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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/02/23 - Minutes - Spec Fire February 23, 2006 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING II A. CALL TO ORDER II A special meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District was held on Thursday, February 23, 2006, in the Council Chambers at City Hall located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. President William J. Alexander called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Present were Boardmembers: Rex Gutierrez (arrived at 5:04 p.m.); L. Dennis Michael, Sam Spagnolo, Diane Williams, and President William J. Alexander. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Pamela Easter, Deputy City Manager; James Markman, City Attorney; Fabian Villenas, Management Analyst III; Linda D. Daniels, Redevelopment Director; Joe O'Neil, City Engineer; Robert Lemon, Management Analyst II; Diane Whyte, Sr. Admin Secretary; Mike Toy, Information Systems Specialist: Captain Pete Ortiz, Rancho Cucamonga Police Department; Chief Peter Bryan, Deputy Chief Mike Bell, Battalion Chief Alex Rodriguez, Management Analyst II Pamela Pane, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District; Kathy Scott, Deputy City Clerk; and Debra J. Adams, Secretary. II B. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 'I B1. John Lyons stated he previously spent many years on the Fire Board. He stated he has his own plan he would like to present and added he would like to see the City buy six squads for all six stations. He felt there should be four-man engine companies. He would like to see two people on a squad and two on the engine and then the engine would become a squad when the four people are together. He felt the City needs to look outside the box. He felt the squads would be quicker and less money to purchase them. He felt this would be much more efficient. He felt it was important to double the equipment on the streets. He stated he didn't know if the City would save any money, but felt it would be much more efficient. He feit this should happen right away. He didn't think anyone was to blame for slow response times, but stated the problem is the way the City continues to grow. .. * .. * * * II C. ITEM(S) OF BUSINESS I] C1. PRESENTATION OFTHE FIRE STRATEGIC PLAN FUNDING OPTIONS Jack Lam, City Manager, stated staff has been tasked to develop the strategic plan with options to implement it. He stated the Fire Chief will present the information. He stated the staff will be asking for policy direction from the Board. He introduced those people that were present tonight that assisted with this plan. A power point presentation was given by Fire Chief Peter Bryan, which is on file in the City Clerk's office. Special Fire Protection District Minutes February 23, 2006 Page 2 Lynn Gruber, Koppel & Gruber Public Finance, presented information about the financing options as shown in the power point presentation on file in the City Clerk's office, Various questions were asked by Council about the various types of taxes and financing options that were presented, It was pointed out that the west side of the City does not pay into any CFD at the current time. Jack Lam, City Manager, pointed out that the Redevelopment Agency can only provide funds toward something that is in the Redevelopment project area. President Alexander stated it is the City's responsibility to make sure that the citizens are protected with fire protection. He stated we need to provide for our citizens. Boardmember Michael stated the reason the District became a Subsidiary District was because the Redevelopment Agency can provide funding allocations to assist the District. He stated 85-1 contained no capital costs because it was in the Redevelopment project area. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated one of the reasons the Fire Board wanted to merge with the City is because with the merger the City's Augmentation Funding would continue. He stated the other reason was that the District revenues would be safer if under the City so they would not lose them. He stated any funds that the City provides to the District has to be through an agreement between the City and the District. President Alexander opened the meeting for public input. Addressing the Fire Board were: Jim Townsend, Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District, stated he disagreed with the need for six squads. He felt we need eight fire stations in our City today. He knew the City would be able to find a way to provide adequate emergency services protection for the citizens. He stated this has to get done as soon as possible. He stated the strategic plan addresses the needs for today and felt they need to take action. John Lyons commented on Community Facilities District Nos. 85-1 and 88-1 and how it came about. He stated there has been a lot of development on the west side of town, and they have not been charged for fire service. He felt an election to ask the public for money would not work. He stated he would like to propose an apartment occupancy tax that he felt the Council could impose. He felt this would be a good way to get the tax money, and suggested charging everyone $10. John Preston of Rancho Cucamonga since before it was incorporated, felt the Fire Department does a very good job. He felt there could be more stations if the City hadn't spent so much money on the stations they do build. He commented on all of the amenities they have at the new stations. He felt the City should look at ways to cut costs on the type of equipment they are purchasing and not be wasteful. Gary Lacy, 7969 Jennet Street, felt the City does spend a lot of money on things, and that it is a beautiful City. He felt the Board has a tough job. He felt the fire union is a self-serving activist group and didn't care if they stab certain alliances in the back. He felt we have a very professional Fire Department, and the citizens do receive good service. He did not feel there should be self-serving political actions taken by the fire union to protect their jobs. He wanted the Fire Department to do the good job they do, but wants them to appreciate their job and the income and benefits they receive. He wanted them to have unbiased integrity. Special Fire Protection District Minutes February 23, 2006 Page 3 Jason White resident for 20 years, stated a fireman does have a shorter life expectancy than most individuals. He worked for the City of Long Beach and felt there were a lot of similarities between the two cities. He felt the City does need more fire stations. He pointed out that longer response times does put the fireman's lives in more danger also. Rich Fletcher, President of the Chamber of Commerce, stated he was instructed by his Board to speak on behalf of the business community. He stated the strategic plan is very detailed and structured to provide 100% efficiency. He felt all families go as "pay as you go." He stated he has never felt unsafe living in this City. He stated sometimes he feels the fire union is stirring up fear in people by what they are conveying to the community. He stated people are questioning whether the Council's priorities are right when talking about animal control and public safety. He felt the message from the Chamber and businesses was to live within its means and if necessary "pay as you go." Nicole Myerchin stated she is not a relative of any fire personnel, she stated she was offended about the comment made about self-serving political activists. She stated she didn't think this was such a bad thing. She talked about the fatal incident of her sister and wondered if it would have made any difference if someone had gotten to her sooner. She stated this outcome cannot be changed. She stated she didn't want to be up at the podium again because of a poor response time. She asked the Council to fix this now and do the "pay as you go" plan so this can start to get taken care of now. There being no further input, public comments were closed. Boardmember Michael stated he has personal experience with getting resources, and we have always been playing catch up. He stated considering all of this, the Fire Department has done great things. He stated it is his goal to get Station 7 in the northwest portion of the city. He stated the number one goal of the City is to provide public safety without any increase in taxes. He talked about other ballot measures the City has pursued that failed. He felt "pay as you go" was the way to go and felt Station 7 could be built with existing revenues, and Station 8 could be built following that. He hoped the Fire Union, the Fire Administrative Staff and the City Council will be on the same page with things and working together. He applauded Chief Bryan and all of the staff that put this together. He felt we should move forward now and fast track this and get another station built in the northwest portion of the City, then start the other station on a "pay as you go" basis. He felt everyone in the community should be paying the same amount for the Community Facilities Districts. He stated he is not wiling to go to a survey unless these projects are started. He thanked the staff again for their work on this. Boardmember Gutierrez stated he worries about the use of Redevelopment money, and asked if it is possible while funding these stations that the legislature could decide that it was not acceptable to build fire stations with Redevelopment money, and pull the plug on that use. He stated that is the problem he has with the "pay as you go" theory. He stated he is almost sold on the fact that the population has grown and the need for a better response time. He stated he feels prioritization of calls should come first and that it could possibly be more efficient. He asked what is wrong with using the smaller emergency squad to save money and use the larger equipment for the bigger emergencies. He felt there were ways to look to the future. He felt a tax would be a big sacrifice to everyone. He wondered if people would volunteer to pay a tax for public safety. He wondered if people would be willing to sacrifice and cut back. He pointed out all of the new things going on in the City and that people would wonder why they are being asked to pay a tax with the City doing so well. He felt the service we get from the Fire Department is wonderful and he has nothing negative to say about them. He stated he would like to continue to examine this and does lean in favor of some type of funding that will do what every other family does in our city by living within its means. He stated he likes the idea of a Volunteer Fire Department and continue with the DARE program so the kids can learn CPR, etc. He would like to examine every call that comes in to see what happened. He stated he is not optimistic about asking the people for a tax increase. Special Fire Protection District Minutes February 23, 2006 Page 4 Boardmember Williams stated Boardmember Michael already said many of her comments so well. She stated unless it is demonstrated to the public that the City has done everything they can to pay for what is being recommended, they will not vote for a tax. She stated the strategic plan had some great and creative things come out of it. She felt the stations need to be built as soon as possible, and that should be done quickiy. She agreed that "pay as you go" was the way to do this. She stated the information she has says we can get started on the new station right now. She stated she supports our firefighters and their work ethic. She stated we do need to get them to a scene faster. She felt a tax would get shot down right now, and felt the City needs to do everything it can first before asking for a tax. She did not feel you could ask one family to pay more than another family, and felt there needs to be parody. She stated again she is not ready to go for any tax. Boardmember Spagnolo stated without having to repeat everything the other Boardmembers have already said, the Fire Chief was asked to prepare the strategic plan it was adopted. He stated there was a lot of talk about how it would be funded. He stated going for a tax is a pretty hard thing to do when you haven't exhausted all other resources first. He agreed with Boardmember Michael on the "pay as you go" plan. He stated when he was in the Fire Department they always went out to bid and took the lowest bid when purchasing anything new. He stated everything that is shiny doesn't mean that it is the most expensive. He stated they have cut down on costs to build the stations but want to build them to last a long time. He stated the Fire Chief knows the restraints of the budget and that he is the expert. He says when we need Stations 7 and 8 we should listen to him. He stated it is not up to everyone to tell the Chief what he should do, but to provide him the resources to keep the City safe. He thanked everyone for the presentation made. President Alexander stated the report was great. He felt the public should be given the opportunity to vote if they want a tax. He commented on the elimination of fire sprinklers that was voted on by 2 existing Councilmembers. He appreciated the Chamber coming in and pointed out the subsidy that the City pays to them. He objected to them saying "pay as you go" was the right way. He stated he didn't want to be faced with hindsight like the government is with the Katrina hurricane. He didn't think volunteers would have been prepared to help with the Grand Prix Fire we had a few years ago. He stated he has a problem with burying our head in the sand and not going to the pubiic for input. He wants this City to have the best protection and response they possibly can and given the opportunity to say what they want and don't want. He felt this should be looked into further. He felt this should be done on a regular election date. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated based on the discussion, if the Board feels they should "pay as you go," an action should be taken giving direction to staff. Boardmember Gutierrez stated if President Alexander wants his support to let the people vote on a tax in a general election, he would be happy to let the peopie vote on it. He stated he would be happy to find out the cost, and didn't want the people to think he didn't want their input. He stated if the "pay as you go" method is adopted, he didn't want the City to be short to fund other things. Boardmember Spagnolo felt there should be a poli to see what funding options the people would want to go with. Boardmember Michael felt we should get moving with a new station in June 2007, and do the things under the "pay as you go" plan, and then at some point down the road, we might have to go to the voters to get the rest of the things accomplished that are in the strategic plan. Boardmember Spagnolo felt we should move forward with Station 7, and put a survey together today to go to the voters to decide how they want to implement the strategic plan. Special Fire Protection District Minutes February 23, 2006 Page 5 Boardmember Williams felt this has validity, but not immediately. She stated all of the details are not worked out, but suggested the Fire Chief come back in a couple of months with more information, and then decide this. She felt the City needs more education at this point. She commented on the defeat of the Central Park Measure and the beating the City took. She didn't think the people are ready right now to say yes or no because they don't have enough information. President Alexander stated it looks like now everyone agrees to "pay as you go" and then possibly do a survey later. MOTION: Moved by Michael, seconded by Williams to approve the "pay as you go" option for budgetary purposes for the next five years, with the possibility of making adjustments to that if revenues exceed our projections. He suggested those projections continue to be looked at. Boardmember Gutierrez stated if some of the Board are not happy with this, he would be fine with spending money to let the people vote on this issue. He stated he cannot afford to pay anymore taxes himself, and would vote no if it is on the ballot, but would vote to put it on the ballot for the people to vote on it. Motion carried 4-1 (Alexander voted no). MOTION: Moved by Spagnolo to direct staff to move forward with a public poll/survey regarding various funding options for the Fire District as indicated in the plan given today. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated they would have to find a firm that can do this. Boardmember Michael felt there would need to be a lot of work put into this so the public has an understanding of this. He felt the Board needs to look to see if now is the right time to do this. Boardmember Michael seconded the motion made by Boardmember Spagnolo. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated the firm they get to do this would work with the Board on how they want to accomplish this and will bring information back including the cost and timeframe for doing this. Boardmember Williams asked when they are looking to do this and asked for clarification of the intent of the motion. MOTION: Boardmember Spagnolo amended his motion to direct staff to bring back information on doing a public poll within 30 days. The motion was seconded by Boardmember Michael. Motion carried unanimously 5-0. 1< 1< ." 1< 1< 1< 1< 1< Special Fire Protection District Minutes February 23, 2006 Page 6 II D. ADJOURNMENT II MOTION: Moved by Spagnolo, seconded by Gutierrez to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Respectlully submitted, ~'ii~ Secretary Approved: March 15, 2006