First and foremost, the Northstar Fire Department is charged with protecting lives. Is $219/year a reasonable amount to help you and your neighbors survive a wildfire? Protecting our homes and businesses is also a key responsibility of the Northstar Fire Department. Reducing the fuel load within the common areas and forests that buffer our neighborhoods gives the firefighters a chance of successfully protecting homes. This was evident during the Caldor Fire’s assault on South Lake Tahoe this summer. Is $219/year a reasonable amount to help them do their job? Many of our neighbors have lost fire insurance and/or have seen premium increases in the thousands of dollars per year due to the recent destructive mega-fires in our region. It is only a matter of time before any insurance carrier will require the forest management that Measure U will provide for. Is $219/year a reasonable amount to help position ourselves to be able to have access to affordable fire insurance?

Living in the wild land urban interface comes with the shared responsibility of reducing the risks of wildfire to our lives and property. For the cost of less than your morning cup of coffee, we can support our local government in making a huge dent in what is arguably the greatest risk to our community. Please join me in voting YES on Measure U.

Mike Moll

Northstar Resident and Northstar Community Services District Board Vice President