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An Atherton home next door to the Almendral Avenue fire station, purchased by the fire district for $4.6 million in June, should be managed as a rental, not as a crash pad for weary Menlo Park Fire Protection District employees, the district’s board said on Tuesday (Aug. 15).
Chief Harold Schapelhouman had recommended in a report to the board that the district “clean up the home and allow Chief Officers, Fire Investigators and other appropriate safety personnel to use the three bedrooms in order to avoid long commutes to their primary residences.”
But fire board members said they preferred board member Chuck Bernstein’s proposal, made to the chief in an email before the meeting and distributed to board members, to hire a property manager and rent the house as a private residence.
In the email to the chief, Mr. Bernstein said: “It looks bad from a community standpoint to be giving our chief officers temporary housing that costs $5 million. This is not a priority for the district.”
The chief’s written response was: “I guess it depends on ones (sic) perspective. Did we purchase the property as an investment or strategic location to support the mission and day to day operations of the Fire District?”
Mr. Bernstein said he believes the fire district can net a $5,000 to $7,000 monthly profit by renting the home, even if paying property taxes.
Board members unanimously agreed that the district should use a property manager to rent the house, and asked the chief to return with a report about what work would be needed to prepare it for rental.
Board director Virginia Chang Kiraly, who was absent from the meeting, said later that while she is unsure because she didn’t participate in the discussion, she probably would have supported the chief’s recommendation.
“If you look at why governments buy property, it is for a public use,” she said. “I don’t think the fire district should be in the business of being a landlord. Our charge is not to be a profit center.”
Ms. Chang Kiraly, who is the district’s liaison to Atherton, said that to her knowledge, no one from the district had asked nearby residents or the town what they preferred the house be used for.
Board members also did not support two other recommendations from Chief Schapelhouman: to remove the swimming pool from the property as “a potential safety issue and long term maintenance expense,” and to erect a multi-purpose garage of about 1,000 square feet on the property.
“I think we all concur with the fact that we should move expeditiously to turn this into an income-producing property,” board President Peter Carpenter said. “This is a very good rental market. It’s a prime piece of real estate,” he said.
“The impact on the neighborhood is going to be zero … because its current use will be continued,” he said.
The district purchased the property when it came on the market in June, paying $300,000 more than the listing price and beating out several other bidders with an all-cash offer.
After the purchase, Chief Schapelhouman said the district will eventually be able to use the land to make the fire station “more functional” but that a new station will not be built for at least two and possibly three decades.
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Enough is enough. Rent the property, the district already does more than enough for the fire personnel.
So now MPFD is going around buying houses with no plans for what to do with them?
The proposal to rent this property was made by Director Ianson, endorsed by Director Silano and then concurred in by all four Directors who were present.
This property was acquired because of its unique location that surrounds two sides of the existing single bay Station 3.
Without this property it would not have been possible to expand Station 3 when that becomes necessary at some future date.
In the interim the rental of this property will have no different impact on the neighbor as the current residential use will continue and the income will cover property taxes and a return on the District’s investment.
why not deduct a per/per night room rental fee from the paychecks of any fire personnel using it to avoid a long commute. at least in the short term it would minimize the out of pocket costs of the district for holding tge property which will probably prove to be a good investment.
So, in addition to the figurative featherbedding we seem to have all over our over-funded fire district, we have literal featherbedding too? Interesting…
MP resident – Please read the story. The house will be rented , NOT used by the firefighters.
The practice of allowing safety personnel to use a home like this to avoid long commutes is also used by the Town of Atherton for its police officers who protect and serve the community. No where during the meeting or in subsequent information was the term “crash pad” used.
The purchase of the property was one of opportunity for the future strategic expansion of this very small Fire Station. As I said during the meeting, we are at least ten years out with several other facilities in line ahead of this project. The decision by the Fire Board to rent the property given that horizon is understandable.
Harold Schapelhouman, Fire Chief
Why in the world would the property be bought for potential use in 20-30 years, per the Chief?
Are you kidding me?
They spent $5 million on a potential use 3 decades from now.
A million things could change in the next 20-30 years. Who authorized this purchase?
The Fire Board approved this purchase 5-0 because property immediately adjacent to the existing station was available for the first time in 40 years. The Fire District wisely plans for the future in contrast to other agencies which neither have the fiscal discipline or the foresight to make such investments.
Maybe this station will be the final resting place for the aerial ladder/engine that has was supposed to be stationed up here on Alameda to serve the west side but ended up on the East Side because of poor planning.
And while it’s over there, the firemen still aren’t trained on its use; The neighboring Departments don’t know how it’s outfitted and the 911 call center hasn’t been given updated information for it. But we sure have a pretty movie of the thing created by the department’s drone “pilot” and now a rental property to fund it.
Someone pull back the curtain.
“the aerial ladder/engine that has was supposed to be stationed up here on Alameda to serve the west side but ended up on the East Side because of poor planning. ”
Wrong. There is one (and sometimes even two) aerial ladder truck always at Station 1 on Middlefield that serves the west side.
The new aerial ladder truck at Station 77 serves the east side .
Station 3 cannot, in its current configuration, accommodate an aerial ladder truck.
Actually, it is good time for the fire district to buy the house. The house is small by Atherton standards and quite old. A new owner would have built a mega mansion, which would make it much more expensive to buy out later on, assuming they would even sell when the fire district was ready to expand the Almendral station.
Essentially, the fire district paid for just the land since the house’s value was minimal. And purchasing a property on the open market is much better than eminent domain with a reluctant seller.
And renting out the house will cover the carrying costs until the project is ready to be built. If circumstances change in 20 years and the fire district decides they don’t need the property anymore, they can always sell it at a profit. Land prices on the peninsula just keep going up.
Nonsense.
You know full well that the original plan was to put that pumper/truck at the alameda station. Now you say you sometimes have two trucks at station 1? How does that adequately serve the West side? Take one of them and put it at the alameda station instead of leaving both of them at station 1. And don’t tell me it won’t fit. Park it in front.
And how is the areal ladder serving the east side? It’s only being used as a pumper!
“And how is the areal ladder serving the east side? It’s only being used as a pumper!”
Wrong – Read the press release and watch the video:
https://www.menlofire.org/home-news/press-release-july-14-2017-the-most-awesome-fire-truck-youve-ever-seen
Where do you get your misinformation?
Truck 1 ( the aerial unit at Station1) responded to 90% of its calls in 2014 in 8 min 41 seconds.
In 2015 the 90% response time for Truck 1 dropped to 7 minutes 46 seconds.
In 2016 the 90% response time for Truck 1 dropped to 6 minutes and 50 seconds.
The west side is being very well covered by Truck 1.
Standard verbose press release language!
Fact – The truck/pumper was originally planned to be at the alameda station
Fact – It was then planned for the Santa Cruz station
Fact – it’s now in the East side
Fact – It’s only being USED as a pumper regardless of what the press release says.
Fact – The firemen aren’t fully trained on it
Fact – Having two trucks at station 1 instead of speeding them out is irresponsible
Angler – You facts are all wrong. I challenge you to document them.
Carpenter- my facts are correct. I challenge you to get out of the board room any talk to the real people.
And thanks for the response information. The reduction in time shows the new ladder wasn’t needed at all and proves the traffic argument is leverage to buy more trucks that aren’t needed.
“get out of the board room any talk to the real people. ”
I do that all the time.
And what is the basis for your undocumented opinions?
“The reduction in time shows the new ladder wasn’t needed ”
Have you even bothered to look at all the new high rise construction both already in place and planned both on the east side and the west side?
Just exactly how would the new Gateway high rise be served without a ladder truck?
Have you travelled Marsh or Willow lately to see how long it would take to move a ladder truch from one side of the District to the other?
And just like that the statistics used to support your cause are suddenly irrelevant. Your posts confirm and expose what has been going on for years. Thank you.
When making significant capital investments like fire stations, associated property and fire apparatus responsible planning requires looking forward rather than in the rear view mirror.
When you look at all the new and planned construction there is no way that the District could be properly covered by a single truck located on the west side. And the station with the lowest 90% response time (7:31) in 2016 was Station 77.
Given the growth of the last 40 years and the likely growth of the next 40, it would be stupid not to purchase this property. The Fire District paid land value. Had they not purchased it, guaranteed, either a developer or someone else would have bought it and put the largest house they possibly could on that land. Then 20 years from now when the Fire District absolutely, positively needed the property they would likely have to pay ten times what they paid now.
The rent will cover carry costs, so it’s not like the district will be running a negative cash flow. Had they not purchased it now, 20, years from now, people like s angler would be screaming about the district’s incompetence in NOT purchasing the property when they had the chance to get it for land value.
The fire district is about the most financially responsible public agency I’ve ever seen. I wish my city was run as well.
So the fire chief is the new property.manager tasked with derermining in report form upgrades needed in order to rent it out? That’s insult to injury. And $10k/mo for that place as is? Ha!!
You folks need to come up for air..
” And $10k/mo for that place as is? Ha!!
You folks need to come up for air..
And where did you pull that figure from? The air?
Perhaps Peter and Angler should take their “argument” to a district board meeting, before it ends up elsewhere.