JUPITER, Fla. — Palm Beach County Fire Rescue rejected an offer from the Town of Jupiter to lease Fire Station 18 at Burt Reynolds Park for Jupiter's new fire rescue department, according to documents WPTV received from a public records request.
It's another disagreement between the Town of Jupiter and Palm Beach County as Jupiter continues to start a new fire and EMS agency over the county's objection. Records also show the Town of Jupiter will regain control over Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Station 16 at 3550 Military Trail.
Shawn Reed, who is a spokesperson for the Town of Jupiter, said the town plans to use Station 16 for the Jupiter Fire Department. But, he said the other locations are not finalized as of Tuesday. He also said the town's plan to start the department on Oct. 1, 2026, is not affected by Chief Patrick Kennedy's rejection.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue also has a station 322 N. Central Blvd and one in unincorporated Jupiter Farms at 12015 W. Indiantown Road.
Kennedy also said he was disappointed with the town's "comprehensive media campaign" and attempts to decrease the agency's ability to attend local events during the holidays.
Tara Cardoso, who is a spokeswoman for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, said the department was uninvited to an event and was then re-invited to the event after the letter was sent over to the town.
Reed said the town wanted to avoid a Political Action Committee called "Jupiter Residents to KEEP Palm Beach County Firefighters," which it believes is funded and managed by the department's firefighters union known as IAFF Local 2928, from having a booth at the event. However, he said town staff miscommunicated the message to appear it was diminishing the presence of the department and Palm Beach County Fire did participate in the town's "There's Snow Place Like Jupiter" event.
A representative for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said in an email that the town never supplied the agency with the audit report, which discovered errors. It said the county didn't have original documents to justify charges, made incorrect charges and didn't use standard definitions to calculate the cost.
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Frank Kitzerow, who is the town manager for Jupiter, said it's been challenging for the town to understand how much it's expected to pay for fire and emergency services in a new contract. He also said it's difficult to understand the method used to create those charges since negotiations started in 2022.
"During the negotiations, it was often the case that the town's finance director had to create worksheets and calculations based on paper copy transmissions from your team in order to properly analyze what those numbers would mean for Jupiter taxpayers," Kitzerow wrote in September. "Ultimately, lack of clarity in the numbers contained in the proposals, as well as discovered errors, led to uncertainty and lack of confidence in PBCFR's ability to manage a long-term contract going forward."
According to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, the contract for its services cost Jupiter $25.8 million in 2023, which is a 22.8% increase from 2022. Records, which WPTV received from a public records request, also show Palm Beach County wanted to add new components to the contract like sharing costs for nonbudgeted situations and a potential new station.
A representative for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue did provide data showing call volume from Jupiter increased from about 6,000 calls in 2012 to about 8,380 calls in 2022. The agency also sent data showing if a resident had %500,000 in taxable value, the per-resident cost would drop from $1,039 in 2014 to $894.
But, three council members voted to create Jupiter's own fire-rescue department after a consultant said the town would save 68 Million Dollars over eight years in August.
Since their vote, opposition against the proposal has organized and been vocal at Town Council meetings over the last four months. They have also created a petition to make the issue a ballot issue, which the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections said received enough signatures in November.
The Town of Jupiter said the language was misleading during its legal review, which it said it required before submitting a ballot issue to the county's supervisor of elections to appear on the ballot.
Lisa Veerland, who is against creating a town-owned and operated fire department, said she was frustrated the town was stopping voters from having an issue on the topic as the town continues to spend money on a new department.
"If you are so confident people really support this," Veerland said. "Put this to a vote and put it to bed."
The town said it expects to get sued over the issue by the Political Action Committee "Jupiter Residents to KEEP Palm Beach County Firefighters," but a spokesperson said the town hasn't been served as of Tuesday night.
The town attorney said at Tuesday's council meeting he plans to file a different legal motion, which would require the judge to decide if the ballot language is legal or not.
