For City Council Meeting [December 14, 2021]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Marcus Fuller, City Manager
FROM: Brian Park, Acting Fire Chief
Title
Request City Council to: (1) Accept the Cal OES (Governor's Office of Emergency Services) Pass-through Grant Subaward Allocation of $400,000 for Fire Station Dormitory Improvements; (2) Adopt Resolution No. 7804 Amending the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget; and (3) Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Documents.
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BACKGROUND
On March 15, 2021, the City was notified of pending appropriations funding requests (formerly referred to as earmarks, now called Community Project Funding) from federal legislative programs. The deadline for submission was March 29, 2021. Staff reviewed the requirements for submission within the various funding bills, existing or former grant requests that met the requirements, and new department-specific projects that would meet the stated requirements. One project submitted for a state funding allocation requiring no local match was for construction of dormitory improvements at Fire Stations:
Dormitory Improvements For Modesty and Equity for Fire Stations 203 and 204
Request: $400,000
The fire service continues to face a significant gender gap. According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are 1.16 million firefighters in the United States, but only 7 percent are women. To recruit, develop and retain the best candidates including women and people of color in the fire service, departments must develop strategies that appeal to recruits and potential volunteers who do not have family ties. It's essential that recruitment efforts reach a wider audience and different parts of the community. Station dorm configurations and lack of privacy is an identified impediment to these challenges in Rialto. The Rialto Fire Department has two fire stations built in the '90s with an open dorm configuration separated by partition walls and curtains. A modern approac...
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