13 Attachment 3 - Winchester Station VisionWINCHESTER STATION
Serving Los Gatos Since 1965
SANTA CLARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT
TOWN OF LOS GATOS MONUMENT SIGN
ATTACHMENT 3
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Executive Summary
The Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District is proposing to
negotiate the purchase of the last two lots (lots B & C), located under the
current Winchester station on the corner of Lark Ave and Winchester Blvd.
The District recently contracted with Valbridge Property Advisors
(Attachment A) to conduct an up-to-date appraisal of the two parcels which
show the current appraised value of both parcels. With the new appraisal in
mind, the District would like to move forward with the Town in negotiations
for the sale of Parcels B and C to the District. This will allow the district to
build a modern fire station capable of housing critical resources for the Town
of Los Gatos. This includes the ability to house wildfire specific resources that
protect the wildland urban interface areas of the town.
BACKGROUND
The Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District has been proudly
serving the town or Los Gatos since 1970. Over the years, the Fire District has
evolved with the
town and the
changing needs of
the citizens we
serve. Some
highlights include
moving District
headquarters to the
town in the 1980’s,
the addition of
paramedics on all apparatus in the 1990’s, increased staffing levels for both
emergency operations staff and support staff, becoming the first department
in the county to staff an all-district wildfire response strike team and
becoming the first internationally accredited fire agency within the county of
Santa Clara.
*Current Station Built in 1965
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Currently, Fire District
administration is focused on
replacing critical infrastructure and
equipment for the communities we
serve. This includes the recent
purchase of six new wildland
firefighting type III engines, a new
water tender, and three new quick
response wildland fire type VI engines. We currently have five new type I
engines, a new hazardous materials unit, and a new aerial tiller unit on order.
In addition to increasing the response capability of the fleet, the Fire District
is in the permitting phase to build two new fire stations; one in Redwood
Estates and one in Monte Sereno.
On the horizon is the replacement of the current Winchester Fire Station.
This station serves the northern part of the town of Los Gatos and houses a
truck company and a urban search and rescue (USAR) unit, which is part of
our special operations task force. The current station was built in 19 65 and
was designed to house a single company (4 or less personnel). A lot has
changed in the town since 1965 and the current station needs to be rebuilt to
better support our community and house the critical resources needed for
today’s risks.
*2500 Gallon Water Tender
*Type III Wildland Engine
*Type VI Quick Response Engine
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COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
The new Winchester fire station will represent a 12-15 million dollar
investment into the town of Los Gatos for critical infrastructure that will
support emergency operations today and into the future. This investment
will provide the town with a state of the art fire station designed to support
and house additional personnel and equipment. This includes the ability to
house wildfire specific emergency vehicles designed to address the growing
needs of wildfire protection in
the town’s wildland urban
interface area. The new
station will be built to
essential facility standards
ensuring the station will be in
service and available for the
public after a large area
disaster such as an
earthquake.
The District would seek input from the town on final station design elements
to ensure the overall look and feel of the new station represents t he town it
protects. Once the additional two lots are purchased and consolidated into
one parcel, the District will contract with an architectural firm to begin
programming and design of the new station. The District estimates the new
station will be built within 2-3 years after the procurement of the
architectural firm.
SANTA CLARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT
TOWN OF LOS GATOS MONUMENT SIGN