KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The Kings County Board of Supervisors called a special meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to continue providing the city of Avenal with fire protection services for the next six months.
This comes after the county terminated its contract over the weekend.
"They have every right to pull out. This is a liability on the county," Avenal resident Dalila Barajas said.
"I respect the decision that you guys are making as a community member of Avenal," one woman said during the public comment section of Tuesday's meeting. "I wouldn't put up with half the stuff you guys have from our leaders in Avenal."
Kings County signed a multi-year contract with Avenal back in October, but a boxing match on Sunday stopped the clock.
The event attracted hundreds to the Avenal Community Center - a building that is still under construction.
"Our engineer reviewed it, our public works director reviewed it, our police chief reviewed it, our fire chief reviewed it," Avenal City Manager Antony Lopez said. "It was a great event."
The county told the city to move the event because the building does not have a sprinkler system or a working fire alarm.
City leaders went ahead with the boxing match anyway.
"They disregarded a total of 13,000 people for an event of 300 people without taking a second look on how much damage that could do to our city," Barajas said.
Some community members are now trying to recall city council members because of this situation.
Barajas announced Tuesday that she will run for one of those city council positions.
Lopez got a letter from the county on Saturday ahead of the event, letting him know that by 5 p.m. that day, the city would no longer have fire services.
"That was out of the blue. I was unaware of the meeting. I wasn't aware that they were even considering the contract. I was not given any prior notification that they had any issues or something that they wanted to discuss," Lopez said.
The city accepted the county's termination notice, but Lopez says they do not accept its speed.
He says the contract stipulates that the county has to give a six-month notice before terminating the contract.
"We expect them to honor the contract and still provide services for the next six months," Lopez said.
He believes the city will have its own fire department up and running in six months.
The county did not announce whether they will honor the six-month termination timeline on Tuesday.
They will have a press conference on Wednesday.