The Green Valley Fire District is getting ready to take care of a new area in Sahuarita. Chief Chuck Wunder told his team about the plans on Monday. They have a lot of work to do before July 1st, when they’ll start helping in the areas where Rural/Metro used to work.

Chief Wunder talked about the changes happening, like a new fire station in Green Valley and changing the old station into a place for vehicles. He said they’re making sure the money is managed well and that their ideas might change.

Last year, Rural Metro said they would leave northern Sahuarita by June 30, 2024. Since they didn’t have enough people using their services, GVFD decided to help there.

GVFD is buying a fire station for $3.2 million from Rural/Metro. Right now, it’s being processed, and Rural/Metro will pay $11,000 every month until GVFD takes over. Then, it’ll be called Station 154.

GVFD is talking to Rural/Metro about buying some things, but some things, like their alerting system, are too old and won’t work with GVFD’s systems.

They need to get equipment for the station, like battery chargers, computers, and safety gear. The money from Rural/Metro’s rent will help cover these costs.

They’re also making sure that when people call 911, the calls will go to the right place after July 1st. They’re planning how to respond to fires and creating documents about buildings and possible dangers.

GVFD is getting ready for new challenges too, like taking care of Sahuarita Lake and helping with more water rescues. They expect more calls about snakes and changing batteries, which used to cost money but will now be part of their service.

They’ll soon be hiring new people, some of whom will be from Rural/Metro. They need to train them well and make sure they understand how GVFD works.

The district is also thinking about hiring more people to handle the new schools and businesses they’ll be helping. They might even need more volunteers for different tasks.

Wunder suggested the board think about hiring more staff to take care of the buildings and equipment because the district is getting bigger.

There’s also talk about changing the district’s name, which would involve a lot of work to update different things.

In other news, they’re moving into a new station on November 27th, and there will be a big opening on December 5th.

They’re also planning to change the old station into a place to manage their vehicles and equipment. They need this to organize everything better.

The money they saved for the new station can’t be used for this, but they’re thinking of using $720,000 from a special fund to make it happen.

GVFD has money set aside for new fire trucks and gear, but they need to plan carefully because deliveries are taking longer than usual due to problems with getting supplies.