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Volume 171 • Issue 42 | 75¢
mtdemocrat.com
Friday, April 8, 2022
EDH Fire bows out of Rescue annexation Noel Stack Managing editor The El Dorado Hills and Rescue fire departments have called it quits. Monday the EDH Fire Board, based on the recommendation of EDH Fire Chief Maurice Johnson, voted to terminate the two fire districts’ shared services agreement (effective in 30 days) and rescind the letter of intent regarding annexation sent last November to the El Dorado
Local Agency Formation Commission. The board directed Chief Johnson to work with the Rescue Fire Protection District Board of Directors on a transition plan. Since 2013 the two fire departments have had a shared services agreement in place, combining a fire chief and administrative staff as well as having firefighters train together — all at a cost of $75,000/year to Rescue. In late-summer 2019 the agencies’ fire boards voted
to explore annexation, a process that has now come to an abrupt halt. Public signs of a fracture became evident when the RFPD board held a special meeting March 30 to discuss the shared services agreement and the agenda noted a closed session item announcing a “public employee appointment discussion concerning (the) fire chief position.” Nothing was reported out of that closed session. “They want to focus on
“They want to focus on their identity and we’re ready to focus on El Dorado Hills.” — Maurice Johnson, El Dorado Hills fire chief their identity and we’re ready to focus on El Dorado Hills,” Johnson told the Mountain Democrat, insisting the sudden split is amicable. “There’s no rock throwing … no hard feelings. We want to help them find their happiness and move forward.” The RFPD Board of Directors’ next scheduled
meeting is April 13, when that board is expected to also terminate the shared services agreement. Over the next month Chief Johnson said he will meet with Rescue Fire Board Chair Matt Koht to work out details of the separation. The Mountain Democrat n
See annexation, page A7
Fire chiefs: Shared services a win-win Krysten Kellum Editor When El Dorado County’s firefighting leaders took a closer look at two fire stations just over a mile from each other they saw an opportunity to better use resources. It’s been more than a year since the six firefighters from El Dorado County Fire Protection District’s Station 21 in Camino were reassigned to stations in Pleasant Valley and Pollock Pines, bringing engine staffing up to a minimum of three fire personnel and aligning with the model already in place in Placerville and Shingle Springs. Just down the road from Station 21 is Cal Fire’s Station 20 at Mt. Danaher, where one Cal Fire engine crew is stationed year-round and two during peak fire station. Cal Fire Assistant Chief Erich Schwab and El Dorado County Fire Protection District Chief Tim Cordero said a three-year agreement, which involved county fire funds going toward keeping seasonal staff at Cal Fire Station 43 in El Dorado all year, has meant more coverage and shorter response times — all at less cost to taxpayers. Because the Cal Fire engine crew stationed at Mt. Danaher is already under a state contract, county fire agreed the additional engine and staff would be stationed in El Dorado. The “closest resource” agreement all fire agencies on the West Slope operate under means no matter the jurisdiction, resources are dispatched to medical aids, vehicle collisions, fires and other emergencies within Camino and beyond to ensure maximum n
See shared services, page A2
PLACE ADDRESS LABEL HERE
Mountain Democrat photo by Krysten Kellum
Piles of burned trees, mostly pines and firs, are marked for timber sales along Silver Fork Road in the Eldorado National Forest.
Caldor Fire timber sales part of restoration effort Krysten Kellum Editor Countless trees burned across the 220,000-plus-acre Caldor Fire have been cut down and stacked high in the Eldorado National Forest.
Daniel Smith, part of the team leading the Caldor Fire recovery effort for the Eldorado National Forest, said the first focus is to sell the timber to sawmills. Approximately 170,000 tons of timber from the Caldor Fire burn area have been sold so far, Smith
said. Sales to sawmills provide the greatest value, which in turn brings more funding for restoration work, but there is an oversupply of logs due to the increased number and n
See Timber, page A7
Eminent domain negotiations continue Eric Jaramishian Staff writer
The county is in negotiation with 3551 Garden Rose Road property owner James Teter to acquire the land for construction of the proposed Diamond Springs Parkway, a four-lane connector between Highway 49 and Missouri Flat Road.
El Dorado County is moving forward with eminent domain to acquire parcels needed for the Diamond Springs Parkway project while in negotiation with the owner. While the properties currently owned by 78-year-old Shingle Springs resident James Teter are needed to allow the county to move
Mountain Democrat photo by Eric Jaramishian
forward with its connector road between Missouri Flat Road and Highway 49, Teter and the county have not come to an agreement on a price. A hearing was held in the Board of Supervisors chambers Tuesday to discuss eminent domain of the three parcels, which total 8.81 acres on the north side of China Garden n
See eminent domain, page A7
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