Agenda - 12-13-2011 - Information Item 2

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Sr~-Fo ~ ~a.+ - on ~-I-em MEMORANDUM To: Frank Clifton, County Manager From:. Frank Montes de Oca, Emergency Services Director Michael Talbert, Assistant County Manager Date: December 7, 2011 Re: Fire Protection Districts/Insurance Districts Update Orange County Emergency Services and several County Fire Departments continue to receive inquiries from home owners asking what solutions are available to lower the cost of their homeowners (fire) insurance. Throughout the County there are approximately 1,172 properties that are located outside of six-road miles of the fire station that provides coverage to the property. The Board recently approved an insurance district adjustment to an area within the Caldwell and Eno Fire Districts. Emergency Services has been working with the Orange Grove fire department (Cane Creek Fire District) and the Town of Chapel Hill and North Chatham fire departments (Southern Triangle Fire District) to address specific insurance coverage issues. We plan to propose solutions for both of these fire districts in January, 2012. Orange Grove is in the planning stages for a new fire station fo be strategically located in the southeastern part of the Cane Creek fire district. A new fire station could provide insurance district coverage for an estimated 400 property owners currently more than b- road miles from the Orange Grove Station. If approved, it would be a small two bay unmanned station that would meet the insurance definition for a station and provide an insurance rating of 9 for that part of the fire district. It would take about 9 to 12 months to construct the building and pass an inspection from the State Fire Marshal's Office. We are investigating the possibility of splitting the Southern Triangle Fire District into two defined geographic fire service contract areas. The Southern Triangle Fire Tax District could remain as one district with one tax rate for the entire fire district, but the County could contract with two different fire departments to provide services in defined geographic regions within the district. There are approximately 100 property owners that are serviced by OWASA water and have fire hydrants in their development. These property owners are less than 3 miles from the Chapel Hill Fire Departments Station #5 but more than six-road miles from the closest North Chatham fire station. If the Board approved, two different fire departments (Town of Chapel Hill and North Chatham) could provide fire services to the Southern Triangle Fire District and all property owners in the fire district would be within 6-road miles of afire station. This action could be accomplished with new fire service contracts effective July 1, 2012. The Board of County Commissioners is statutorily responsible for determining the methods of providing fire services in the districts and has entered into contractual agreements with the volunteer and/or municipal fire departments on behalf of the districts. The Board also sets the tax rate during the annual budget process and determines how the service will be provided. The Board of County Commissioners may change service providers or the nature of the service being provided at any time. A volunteer or municipal fire department does not have any statutory right to continue to serve a particular district. We are continuing to investigate short-term and long-term solutions to offer insurance relief for as many property owners as possible.