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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 2014From Mayor David King February 2014 Parks and Rec, Plan B, and the Limits of Collaboration When the City and County tabled the effort to create an MPD in October we defaulted to the “Plan B” recommendation of the ERPRC (Exploratory Regional Parks and Recreation Commit- tee). This called for the City and County to jointly craft an alternative solution. The challenge we faced was the fact nobody had yet defined what “Plan B” would be like. It simply directed us to craft a joint services model. At the beginning of January the City Manager took the initiative to craft what a joint services model might look like. It was a comprehensive and innovative approach, challenging to the conventions and norms that define relations between the County and the City. It included a contractual arrangement that would have paid for the urgently needed repairs of Mountain View, the Rec Center and Memorial Field and it also addressed the long terms needs of the future liability for ownership and use of these facilities. The County has politely but firmly rejected the City Manager’s plan. I daresay the political aspects were daunt- ing, but though complex it was not a radical proposal and contractual obligations such as we proposed are of- ten employed when municipalities want to combine their strengths to provide the best for their communities. The County has not proposed an alternative. Both the City and the County have urgent needs to address and at this point both parties acknowledge that a comprehensive joint approach to solving the problem of sustaining parks and recreation in East Jefferson County in the near future is out of reach. So despite our good faith effort to breach the walls of the silos that constrain our collaborations, we'll have to be content to use the bridges we've been building between them to look for specific opportunities for partnering as we move forward on our own. On January 21 we discussed this at our regular Monday Council business meeting. A video of the lively discus- sion is available on the City’s website here: http://cityofpt.us/video.htm. Click on the City Council Business Meeting, January 21, Agenda (under VII. Unfinished Business click on item B to start the video where the parks discussion begins. Internet Explorer is the best browser for this.) Note that we will need to revise our interlocal agreements and resolutions on this matter with the County in or- der to reflect this new reality and that Council intends that any revision include the continuing availably of city funds to maintain programs and operations at the Rec Center and Memorial field until the original termination date of these agreements in May 2015. We also agreed that the City should immediately begin to develop a plan to address the critical capital repairs to the failed roofing and failing boilers at the Mountain View campus. Over time we hope to a forge a broad partnership that includes the School District, the YMCA, other Mountain View stakeholders, the community and the City to address other critical but less urgent needs by pledging the use of the future sales tax income after 2015. The objective is to secure the future of the Mt View Campus with- out a need to raise taxes in order to ensure a bright future for this vital center of community services. Why So Many Fire Engines? At our boatyard we constantly juggle space and labor. It is not automatic that we'll have space for a boat within our facility even though we may have labor available for the work. At other times we’ll have space available for but nobody free to work on it. For East Jefferson Fire Rescue the challenge is to balance personnel and equipment, a challenge made more difficult by the fact that, though responding personnel have both firefighting and emergency medical skills (all EJFR firefighters are at least Emergency Medical Technicians - EMTs) the equipment that goes with them on a call is primarily for fighting fires OR primarily for providing medical services. So a central challenge is making sure that the right people with the right equipment get to each incident, while ensuring a reserve capability to respond to another incident. Some statistics to begin with: EJFR’s district covers an area of seventy-nine square miles. In 2013 the dis- trict responded to 3,616 calls for service. It maintains six fire stations, of which three – Chimacum, Critter Lane (off Jacob Miller by the old landfill) and Port Townsend - are staffed round the clock. This is not to say that someone is always at those stations. At any given time there are about eleven full-time personnel on duty – augmented by volunteers and “resident volunteers” (volunteer firefighters who receive a stipend to work 24-hour shifts) – available throughout the district to respond to emergencies. Normal staffing at the city fire station is four or five but at any given time some or all of them might be out on a call or transporting someone to the hospital. All calls are different but the following actual one is representative. At nine in the morning on one of the last days of December 2013 an aid car with two EMTs is dispatched by JEFFCOM from the Port Townsend sta- tion to respond to a reported fall at a house in town. Sending an aid car is a Basic Life Support or BLS re- sponse and EJFR sends a minimum of two people out in a vehicle. After arriving and evaluating the situa- tion they radio for assistance to lift the patient. This occurs frequently when the patient is either overweight or has fallen in a space-restricted area. Often the falls are in the shower or elsewhere in the bathroom or the patient might have to be moved down a narrow staircase where there is limited room to lift without risking injury to patient or caregiver. Their initial evaluation also concludes that the patient’s medical condition might be more serious than initially reported to JEFFCOM dispatch. So the district responds with an ALS unit, again from the City fire station. ALS (Advanced Life Support) enables a higher level of medical care than is possible with BLS and the Para- medics in the ALS unit are trained and certified to administer medication to help patients during transport. If all that was needed was two additional bodies to help move the patient the district might have dispatched a fire engine for reasons that will become apparent in a moment. At this point all four of the response person- nel at the City’s fire station are out on call. The patient will be transported by the paramedics in the ALS unit that was second on the scene. About thirty minutes after the first call JEFFCOM receives a 911 call reporting a fire, also in the City. At this point, because of the “run card” system established and maintained by JEFFCOM and EJFR, dispatch knows there’s no one left in the City fire station so it dispatches a fire engine from Critter Lane, the BLS unit with its two EMTs that was dispatched on the original call and is now freed up from that incident, plus a BLS unit, fire engine and duty chief from the Chimacum station – the response ultimately totaling 5 vehicles and 13 personnel. First on the scene is the BLS unit that responded to the reported fall. As all BLS units are equipped with fire- fighters’ Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that puts two firefighters on the scene. The rest of the per- sonnel arrive in their vehicles, two or three in each. Note also that dispatching BLS units from outside the city restores the emergency response capability within the city that was depleted by the first call. The fire turns out to be a relatively easily contained chimney fire. Dispatch may not be certain of the severity of a fire and does not want to respond inadequately. The capaci- ties of their SCBAs (self contained breathing apparatus) limit the amount of time that firefighters can stay inside a burning building and strict NFPA(National Fire Protection Association) standards, require that there be one firefighter stationed outside the structure for every firefighter involved in fighting the fire inside - much like a sports team with reserve personnel and assets “on the bench.” The additional personnel may not be needed but are there in case they are. A fully involved house fire response should involve a minimum fire crew of thirteen. Seventy-five percent of EJFR’s responses are for EMS and if a fire truck shows up for what turns out to be a minor back injury it and the crew that brought it are instantly available for the next call. The crew is on duty anyway. The only additional cost associated with sending more than you need is the fuel for getting there. East Jefferson Fire Rescue maintains an excellent website here: http://www.ejfr.org 2014 FRAUD ALERT February 2014 Criminals are known to use various methods to steal bill payments and identity information from utility customers. There are several scams that have been reported over the last couple of months. 1. Phone calls, home visits and online solicitations promoting government utility assistance programs and that ask for social security or banking information. 2. Phone calls or home visits from persons posing as utility representatives who demand credit card information and threaten to turn off water or electric service. 3. Unscheduled home visits from burglars posing as utility meter readers. If someone arrives at your house claiming to be a representative from the City Utility Department, always look for an official city vehicle outside. Our utility employees never use personal vehicles to make service calls and our meter readers don’t need to go inside your home, unless your meter is located in a service porch area or you’ve specifically requested an interior inspection. If you are uncomfortable with the visitor, please call our Public Works department (360-379-5096) to verify the visit. Remember, you should never allow someone ac- cess into your home without proper identification. To report suspicious or fraudulent activity, please call Dispatch at 360-385-3831 x1. They will then dis- patch a Port Townsend Police Officer who will contact you for more information. The City no longer contacts you by phone concerning past due bills. No City representative would ever seek credit card, banking or social security information over the phone. Customers with delinquent accounts will receive a "Final Notice" from the City by U.S. mail only. The notice will list a final due date and payment meth- ods. If the customer does not settle the account by the final due date the service will be shut off. City repre- sentatives will never demand or accept payments in the field. Delinquent payments may be made in person at the City Hall Finance Department or online through our 3rd party services, “doxo” or “Official Payments”. Please see our website for details on making payments through these 3rd party services. In the event that someone contacts you regarding special utility plans, please note there are NO FEDERAL UTILITY BILL PAY ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS at this time. If it sounds suspicious or is too good to be true, then it probably is a scam. When in doubt, check it out first – don’t let yourself become a victim. When Is A City Building Permit Required? The Port Townsend Building Code requires permits for construction (with some exceptions). Owners should call the City Development Services Department at 360-379-5095 to determine if the work needs a building permit and to determine what kind of permit(s). Possible exceptions to obtaining a permit are also listed in the Code (but it is always best to check with the City first in case special rules apply, for example, construction that may involve wetlands, steep slopes, historic buildings):  One story detached accessory structures provided the floor area does not exceed 200 square feet.  Fences not over 7 feet high.  Retaining walls not over 4 feet in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall.  Water tanks (dependent on capacity, ratio and grade.)  Sidewalks and driveways.  Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work.  Prefabricated swimming pools that are less than 24 inches deep.  Swings and other playground equipment.  Window awnings (dependent on size and support.)  Decks not exceeding 200 square feet (dependent on height above grade, attachment to dwelling and location.) Development Services is located at City Hall, 250 Madison St., third floor. Open Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. President’s Day—Monday, February 17. City Offices will be closed. Important Information About Port Townsend Drinking Water January 31, 2014 Purpose of notification. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH), after inspecting the watershed and reviewing control measures in 2013, notified the City that our water system does not have an adequate level of watershed con- trol. While water quality has not changed, the Department of Health has determined that the watershed control program does not meet current department expectations. For drinking water regulatory purposes, the water system is considered to be out of treatment compliance. Chlorine disinfection continues to provide protection from microbial contaminants, which generally is more than adequate. Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. What is being done? The City is now working towards building a new water filtration treatment facility. Pilot testing membrane filtra- tion systems will begin in February and continue through October 2014. Construction of the new water treat- ment plant is expected to be completed in 2016. Until filtration is installed, you will receive a notice similar to this every three months. What should I do? This situation does not require that you take action, however people with severely compromised immune sys- tems, infants, and some elderly may want to seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. More information is available through the City’s web site http://www.cityofpt.us/waterquality.htm or from the Port Townsend Department of Water Quality (360-379-5001). This notice is being sent to you by the City of Port Townsend. State Water System ID#: 69000R. Date distributed: February 1, 2014. Jefferson County Conservation Futures Program Applications for Open Space Projects Solicited The Jefferson County Board of Commis- sioners invites applications for projects to enhance the County's open space pre- serves. The Conservation Futures Pro- gram helps protect important wildlife habi- tat and water supply, working agricultural and timber lands, visual buffers, scenic areas, and open space lands linked to parks, cultural and historic sites. Deadline for submission is Monday, March 3 at 4:30 PM to the Jefferson County Public Health Dept., 615 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, WA 98368. No email or fax submissions will be accepted. To request a program manual, application, or for more information, contact Tami Pokorny at 379-4498 or email tpokorny@co.jefferson.wa.us. Workshops to explain the details of the program to non-profit organizations, gov- ernment agencies, special purpose districts, and interested citizens are available by request. Visit the Conservation Fu- tures Program web pages at www.co.jefferson.wa.us/ commissioners/Conservation/conservation.asp. Workparties at Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park February 23, 2014, 9 am - noon Join us Sunday, February 23 anytime between 9:00 am and noon for workparties at Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park. We will be focusing on pulling Scot’s Broom and picking up garbage. Wear warm work clothes and bring work gloves and pruners if you have them. Hope to see you there. For more information contact Rosemary Sikes 385-0307 or email rosemarysikes@olympus.net. Is Your Dog Licensed? A license is your dog’s ticket home. If your dog is lost, a current license is the fastest way for it to be reunited with you. It is the law in the City and the County—dogs over six months of age must be licensed. Licenses are issued by the Humane Society of Jefferson County and are available at the Shel- ter, 112 Critter Lane, or download an application from www.jeffersoncountyhumanesociety.org and mail it to P.O. Box 845, Port Hadlock, WA 98339. This is the current fee schedule: [These licenses are good for 2 (two) years.] $20.00 - Sterilized (spayed/neutered) dog. $48.00 - Unsterilized dog. We also have LIFETIME LICENSES: (Please hand-write on the License Form that you want the LIFETIME LICENSE. $112.00 - Sterilized (spayed/neutered) dog. $266.00 - Unsterilized dog. Questions? Call us at 385-3292.