UKIAH, CA., 1/9/25 — Redwood Valley, home to about 1,850 residents, features several high-quality wineries, spiritual sites and scenic locations for nature walks or hikes. However, residents often face challenges accessing emergency services, a situation that came tragically to light during the Redwood Complex Fire that began Oct. 8, 2017. The fire, which started in northeastern Potter Valley and merged with another fire the following day in Redwood Valley, burned 36,000 acres, destroyed 350 properties and forced 8,000 people to evacuate. Nine people died in the fire.
To address limited emergency services in Redwood Valley, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), along with the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, applied for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Facilities Grant, which provides funding for rural community services (excluding private, commercial or business facilities). The $50,000 grant, which is still pending approval, will help fund the purchase of two specialized law enforcement vehicles. These vehicles will enhance patrolling in the Redwood Valley region and support evacuation efforts during wildfires, while also responding to drug-related emergencies and general crime.
At its final meeting of 2024, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved allowing the sheriff’s office to submit its official grant proposal to the USDA. The proposal first had to be approved by the board before being sent to the USDA.
According to Quincy Cromer, commander and public information officer of field services at the sheriff’s office, the grant application has been submitted, but the funds have not yet been awarded. Cromer said in an email that if the application is approved and the funds are awarded, another step at the county level will be required before the sheriff’s office receives the grant money.
“Even if the funds are awarded by USDA, the board of supervisors would be required to accept those funds for them to be appropriated to this project,” Cromer noted. “This process would also need to be brought forward to the board of supervisors as an agenda item in the future, if the grant is awarded.”
Even so, the MCSO has a specific plan for how the funds will be used for the two specialized law enforcement vehicles.
According to Cromer, prices have fluctuated in recent years, making it difficult for the sheriff’s office to estimate how much it will spend on each vehicle. However, based on recent estimates, Cromer believes each vehicle—a Ford Police Interceptor Utility Hybrid SUV—should cost around $80,000. This includes the purchase of the vehicle and modifications by the outside contractor Lehr, which adds security features such as sirens, car radios, protective barriers and vehicle-mounted computers and cameras.
“It will be about $160,000 for the total cost of two vehicles,” Cromer added. “But it’s hard to estimate the prices, because they go up and down so much.”
In addition to $50,000 in grant funds, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has promised in a match commitment letter to contribute $120,000 from the county’s general fund to support the purchase of vehicles. These funds were already set aside in 2024 as part of the MCSO’s allocated budget for the year, but for the USDA to approve the grant application, the agency requires that at least 25% of the grant funds be matched by a local source. This requirement was met by the board’s commitment to transfer $120,000 to the sheriff’s office.
If the grant application is approved, the sheriff’s office would ideally receive a total of $170,000 for the purchase of the two vehicles, counting both the grant funds and the money from the county’s general fund. This would leave $10,000 for the sheriff’s office to use, provided the cost of the two vehicles does not exceed $160,000. (If costs increase, the MCSO will likely use all the funds for the two vehicles.)
Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall also remarked in an interview that the sheriff’s office often faces budget shortages because of the rising costs of vehicles, which increase each year.
“Our pricing went up a bit, because the Ford vendors who sell the cars have been charging more,” Kendall said. “That is also because of supply chain issues so the supplies to build these cars are going to be more expensive. There are also things that pop up out of legislation, like mandates to update the radios and cameras, and that always costs us more money.”
Kendall said that the new law enforcement vehicles will help make residents feel safer, especially older Redwood Valley residents.
“A lot of older populations also like to see patrol cars out there, it makes them feel safer,” he explained. “I enjoy it when people flag down a deputy and ask them a question and see them on the street. It also decreases the large number of calls we receive through the dispatcher’s office.”
Regarding the Redwood Valley community, Sheriff Kendall said the vehicles will help support a region that lacks direct access to services readily available to residents in cities like Ukiah or Fort Bragg.
“Most people in Redwood Valley are working in other places, commuting to Ukiah from that area, but we have a huge population out there,” Kendall stated. “It’s going to keep deputies on the street. And with more patrolling, we proactively remove a lot of calls in the neighborhood if we have an increase in patrol.”
Cromer said that in 2024, the board of supervisors authorized the sheriff’s office to use allocated funds from the county’s general fund to buy 11 new patrol vehicles and one correctional vehicle. Cromer noted that the two new vehicles for Redwood Valley are part of that original plan, but without the additional grant funds from the USDA, the sheriff’s office would not be able to cover the total costs of all 12 vehicles.
“We won’t be able to purchase the two new vehicles for Redwood Valley until we get the official grant application approved,” Cromer explained. “But currently, of the 12 vehicles we proposed last year, we have received eight of those and they are sitting in our lot.”
It remains unclear when the USDA will notify the sheriff’s office and the county about the status of its grant application for the two new patrol vehicles in Redwood Valley.