NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a series of public hearings will be held by Participating Agencies (i.e., City of Portola, Beckwourth Fire Protection District, Sierra Valley Fire Protection District, and Gold Mountain Community Services District) to consider adopting substantially similar Resolutions of Application to the Plumas Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) for the formation of the “Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District” (Beckwourth Peak FPD) and the reorganization of existing fire service providers in the affected territory in accordance with Government Code Section 56853. The respective agencies plan to consider this item at the following public hearings:
Sierra Valley FPD Board Hearing
February 14, 2023 – 7:00pm
Chilcoot Fire Station
94362 Highway 70, Chilcoot, CA 96105
Beckwourth FPD Board Hearing
February 15, 2023 – 6:30pm
Beckwourth Fire Station No. 1
180 Main Street, Beckwourth, CA 96129
Gold Mountain CSD Board Hearing
February 17, 2023 – 10:00am
GMCSD Conference Room
150 Pacific Street, Suite 8, Portola, CA 96122
City of Portola Council Hearing
February 22, 2023 – 6:00pm
City Hall Council Chambers
35 Third Avenue, Portola, CA 96122
Formation of the Beckwourth Peak FPD would serve to consolidate fire protection, emergency medical and rescue services into a regional district and establish a reliable source of revenue to support services. The Beckwourth Peak FPD will be governed by a five-member board of directors elected by the registered voters residing within the boundaries of the new district. The formation will result in the concurrent dissolution of the Beckwourth FPD and the Sierra Valley FPD, the divestiture of power to provide fire protection by Gold Mountain CSD, and the transfer of responsibility for providing fire protection by the City of Portola. All remaining assets, including real property assets, fire stations, rolling stock and equipment will be transferred to the Beckwourth Peak FPD as the successor agency.
Formation of the Beckwourth Peak FPD is intended to address common issues faced by the affected agencies including significant financial constraints in the face of rising costs, increasing critical non-fire life safety calls that require more resources to adequately serve those in need, reliance solely on volunteers in a time of declining volunteerism, illogical fire service boundaries, disjointed service operations and planning, and difficulty maintaining full governing bodies from small population bases.
The overall objective of the regional district is to provide a cost effective, well trained, and professional volunteer fire agency for years to come through the implementation of modern and efficient programs and providing opportunities to professionals and volunteers.
Since the Beckwourth Peak FPD will be formed through consolidation of several existing agencies, all existing apparatus and other vehicles and equipment will be transferred to the Beckwourth Peak FPD upon formation. The approval of a new special tax by the registered voters within the new fire district boundary and the successful execution of a property tax exchange agreement with the County are requested LAFCo conditions of reorganization/formation approval. The revenue generated by these two key funding sources and continued fundraising, donations and grants are essential for establishing a reliable budget for which the Beckwourth Peak FPD will need to maintain and improve its capacity to provide fire and EMS services.
This Notice of Intent for formation of the Beckwourth Peak FPD and reorganization of existing fire service providers in the affected territory, serves as the required 21-day notice pursuant to California Government Code Sections 56654(c). Anyone who wishes to be heard on this matter of the included agencies detailed above, may appear at one or more of the public hearings and be heard. For more information, please visit: www.fireprotectplumas.org or email: FireProtectPlumas@gmail.com.
