NPC May Take Over Jake Flake Emergency Services Institute

The NATC (also known as the Jake Flake Training Center) is intended to serve as a training ground for fire and law enforcement personnel. A board of directors made up primarily of fire and law enforcement representatives has, along with the Town of Taylor and NPC, recently undertaken a detailed fiscal analysis of NATC, and analyzed the needs of the facility and considered future operation ideas. NPC board members and college staff contend that the facility has not been operated or maintained at a level anywhere near its potential.

Board members and Swarthout cited concerns in a recent college board meeting about the underuse of the facility by law enforcement and fire organizations, and the lack of day-to-day oversight.

Swarthout mentioned that the facility’s $1,800 monthly utility bills were raising eyebrows, then it was discovered that HVAC filters on the buildings’ heaters and coolers hadn’t been changed in at least 18 months.

“Basic day-to-day management up there may make a difference that we can’t measure yet,” said Swarthout.

Both Swarthout and the board praised the Town of Taylor’s ongoing and consistent efforts to make the facility a success, along with those of Navajo County and area law enforcement and fire personnel, but as of yet, it seems the NATC just hasn’t gotten its legs firmly under it.

Longtime NPC board member and current Chairman Bill Jeffers is hesitant to invest any more in the facility. He said of the Auditor General’s finding of NPC responsibility, “If we do control it and own it, then I say let’s sell it.”

Board member Dusty Parsons cautioned Jeffers that the board shouldn’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

“I agree, at the beginning, it was a mess. The NATC Board at the beginning had challenges agreeing with each other and spent money on a manager that was supposed to generate revenue…,” which didn’t materialize in a significant manner.

But, Parsons said, positive signs are emerging at NATC and he’d like to see NPC let some of the new changes in direction take hold to see if they’ll bear fruit.

“It’s a needed facility and if it’s run correctly, it can generate revenue and be a benefit to communities and the college,” he noted.

“The facility’s never had good management; NPC can provide it.”

NPC recently hired Stuart Bishop as program coordinator and faculty for fire science. Bishop has a long history in area law enforcement and leadership, and college board members and Swarthout contend he is already meriting benefits for NATC and the college’s law enforcement and fire programs, including being instrumental in the establishment of a reserve academy, which will train law enforcement personnel at the NATC.

The reserve academy is a nine-month training program that will produce fully trained officers for law enforcement agencies. The agencies put forth candidates for the program and conduct an initial clearance of the individuals before they enroll. Swarthout and Parsons believe the academy could be a solid revenue generator for NATC, as could expanded wildland fire training programs.

“The reserve academy has great potential. Before this, all law enforcement personnel had to go to Casa Grande or Tucson for training, at great cost to the taxpayer. It can be a great source of revenue.

“Look at the wildfire academy in Prescott; it fills that town up for a week,” said Parsons.

Board members and Swarthout discussed that in the past three months, since the Auditor General Office rendered its findings, the combined efforts of the NATC Board and NPC to address the situation has generated ideas for improving things at the training center, and has brought regional law enforcement and fire organizations together to work cooperatively in a manner that hasn’t been achieved before now. They spoke of the opportunity to better market NATC, letting law enforcement and fire organizations statewide know they can come to cooler northern climates to use the facility, and establish it as strong public safety training ground. Adjusting fee schedules to attract more users and physical improvements are being considered as well.

NPC staff asked the board for direction regarding some immediate budget concerns for NATC, as well as long-term financial considerations related to keeping the facility operating.

For the fiscal year 2013 budget cycle, NPC has identified the need for $65,000 to tie NATC into the college’s telecommunications network, and $80,000 for sealing and repairing NATC’s driving track. Some of the track repair costs NPC believes could be offset by Arizona peace officers standards and training funds.

There is about $500,000 in a reserve account at NPC, dedicated to NATC, but in recent years, the legislature has told the college not to spend the money as it was targeted for a sweep to offset state budget shortfalls.

Jeffers said if the college could get clear permission from the state to spend the money without threat of having to reimburse it at a later date, he’d support the college investing the money in NATC, as it was intended. Otherwise, he’s reticent, given the facility’s history, to throw good money after bad.

The college staff and board will discuss the issue further during upcoming board meetings.

Speaking of NPC taking on NATC and giving it another try, Bishop said, “I think if we don’t do this, we might as well tell the Town of Taylor to lock the gates, because I don’t think anyone will step up to operate it.”