Fairness called foundation of new lower fire service contract between Monterey and airport district.

The “walk away” is a negotiation tactic when one side wants a better deal. Last summer the Monterey Peninsula Airport District board did its version of the walk away with the City of Monterey and it worked: The district that oversees the Monterey Regional Airport will be paying almost $2.2 million less for fire services provided by the Monterey Fire Department over the next five years.

Under the previous contract that ends on June 30, the total value over five and a half years was $9.33 million. The new contract total is $7.15 million through June 30, 2024. The Monterey Fire Department maintains a fire house at the airport, which is also used to respond to emergencies in the northeastern part of the city.

The fact that the airport station does serve more than just the airport—84 percent of just over 200 calls a year go to locations outside of the airport—was the leverage the district board needed for decreased fees.

While that’s good news for the airport district, $2.2 million is a budgetary challenge for the city, and that’s where both sides gave a little. The district agreed to step down how much it pays annually over the five-year term, City Manager Hans Uslar told the Monterey City Council on Tuesday, April 16.

“The airport district was considerate enough to work with us,” Uslar told the Council. “We said we cannot absorb such a big hit.”

The city was receiving $1.75 million a year the last two fiscal years per the old contract which started at $1.65 million a year when the partnership began, according to a Monterey staff report. (It paid $825,000 the first half-year.)

With the new contract the district will pay $1,613,074 for the first year, decreasing to $1,503,322 the second, then equal amounts of $1,344,720 the remaining three years, with some adjustments based on the city’s true costs and a cost-sharing formula which could result in the district either paying more than the stated amount or less, depending on the formula.

Negotiations have been ongoing since last summer, when the airport district informed the city on June 30 it would not renew the contract which was set to automatically renew in July of this year. In August Monterey Regional Airport’s Executive Director Mike LaPier told the Weekly the district intended to work out a new contract with the city.

“We enjoy a good relationship with the city and are very confident we can reach a new agreement,” he said in an email.

Uslar told the Council on Tuesday, “we need to pay our portion” of services provided to residents outside of the airport. A staff report states that several areas of Monterey, including Fisherman’s Flats, Garden Road and Ryan Ranch, have seen improved response times since the city started providing services for the district.

An analysis showed that over the last five years, 84 percent of service calls from the airport station were to Monterey locations. The new contract includes language that makes Monterey responsible for 84 percent of the routine costs associated with the station and engine.

The airport will bear all costs associated with the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicle and its operations, as well as capital improvements to airport property, both vehicles and station.

The district previously maintained its own fire department, but dissolved it in 2013 in a cost-cutting move. Its firefighters were absorbed into the city’s department. The city considered the partnership mutually beneficial, since it had “always been a dream” to have a station in that region of the city.

Uslar said he, Monterey Fire Chief Guandez Panholzer and the airport district consider the new agreement “more than fair.” After his report the Council voted unanimously to approve the contract which goes into effect July 1.