----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2001 5:20
PM
Subject: Re: Fire Station Question
The question regarding insurance rates is a good one.
If we do not build the new station, will my insurance rates go up? I believe it is very likely that eventually we would lose
our PC3 rating and see the rates increase. I don't believe it would happen
immediately. Response time is a critical factor in the rating process and as
Moscow continues to grow, we will have to be able to show the rating bureau we
can provide that on the north end of town.
Or will only those residents outside of the needed
response time have their rates go up? No, everyone
would be affected.
If I am paying x amount for fire insurance now, why will it
increase when for me the location of the station is mute? I need more information to respond to this question. Where do
you live? I can say that if the protection class changes it won't matter if
your house is next door to the fire station or on the outer edges of the
city.
As for impact fees, I feel the question goes farther than
the simple idea of impact fees. When the various city groups ( I.E.:
council, P&Z, etc) allow increased growth, the growth impacts all of
us. Some growth reduces tax burdens, some growth increases it. The
need for a new station as a result of expansion northward should have been
considered and been part of the planning all the way along, and yes impact
fees to support part of the construction should be considered, with the rest
of the cost supported by tax bonds. The need for the station would not
exist without the growth!
If Mr. Force is correct, this option isn't
possible.
Jon
Finally, the idea that fire is limited by boundaries, or
that response to a fire is based on location is unseemly. When there is
an accident on 95N, I've seen both rural and city fire trucks respond.
And that is how it should be! Fire knows no civil boundaries, rather it
is a communal problem. The need for a new station to serve the north of
the city and the county is a communal need and should be shared by
all.
John