The details of possibly renting a district-owned property to an employee will be discussed by the fire board when it meets on Tuesday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in the classroom at the 300 Middlefield Road fire station.

Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said the land on which the house is located is needed for the district to build a larger station sometime in the near future.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 2110 Valparaiso Ave., next door to the district's Alameda de las Pulgas fire station, had been listed for lease at $6,000 per month when the district began negotiating for its purchase.

Under this plan, the employee's taxable income would drop by $3,000 and pension benefits would be based on the reduced salary.

The chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District wants permission to rent the house it recently purchased for $3.2 million to a district employee in exchange for a $3,000 per month reduction in the employee's salary.

The Menlo Park Fire Protection District wants to rent this home it recently purchased for $3.2 million to a fire district employee in exchange of a $3,000 per month salary reduction. (Photo from Zillow.com)

The chief's second-priority recommendation is to assign $525,000 to be spent making improvements to the Almendral Avenue property, also bought to expand the station on the adjacent site. The district will not need to expand the station for 20 to 30 years, the chief said, and he suggests removing the pool, upgrading the house and building a second residential unit on the property.

The chief asked the board to give top priority to making changes to the East Palo Alto warehouse the district purchased last year for $5 million. He is asking for $1.48 million to be put into a reserve account to pay for the improvements.

The agenda for the Tuesday meeting also includes a discussion of priorities for district construction projects, including several projects that had not been on the district's list of planned projects in the past.

The chief has also asked that the board continue to allow him to let other district employees stay less than full time at other district-owned properties at no cost. A fire training captain has been staying in the Atherton house the district purchased last year for $4.6 million three nights a week "to eliminate his commute," a report from the chief says.

Also on the meeting agenda is consideration of three items suggested by board member Peter Carpenter: A process for notifying jurisdictions when "their primary response routes do not permit timely transit by emergency vehicles," a districtwide emergency alert system, and districtwide evacuation planning.

The chief's recommendation for third priority is the initial stages of improving the 300 Middlefield Road station, including a new training tower and meeting rooms.

Tuesday: Menlo fire board to consider housing for employees

Discussion of construction project priorities also on agenda