Update at 3:59 p.m.: The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors, after discussing the fate of the Mono Vista Fire Station (56) during much of its morning session, with many attendees speaking in opposition, voted in the afternoon to amend the contract with CAL Fire for fiscal year 2026/27 by about $2.3 million, closing the station in the next couple of months.
There were discussions about using contingency funds to keep the station open. District 3 Supervisor Anaiah Kirk reported that he checked with staff on that option during a break and found that out of the $3.6 million in the fund, most of the money has already been spent on items like the Chinese Camp fire cleanup, with only $500,000 remaining, which Kirk noted is not enough to keep Station 56 open. He offered this to those opposed to the station closure: “It was done in January. We’re amending it today. We’re moving forward. Should the citizens bring forth something, and it passes in November, I will, in November, like a week later, bring back a conversation starter to restore Station 56.”
The final vote was 3-2, with board members Kirk, Steve Griefer, and Mike Holland voting in favor, while Jaron Brandon and Ryan Campbell opposed. View more details regarding the station vote below.
Original post written by BJ Hansen at 12:45 p.m.: Sonora, CA — A majority of this morning’s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting focused on whether to amend the contract with CAL Fire by about $2.3 million, a move that would spur the closure of the Mono Vista Fire Station (56).
The board initially gave that direction in January, allowing CAL Fire time to notify its staff members about the impending layoffs. A vote to formally approve it was scheduled for today. The earlier direction was in response to an expiration of Federal Safer Grant dollars that had been utilized to expand fire services in recent years.
Many in the audience today, similar to what was witnessed in January, came to speak in opposition to the Station 56 closure.
A vote on whether to adjust the CAL Fire contract failed to pass this morning, 2-2-1. Board members Steve Griefer and Mike Holland were in support, Jaron Brandon and Ryan Campbell opposed, and Anaiah Kirk abstained.
Two other counterproposals also failed 2-2-1. One was to keep the contract status quo (and station operational) from Supervisor Campbell. Another, pushed by Supervisor Brandon, was to put off a decision until November and have county staff come back with revenue-generating proposals. Supervisor Anaiah Kirk abstained, but expressed an openness to allowing time for a citizen-led tax proposal (ballot measure) to fund fire.
Supervisors Holland and Griefer raised concerns about a November extension and not having a mechanism to fund it over the first 6-7 months of the new fiscal year (starting July 1st). Supervisor Holland also stressed that past tax measures have already failed, sending a message to the board.
Another proposal, by Supervisor Kirk, was to delay a decision until the next meeting, and at that time vote on a 5.6% cut to all services other than law enforcement, roads, rec/library, and Visit Tuolumne County to fund the fire station. It failed due to a lack of a second from the other board members.
After much back-and-forth discussion, Chairman Griefer announced that the board would move on to its closed session items on today’s agenda (related to the recruitment/hiring of a new community development director), and resume the discussions about the fire contract later in the afternoon, in hopes of finding a resolution.
