Westmorland Secures more then $3 Million in Federal Funding for New Public Safety Building

WESTMORLAND, Calif. - Congressman Raul Ruiz visited the site of a future fire station in Westmorland on Tuesday to present the city with a $1,015,000 federal check part of nearly $3.7 million in federal funding now secured for the project marking a significant milestone in a long-awaited effort to modernize the small community's public safety infrastructure. Ruiz was joined at the June 16 event by Mayor Tina Cruz and City Manager Laura Bryant, who provided attendees with an update on the project's status.

Touring the current fire station, Ruiz described the conditions confronting the city's first responders as unacceptable. "No first responder should be working under these conditions," he said, pointing to a building that was largely condemned after Tropical Storm Hilary struck in 2023.

For years, the city's volunteer fire department has operated out of repurposed FEMA trailers, while the entire police department has run its operations from a single 500-square-foot room inside City Hall. "Imagine that the whole fire department is working out of these trailers," Ruiz said. "There's really no place to stay. There's no comfort in there for them while they're waiting to go on call."

"these are not the conditions. Our first responders deserve. And they're not the conditions the residence of Westmoreland deserve either" Ruiz said During a press conference

The federal check is one piece of a broader funding effort that will finance a new $5.2 million Public Safety Building. Ruiz credited the city's part-time city manager with bringing the community's situation to his office's attention at one of his community funding workshops.

"We were able to secure over a million dollars, and then USDA came in with over two million dollars," Ruiz said. The project's remaining support comes from a $2.7 million grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service, with technical assistance provided through the Institute for Local Government's BOOST Imperial Valley program.

Once complete, the new building will serve as an emergency operations center housing both the police and fire departments under one roof. Plans call for modern police facilities, new fire apparatus bays and living quarters for personnel, and upgraded accessibility features. The project will also allow the city to transition from a volunteer fire department to a city-based one, with a fire chief stationed in Westmorland.

"I'm proud to be a part of it," Ruiz said.

City officials framed the investment as a major advance for public safety in the northern end of the Imperial Valley, a region where resources for small municipalities are often stretched thin. Construction of the new Public Safety Building is expected to give Westmorland's first responders the permanent, purpose-built home they have gone without for years.