City and Cal Fire officials have been in on-again, off-again talks for many years and recently reached a deal that would keep the state agency here for the long term.
Hollister City Council members tonight were set to consider the proposed lease agreement that includes a 30-year term, base rent of about $80,000 annually and a CPI-correlated rent hike capped at 15 percent every five years.
The long-term commitment is vastly beneficial. The financial provisions are fair.
The lease draft, however, is missing a crucial element: A deadline or some type of time frame attached to the state agency’s construction of a new air-attack base on those nine acres at the airport.
As it stands, the lease would allow Cal Fire to sit on the new base’s land for as long as the state agency desires with no time frames or related consequences.
It’s an especially alarming prospect considering the state’s fiscal nightmare and the reality that the money to build this base might not be available for many years to come.
From a liability perspective, if the state is unwilling to commit to building a base there within two years – or five, 10 or 15 years – then why should the city commit to anchoring in Cal Fire for the long term without a guaranteed construction timeline?
It’s a bad business deal for taxpayers because the city could end up sitting on the plot for untold years, and likely would unless state leaders pull a Hail Mary and turn around this grim situation sooner than later.
Cal Fire’s lacking commitment to any date whatsoever exhibits the depth of this state’s financial mess. It’s also a reason for city officials to require an attached time frame or set of time frames in the agreement to ensure that Hollister taxpayers end up gaining, and not losing, from the deal.
