Robert Perea

Reno

With their ability to provide fire and rescue services already stretched thin, North Lyon County Fire Protection District Chief Scott Huntley often worries about his department’s ability to handle multiple calls.

With population projected to increase by almost 70 percent over the next 10 years, Huntley is saying, “Whoa.”

On Feb. 17, Huntley sent a letter to several city of Fernley officials informing them the fire district will not approve any new projects proposing residential development until its ability to provide emergency services to any new developments is addressed.

Huntley said he plans to address the Fernley City Planning Commission on the issue at its March 9 meeting, and he and fire district board chairman Ed Heston are scheduled to meet with Mayor Roy Edgington on Feb. 29 to discuss the issue.

That issue, Huntley said, is that the fire district doesn’t receive enough revenue as it is and is doing all it can to provide services to the community, but it needs help in order to provide adequate service as the community grows.

“We’re busting at the seams right now trying to meet the needs of the community,” Huntley told the fire district’s board of directors at its Feb. 17 meeting. “It’s my job, and I take it very seriously, to weigh these projects coming to this city.”

Simultaneous calls stretch district

In a separate interview, Huntley said he isn’t going to automatically block any residential project, but that he wants to open discussions with the city to discuss the fire district’s needs and ability to protect future developments.

“We will weigh every project, and we’re weighing ‘Can we save them?” Huntley said. “We want to see this community grow, but we want to see it grow safely. It’s frustrating to me if a loved one has to call for an ambulance, that they may have to wait way too long.”

The fire district operates on an annual budget of about

In its fiscal year 2014-15 budget, the district reported property tax revenues of a little more than $1.1 million and total revenues of slightly more than $1.3 million, and reported about $1.8 million of revenue in the ambulance fund.

Edgington has previously said that’s about half of what the fire district needs, although Huntley emphasized at the Feb. 17 fire district board meeting that the district is providing adequate service to the community with the resources it has.

“We’re the lowest paid tax district of all four in Lyon County,” North Lyon Fire District director Linda Carr said. “We are not against growth, what we are against is having it crammed down our throat and not done properly.”

Huntley said as new developments are proposed, he must weigh whether the fire district will be able to provide emergency response for those homes.

“We have to figure this out,” he said.

Fernley city manage Daphne Hooper she can relate to Huntley’s concerns, because she said the city is likewise operating on about half the revenue it needs, while also finding ways to provide the services it is required to provide.

“Those are things as a city, that’s why we’re looking at what other opportunities for revenue there are,” she said. “With growth I think it’s a team approach. The fire district and we can’t do all on our own.”