Fire Station 199

Decisions made about Peoria Fire Station 199 at Lake Pleasant are not just disappointing, they are dangerous and will cost lives

The current City of Peoria administration’s move to shutter one of our city’s most vital public safety resources, Fire Station 199 at Lake Pleasant, troubles me. And here’s why.

An email dated Oct. 26, 2023, from Travis Cutright, Deputy City Manager of Peoria, to City Manager Henry Darwin, confirms that Peoria leadership intentionally allowed the Fire-Medical Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Peoria and Maricopa County to expire to gain “leverage” so the City could negotiate more favorable, meaning more profitable, contract terms for Peoria Fire services.

His words were explicit:

“…I asked Fire to let the IGA expire to give us a bit of leverage on the terms of the IGA. We’ll tighten up the language to be more CoP friendly.”

This was not a clerical lapse. This was a unilateral decision made by the current administration, and it is one that gambles with lives. This decision was a deliberate financial strategy by city management, approved and overseen by the same elected leadership and management that publicly claims to be “pro-public safety.”

Behind closed doors, they were negotiating how to extract more money from Maricopa County for providing emergency services, even when those services involve life-saving rescue operations at Arizona’s deadliest lake and surrounding area. They’ll tell you the numbers don’t support the station, but I disagree. Taking an average is misleading. It doesn’t account for peak seasons or severity of a call. And each one of those calls represents a human being in need, a person we have promised to serve.

Mayor Beck has publicly justified spending approximately $3 million on a police helicopter, emphasizing its importance to the public’s safety and the safety of first responders. If the lives of the citizens are worth a $3 million investment in a helicopter, then how does Peoria leadership explain:

● Terminating or defunding Fire Station 199, the only fire station serving far North Peoria

● Removing the fire boat from Lake Pleasant; this boat is the most tactical water rescue boat in all of Maricopa County and the only fire protection for the marina

● A station with a documented record of saving lives

● A station with highly trained rescue swimmers and paramedics that have rescued residents, boaters and visitors

● A station that provides fire, medical, water rescue, and wildland response for Lake Pleasant, Carefree Highway accidents, and the fastest-growing part of Peoria

The scenarios faced by the crew members at Fire Station 199 and the Peoria Fire Boat are not hypotheticals. They are real. I’ve been on the calls. Lives have been saved. But it seems that the current administration only values lives when it supports the leadership’s political and financial narrative.

As a former first responder with more than 46 years of experience, I can say this without hesitation: Making money off protecting and serving a community is morally wrong. As your next Mayor, I will restore the correct mindset inside Peoria government, that saving lives is not a business transaction or a political talking point. It is a sacred duty.

A city that values its people does not calculate whether someone is worth the cost of rescuing.

Every life is priceless.

Art Miller Candidate for Mayor of Peoria

www.millerformayor.org