The Canyon Lake City Council today adopted Resolution 2021-29, authorizing the city manager to enter into a cooperative agreement for dispatch and communication services with the County of Riverside. The approximate cost for services from January 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022, is $55,798.
The City of Canyon Lake will be launching its own fire department on January 1, 2020. A key component of any fire department is the ability to receive and process 9-1-1 calls and then to dispatch the appropriate unit(s) to the emergency incident.
The interim fire chief explored options for dispatch services, including contracting with other municipal agencies. Based on the cost and resources needed to join an existing municipal dispatch center, the city determined the most effective and cost-efficient option was to contract with the County of Riverside.
By contracting with the County of Riverside, which is currently dispatching for Riverside County/Cal Fire, all the equipment at the fire station and fire engine remain the same. The radios are properly programmed and the station alerting system is in place, the city said.
The vehicles purchased for Canyon Lake’s new fire department will have the equipment (radios and computers) to meet the county specifications, according to the city. As part of the contract, the county will maintain and program this equipment and the city will share radio frequencies with them.
The County of Riverside currently dispatches for the cities of Idyllwild and Calimesa and for three tribal fire departments.
