Monterey City Council unanimously approves fire services deal for Monterey Regional Airport

MONTEREY, CALIF. (KION-TV)- During Tuesday night’s meeting, Monterey City Council unanimously approved the fire services agreement decided by the Monterey Peninsula Airport District Board.

Back in April, the district decided to keep Monterey Fire as the service provider for the airport.

Tuesday night's meeting helped solidify the city's side of the contract into how services will look for the next several years.

KION talked to Monterey Fire Chief Gaudenz Panholzer before the meeting about the financial side of what this contract will entail.

“It’s in the neighborhood of a little over $3 million is what it costs for us to staff the station,” Panholzer said. “And that cost is being shared between the two entities so that the airport is getting that same level of service at a reduced cost as and that's also true for the residents and the surrounding communities.”

Here's a break down of the costs year by year:

• FY 2023-2024 $1,787,572.98 
• FY 2024-2025 $1,876,951.63 
• FY 2025-2026 $1,970,799.21
• FY 2026-2027 $2,069,339.17 
• FY 2027-2028 $2,172,806.13

The costs for the current agreement with the airport dates back from 2018. The new numbers in this new deal will reflect current costs for things like call volume and administration fees.

The Monterey Peninsula Airport District still needs to ratify the new contract. Their next meeting will be on August 16th.