, which will run through June 2027. The district boards and the Oakdale City Council approved them earlier.
Modesto’s votes were on the same night that the Turlock City Council decided to also have its fire service managed by Stanislaus County’s largest city. The Modesto council still has to endorse that plan.
Modesto also has a five-year contract with Ceres that started last August.
‘Looking forward to doing business’
Backers said these agreements reduce administrative costs while improving responses to fires, medical emergencies and other calls.
“We are looking forward to doing business with you over the next few years,” Greg Bernardi, president of the Stanislaus Consolidated board, said during the Zoom meeting.
Its contract will start Tuesday, Feb. 1. It is for management duties only, unlike the Oakdale area and Ceres, where Modesto employs the firefighters.
Stanislaus Consolidated operates stations in Riverbank, Empire, Waterford and La Grange, and on Mitchell Road near the Modesto Airport. A sixth station on Highway 132 near Geer Road is temporarily closed because of budget trouble. The district stretches to Tuolumne County on the east and Merced County on the south.
It will pay the city $148,363 for services through the June 30 end of the current fiscal year. The fee will be $371,599 in the following year and reach about $420,000 by the final year.
Under the district board’s oversight, Modesto will manage the operations, including budgeting, personnel, training, fire prevention and other tasks.
The district will save an estimated $296,428 over the contract term compared with keeping management in-house, officials said earlier this month.
Oakdale area re-ups with Modesto
Modesto’s current contract for the Oakdale area runs through June. The new one will take effect July 1 and last through June 2027.
The contract involves city of Oakdale fire stations on G Street and Willowood Drive and the rural district’s Knights Ferry station. The district borders Stanislaus Consolidated on the north and stretches through the county’s northeast triangle.
Modesto will receive $5.63 million in the first year of the contract, rising to $6 million by the fifth. The city of Oakdale will pay 62.5% of the cost and the district the rest.
