The Indian Valley Community Services District aims to build a public safety complex to house the Greenville fire department, sheriff’s substation and ambulance service quarters. All were lost in the 2021 Dixie Fire.
The district also plans a town center to house the Greenville branch of the Plumas County Library and a community meeting space with a stage and kitchen to replace two other buildings destroyed by the fire. It would include a regulation-size swimming pool and office suites for local and county agencies.
The Plumas County Board of Supervisors committed Oct. 15 to supporting both projects financially, but postponed confirming the exact dollar amounts and the source of the funding to meetings in November.
“The board of supervisors wants to see success and rebuilding, and would like a partnership … that can assist you to make this successful,” said Supervisor Greg Hagwood, chair of the board.
“We’re not building a Taj Mahal. We’re building a functional space.”
Adam Cox, Indian Valley Community Services District general manager
The planned public safety complex includes an 11,000-square-foot building with three drive-through bays for fire trucks, crew quarters for ambulance staff, a 50-person conference room and kitchen, and a self-contained suite for Plumas County Sheriff’s Office personnel, said Adam Cox, general manager of the Indian Valley CSD. Planning for the $6 million project is well under way, with 90% of it completed, he said.
Cox requested $1.5 million specifically for construction. “We’re not building a Taj Mahal. We’re building a functional space,” he said.
The $25 million town center project would include several buildings that total around 15,000 square feet. The site involves most of the block enclosed by State Route 89, Main and Mill streets, and Franklin Alley. Designs are still in the planning stage, Cox said, and largely conceptual.
He asked the supervisors for $1 million to prepare design documents and feasibility studies for operations and maintenance. Cox hopes to secure funding that will put “shovel ready” plans in place for construction grants. The district is applying for a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency grant with the Indian Valley Recreation and Parks District.
Unresolved issues delay decisions
Among the unresolved issues are the dollar amount and the account the supervisors would draw from. There are several options.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co.: Plumas County received a $7.8 million settlement from PG&E for damages sustained by the fire, which the utility company has admitted to starting. The supervisors have used $10,000 from this fund to finance a feral cat neuter/spay program.
That leaves almost all of the settlement funds available for rebuilding There are no restrictions on the funds, said Sara James, a deputy county counselor who sat in on the board’s Oct. 15 meeting. Those monies can be spent however they need to be spent, she said.
“The board unanimously wants to help with the recovery and rebuilding of the burn scar communities, particularly Greenville.”
Greg Hagwood, Plumas County Board of Supervisors chair
Insurance: The county has also received insurance payouts for Dixie Fire damages that include coverage for library books, public safety equipment and other inventory, as well as the three county buildings. After nearly three years of negotiations, the supervisors emerged from an Oct. 15 closed session to announce that they accepted a $3.177 million insurance settlement. That money is also available as a potential source of funding for the Indian Valley projects, Hagwood said.
“The board unanimously wants to help with the recovery and rebuilding of the burn scar communities, particularly Greenville,” he said. But it is essential to weigh the ongoing costs of these projects against one-time sources of money, Hagwood added.
None of the requests Cox presented has been reviewed by the county counsel’s office, James said. She asked the supervisors to delay any decisions to give her office time to study them and make recommendations.
The supervisors are expected to discuss funding the public safety complex Nov. 5. The town center project is scheduled for board discussion Nov. 21.
Greenville public projects as anchors for rebuilding
Both of the building projects Cox presented to the supervisors have been discussed by the public for months. Designs have changed with public input and with potential sources of funding, but the commitment to rebuilding the public institutions lost in the fire has not wavered, said Supervisor Kevin Goss.
Construction of a public safety center and a town center would establish anchors in Greenville that provide public services and allow people to envision a future town, Cox said.
“We are trying to be very ambitious. There’s no reason that we can’t shoot for the stars and see where we land,” he said. “People would see that there is definitely a future in Greenville, and Greenville is worth building back.”
“We have to be able to show that we have skin in the game.”
Kevin Goss, Plumas County supervisor
Goss, who represents Greenville and Indian Valley, said financial support from the board of supervisors would demonstrate the county’s commitment to rebuilding.
“We have to be able to show that we have skin in the game,” he said. The county needs to invest in order to get a return, he added.
Around 50 homeowners have already rebuilt houses in Greenville but commercial rebuilding has lagged. “Rooftops are important,” Goss said, but shops and public facilities will encourage others to rebuild.
He suggested using $750,000 from the county’s insurance settlement and $750,000 from the PG&E settlement to contribute $1.5 million to the public safety center project.
The town center project generated discussion over the concept of a regulation swimming pool. It would be the only one in Plumas County, Cox said. Several supervisors were concerned about operating and maintaining such a facility. Cox said he had applied for funding to study operations and maintenance of the entire town center complex. If the results were to demonstrate that the plans are too ambitious, he would scale them back.
“We have no intention of building an albatross that we can just afford to build but can’t afford to operate,” Cox said.
Details of both Greenville projects are available in the material Cox presented to the supervisors Oct. 15.
