Fire district politics heat up in Salida. Board members will look for a new chief.

Aug. 22--After several months of tumult, the Salida Fire Protection District board will be considering options for the fire chief position.

Stanislaus County is terminating a shared management and administrative agreement under which Fire Warden Dale Skiles has been the part-time fire chief for Salida. The county wants Skiles to devote all his time to his duties as fire warden.

In the past several months, the politics in the fire protection district have been hot as a three-alarm fire. It started with a lifetime medical benefit that board members approved for Skiles in April. Residents and a former Salida firefighter questioned why the district board would approve health insurance for life to Skiles, a part-time contract employee.

Last month, a group of vocal residents took issue with contracts for $260,000 in renovations to the fire station on Salida Boulevard. In addition, four of the district's paid firefighters recently formed the International Association of Firefighters Local 5139 to promote "better communication between labor and management," a representative said.

At a special meeting Monday, fire district board members accepted the county's termination letter and told staff to develop a job description for fire chief and review the district's finances.

Board Chairman Tom Bert said board members will consider all options for the chief's position, including a possible interim chief or a part-time position. "There are a lot of options that have to be considered," Bert said Tuesday. "I imagine this is going to take a couple of meetings."

There is no consensus on whether the special district can afford a full-time chief.

"I hope they take our budget into consideration when hiring a fire chief," said Pat Burns, president of the newly formed union group. "We want to get our first contract written and approved and have a better relationship with management."

Four of the six firefighters on the Salida staff are members of the new union group.

Jody Hayes, who took over as county CEO this month, said that former county CEO Stan Risen, Skiles and himself discussed the fire warden's position as part of the county executive transition. Hayes succeeded Risen as CEO this month. They determined that Skiles should give full attention to the county position and not have a part-time role in Salida.

The agreement with Salida, which began in July 2014, was never intended to be a permanent arrangement, Hayes said. Either agency can terminate the agreement by giving 15 days notice, but the county decided to give Salida until year's end to find another chief.

Skiles did not return a message Tuesday from The Modesto Bee.

This year, outspoken people have attended fire board meetings, some raising questions about the fire warden's relationships in the district.

His brother, Gary Skiles, is a fire captain for Salida. One of the contracts approved for station renovations this summer was with Gary Dutter, whose $23,000 bid called for installing a dozen metal doors in the downtown station at almost $2,000 apiece.

Skiles and Dutter, a fellow Wood Colony resident, are said to have a family connection, though not a close one, a board member said last month. According to the Bee's archives, Skiles and Dutter were both groomsmen for a wedding in 2004.

County Supervisor Terry Withrow said that Skiles is above-board and trustworthy. "I would not question what he does," Withrow said. "He will always do the right thing."

Withrow said the county and fire district were mutually in agreement with ending the shared management pact. The county needs the full attention of its fire warden and the special district needs a chief who can devote more time to the district, he said.

A contested election will occur in November for three seats on the Salida fire district board. The candidates include incumbents Tom Bert and Gerald DeBoer; Mark Stone, a retired firefighter who has been outspoken at meetings; and Mark Riggins. The other incumbent, David Boyd, is not running.

Riggins, a Wood Colony resident who's running for the board, said he has not taken any positions siding with board members or vocal residents. "I am an outsider coming in with a fresh set of eyes," Riggins said. "There are some folks who are vocal in the Salida community who want change and want things to go in a different direction. I don't really have an agenda."

Ken Carlson: 209-578-2321, @KenCarlson16

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