CALDWELL, Idaho — The Caldwell mayor and city council approved a bond ordinance to rebuild and expand fire stations on Sept. 5 which allows the proposed bond to move forward to the ballot.
The proposed bond would fund a rebuild and expansion of Station 1, and a new station, Station 4, to be shared with the Nampa Fire Protection District. The bond requires a two-thirds majority approval from voters.
This approval came from the initial results of a Fire Station Survey at an Aug. 15 meeting this year. According to the news release, the survey served to educate the community about the status of fire stations and services, and more importantly, gather input regarding the prioritization of fire services, as well as gathering residents sentiments regarding a potential bond to fund the construction of the two proposed stations.
The news release furthers the results of the survey showed a majority of respondents would support a bond to fund the two stations. There was a total of 527 responses to the survey, and 74% indicated they would support a bond measure for the fire stations.
"This is something our community needs in order to keep up with the unprecedented growth we have been experiencing over the past decade. Public safety is a top priority for Caldwell and this will help ensure that we are keeping our citizens safe by cutting response times to emergencies and ensuring our firefighters have adequate and modern facilities," said Mayor Jarom Wagoner.
The Sept. 5 meeting set the stage for this bond. There will be a municipal bond election held on Nov. 7.
As reported in the news release, the maximum bond amount would be $17.3 million to fund both projects. The annual estimated cost to the taxpayer would be $13.92 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value for 20 years. Of the asked $17.3 million, and the 20 year maturity of the bond, the estimated total cost would be $24,960,000, adding $7.6 million in interest.
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