New developments tap PS police and fire departments on already tight resources

Developments moving into Palm Springs have public safety agencies stretched thin as they look at how many resources they will need and don’t have.

One Palm Springs police official said the department is maxed out when it comes to staffing.

“We’re definitely tapped to capacity as public safety. With the police department that is evident,” said Palm Springs Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. William Hutchinson.

The fire department said the same thing.

“We train for it. We have protocols for it. We’re prepared for it. It’s just we don’t have the resources,” Palm Springs Fire Chief Kevin Nalder said.

Palm Springs fire and police department officials said they are under pressure when it comes to new developments including one major expansion within city limits.

“The police are reporting that it’s going to cost, they are estimating $1.6 million a year in additional cost for our police to cover this development once it’s completed. The fire chief says it would require an expansion of Fire Station 1 and require $1 million worth of additional equipment,” said Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon at last week’s city council meeting.

One week ago, city council approved recommendations for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ 18-acre expansion for the Spa Resort Casino that could include a high-rise hotel reaching up to 17 stories tall.

“Ladder trucks aren’t generally built over 100 feet in height and they are on a 70-degree angle. They’ll go up approximately to the seventh floor,” Nalder said.

Fire officials said it would be the only high-rise building in Palm Springs and although they’re trained to evacuate people in high-rise building fires the department doesn’t have enough resources.

“We would need two additional engines and we would need 18 personnel because we work three shifts. We work 24 hours a day,” Nalder said.

Police officials said it’s the same call.

“There are over 80,000 calls for service for police and fire combined [with the] majority of that being police services. The fire department handles about 8,000 to 10,000 of those calls,” Hutchinson said.

Who will foot the bill when the time comes?

“Any time the city grows, events grow, the demand on manpower is going to grow so you have to grow along with it as public safety,” Hutchinson said.

Mayor Moon who is on the city committee working with the tribe for the Spa Resort Casino expansion said a meeting date has not been set yet.