4 Fire Stations Will Be Rebuilt as Promised, Riverside City Council Vows

The Riverside City Council on Tuesday vowed that the four fire stations voters were promised when they approved a $20-million bond measure would be built, despite a funding shortfall.

“We need to give the public what they voted for,” said Councilman Art Gage. “We need to support our firefighters.”

Voters had been told that the bond measure they overwhelmingly approved in November would pay to relocate and rebuild four outdated, cramped fire stations.

However, when the City Council approved a $1.5-million contract with a design firm in April, it covered only three stations.

Council members, who didn’t realize the discrepancy at the time, said it should have been highlighted in the staff report. The city’s fire chief said that there was only enough money to rebuild three stations because of increased construction costs and property values.

The council voted 7 to 0 to refer the matter to its finance committee. The council had considered halting all design work on the stations but decided to allow an assessment of needs, now underway, to continue.