Construction of Hollister’s second fire station has been delayed
indefinitely because of a disagreement between the city and the
property owner about the value of the land for the proposed site.
And both parties said the debate may end in court.
Construction of Hollister’s second fire station has been delayed indefinitely because of a disagreement between the city and the property owner about the value of the land for the proposed site. And both parties said the debate may end in court.
Hollister officials estimated the value of the 4-acre lot at 1200 Union Road at $730,000. The landowner’s son, Richard Hall III, said they refused to sell it for that amount and are currently having the land appraised. He would not disclose his estimation of the land’s value.
“They (the city) made an offer, and I think we counter-offered,” Hall said. “And that was it. It’s still under negotiations.”
The dispute means construction of the $2.6-million facility will not begin until at least early 2004, officials said at a budget meeting earlier this week. They had initially hoped to start construction of the fire station this summer and be finished by May 2004.
City Manager Dale Shaddox said the city will not build on the land without the title to the property.
“We’re going to get the land,” Councilman Robert Scattini said. “We just didn’t want to take a chance and start building, and then not get the land.”
For the landowners, Hall said, “There is no time line.”
The city, however, hopes to have the fire station built as soon as possible. Fire Chief Bill Garringer has strongly lobbied for a second fire station for the past three years.
At Monday’s Council meeting, when Garringer first heard news of the likely delay, he reiterated his long-standing conviction.
“If we put that off for two years, we’re putting the public at risk and we’re putting the firefighters at risk,” Garringer said. “I’m definitely disappointed in what I heard.”
Garringer has said the city lacks adequate fire services. The national standard, he said, is one firefighter for every 1,000 residents. Hollister currently staffs about 66 percent of that, he said.
The second fire station is designed to lower response times throughout Hollister. It will also accommodate nine additional firefighters, six of whom have already been hired.
Hall said he was initially approached about one year ago to sell the land.
The city chose that particular plot not only because it is a prime location for response times, but officials were also conscious that Hill’s property was essentially vacant, according to Councilman Tony LoBue.
“We wanted to be as unintrusive as possible,” LoBue said. “Being this land is virtually vacant, we figured this would probably be the best location for it.”
Hollister is following an “eminent domain” process for acquiring the land, LoBue said. That means the city can condemn the property for public use while paying a fair-market price.
There is an outside possibility the city could lose the land, LoBue said, if a judge was to rule that Hollister does not have a need for that property.
Hall confirmed a possibility for litigation, on one condition – “if they don’t meet our price.”
Councilman Tony Bruscia said the Council has been advised the dispute may end up in court. He also said the city wants to pay a fair price for the land.
“We can’t just give away the community’s money to somebody because he thinks it’s worth more than it is,” Bruscia said.
Hollister has spent $264,000 in design consultant fees on the project, and the city has already deposited the $730,000 with the state, according to Finance Director Barbara Mulholland. The total cost, including construction and management, is projected to approach $4 million.
“Our fire rating is below average,” LoBue said. “For insurance purposes, it’s below average. And the bottom line is, we need to have a new fire station in town.”
HFD Capt. Dave Lantis called the latest delay a “rut in the road.” He said it was not just the firefighters anxiously waiting a second fire station.
“The community at large are the ones that want the fire station as much as we do,” Lantis said. “It’s not a luxury item. It’s a necessity.”
