To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Agreement with the State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to become a Cooperator with the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Program
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing board of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to execute a cooperative agreement with the State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to become a Cooperator with the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Program for the term June 26, 2024 through June 26, 2029 for the purpose of screening and borrowing federal excess property for primary use in activities directly related to wildland and rural community fire protection.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The execution of this agreement does not have a fiscal impact. Should the District choose to acquire equipment under this agreement there may be costs associated with that particular procurement, which will need to be evaluated and budgeted for at a future date. In some cases, the acquisition of equipment will be at no cost to the District.
BACKGROUND:
The State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is an approved agent of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service for administering Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) as part of the Cooperative Fire Protection Program, which allows the Cooperators to take custody and use FEPP property for wildland and rural community fire protection services.
Participation in this program will allow Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) to access excess federal property at little to no cost to the District, providing significant cost savings. This program is particularly valuable for the District when equipment that is used infrequently but comes with a high investment is needed, including equipment used in support of the wildland firefighting mission.
In the past, this program made the Grade-All forklift currently in use at the District training campus, towable emergency generators, logistics trailers, and a skid steer used in the heavy equipment program available to us at no cost. Other items the District may seek to acquire could include additional forklifts and logistics equipment, ten-wheel dump trucks for use during floods and debris removal activities, helicopters for the aviation program, equipment trailers, heavy equipment for fire trail maintenance, and related equipment for the Urban Search and Rescue Program.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The District will not be able to enter into a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE and will not be able to acquire federal excess property through the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Program. This would lead to increased costs of procurement for equipment which could be acquired through the FEPP as an alternative.