Agenda Package 6-24-13 Recessed Meeting

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NO LEE COUNTY Committed Today for a Better Tomorrow REPORT: Concerning a Proposal to Establish Seven Fire and Emergency Response Service Districts Within the Tramway, Deep River, Cape Fear, Northview, Lemon Springs, Carolina Trace, and Northwest Pocket Rural Fire Protection Districts This report has been prepared by the Lee County Attorney's Office at the direction of the Lee County Board of Commissioners (hereinafter "Board ") and is submitted to the Board's Clerk as required by North Carolina General Statute 130A- 302(b). The clerk shall make it available for public inspection and copying during the Clerk's regular office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. At its regular meeting on May 6, 2013, the Board adopted a resolution making findings concerning a proposal to establish seven fire and emergency response service districts within the territorial jurisdiction of the following districts: Tramway Rural Fire Protection District, Deep River Rural Fire Protection District, Cape Fear Rural Fire Protection District, Northview Rural Fire Protection District, Lemon Springs Rural Fire Protection District, Carolina Trace Rural Fire Protection District, and Northwest Pocket Rural Fire Protection District (hereinafter collectively known as the "Districts. ") The resolution also directed County staff to take all actions necessary to allow the Board to make a final decision concerning whether to establish the service districts. The preparation and filing of this report is a prerequisite for the Board's further consideration of the proposal. The Board's resolution was adopted in response to information and a recommendation from officers of the Fire Advisory Board, property owners, residents, and the Districts to have transferred by July 1, 2013 the responsibility of providing fire protection services from Rural Fire Protection Districts to Rural Fire Service Districts. Such transfer will place every parcel in Lee County within a rated fire protection class, thus improving their fire protection class ratings. Prior to adopting the resolution, the Board received and considered information illustrating that the best procedure to place every parcel in Lee County within a rated fire protection class by the July 1, 2013 deadline is through the establishment of seven fire service districts which are roughly based on the existing fire protection districts but not necessarily coterminous with those district lines. Maps showing the boundaries of the seven proposed service districts are attached and incorporated by reference into this report. As required by North Carolina General Statute § 153A- 302(a), the Board considered information and evidence from the Fire Advisory Board and other persons and entities relevant to the question of whether the districts would meet the statutory standards required to establish the districts. Based upon that information and evidence, the Board of Commissioners made the following findings: 1