"WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE"
This was an article I found in this weeks edition of the Lake County Tribune.
Friday January 8,2010 page A5
Painesville Township Fire Department has record year 2,936 calls in 2009.
Now we all know by now that the township fire department and Grand River have established a workable agreement to staff the Grand River fire station.
Now Chief Whittaker reported at the trustee meeting;
"We are working on a final agreement with a shared rescue squad with Fairport Harbor and working on a joint purchase of a reserve fire engine with Concord Township."
Shame on Councilman Flock for suggesting we all get together to find solutions to our E.M.S. problems in this part of the county. Seem that the talks were already in the works doesn't it? Why wasn't Painesville City at the table? Not invited? Didn't bother to attend? Maybe it will be easier just to ask for more money from the residents in a safety levy? You decide, my own reason is the city administrations arrogance to work with surrounding communities. More of we are Painesville, do it our way.
Please feel free to call any one on council or call the Golden Dome maybe they will have a more taste full answer.
While your at it ask them why the city has to hire a $300.00 per hour attorney to solve a minor labor dispute when we have Mr. Gurley, Mr.Lyons plus Mr.Baetzel all licensed attorneys on Painesville payroll. Is this showing more of the city being "Fiscally Responsible"??
Just a passing thought if we go ahead with City Architecture street scape plans, What would we have done with all this snow? What would that have cost us?
posted by terminator1 @ 7:21 PM
35 Comments
35 Comments:
Was this 300.00 an hour attorney a local firm? And why couldn't the already-paid-for law director or one of his assistants handle this? If this was such a minor dispute it sure sounds like someone trying to kill a misquito with an atom bomb....and does the city have any kind of arbitration system in place that could be used before high-priced hired guns are used? These are just the first few questions that come to mind.....I'll be interested in reading what information other posters may be able to add to this story.
Term,
When you say "shame on councilman Flock for suggesting we all get together to find solutions to our EMS problems in this part of the county," what exactly do you mean? Are you saying he was right or wrong?
So again, the City of Painesville has screwed its citizens.
The fact that these talks have been going on between the other entities and not us is shocking, shocking news.
And again, Flock sat on his butt giving lip service to meetings when he KNEW the others that run this city were not handling it properly and, in fact, had not handled it properly for years.
And how many years has it been that Flock (and Becks) could have gone over their heads or forced their hand? And yet neither of them ever did anything constructive. I say again, it is not just Flock's job to sit there and agree or disagree. We needed action from him. We needed him to actually do something to help this city -- knowing that McMahon, Hada and the rest had not, and WERE not, going to do it.
Does anyone want to continue to tell me we have more time?
What do you want to say to the people of Cobblestone (and the whole city) now, Andy?
And is it too late for Painesville to get involved in these discussions? Maybe if these people are contacted right now, we can still be part of the plans.
Good thing McMahon and council kept us informed, huh? And good thing Andy has a handle on things.
Shocking. This is shocking.
In order, no it wasn't a local firm again Buckingham, Doolittle and whatever....
No just my attempt at sarcasim, [sp wrong] someone complained about mute.
What shocking to me is you blame Flock. Call Ms. McMahon shes Painesvilles safety director. Ask her.
PTFD Chief used to be Painesville Citys, maybe THEY let him be a chief?
Put the snow on the sidewalks, no one has a good reason to walk around downtown anyway.
You don't think what Painesville Twp. is doing with the truck and sharing won't cost the people of the twp. any tax money,it will just like it cost us tax money to run our fire dept.
A shooting on W. Jackson cool just like we said you will all run yourselfs out of town.
So what do you think no latinos involved with the shootings or stabbing.
I DO blame McMahon, Hada and all the rest. My problem with Flock is that he sat there all this time knowing what was happening, as I said, and didn't do anything to stop it. It's not just McMahon, Hada, Abby, Hach and Fountain that are killing this city (and now apparantly its citizens), it's the likes of Flock (and Becks) who have been sitting there letting them do it.
Nobody was complaining about Flock talking about getting meetings together with the other entities. My problem with him is that he was just talking about it and not DOING it. Same way he has conducted himself for almost 20 years. Makes a big show of poor him -- he would LIKE to do something, but he just CAN'T. Well again, he sat there and let McMahon, Hada, and the rest of the incompetents do this to us.
He took the time to make the ridiculous motion to have the minutes of the previous meeting amended so he could tell the citizens of Cobblestone to have a HEALTHY New Year, and not just a HAPPY one, like he had previously said, but said nothing about setting up meetings like he should have and could have. I think he wanted to be in the movies, and being on council is his only chance to mug for the cameras.
Okay, so not only do we have Cobblestone, and not only do we not have a proper road to go there, and not only do we have a problem with emergency response times in the whole city (and need a whole new plan) now that the hospital has moved, but NOW all the surrounding areas are making plans to work together without us.
Now what? Maybe it's not too late. They (the other areas) do not sound like their plans are completely finalized yet. Maybe we can still join them in finding the best solutions for our city, too.
P.S. Your "sarcasim" is funny.
Oh my oh my. One council person cannot force the hands of all of the others and cannot force alone what this City Manager does or does not do. Back in the day at a special spring election, this city voted to change the charter and give this city manager power beyond all power!! She has her little isolated group of council that shuffles right behind her and supports her will to do or not to do: and, on top of that, they don't educate themselves enough to even know if she is acting in a right/wrong manner or direction. Isn't it funny that it was never brought up to council that she had struck a deal with Grand River and that it had disolved because of their "already agreement" with Painesville Twp. Now that's power - do what you want, have it fail and never advise those that are your boss.
Painesville was always going to be a part of any of these meetings: too bad their part in these meetings became cancelled by mgmnt. or a total no show!!
As for Cobblestone, it was not brought to the attention of Mr. Flock until late 2009. As for the dilemna of the fire chief and Tri-Point, the city manager and the chief had 6 years to come-up with a specific plan to handle the time frames from Painesville to Concord. Was this ever brought-up and placed before council members, NO! Her last statement regarding Cobbleston was after her lawsuit with Mentor. Mentor offered their services but she told them; " No thank you, we will do our own thing."
Here's another good one. There was a very instense study accomplished (co. name slips my mind) that encompassed all fire depts in Lake County. The study was titled Closest Responders. Gee, never heard about that at any Painesville meetings nor was the printed version even shared with council; unless other council members had it (know the city mgr had it) and chose or was told not to pass it on.
I found out about this from another community and read the study. No suggestion of Fire Districts here. It is what it says: "Closest Responders". If you are tremendously ill or injured, would it really matter to you if a Mentor or Perry Rescue vehicle showed up, just as long as you received the necessary emergency medical care? This study does not require payments between political entities. Too bad the city won't share this with the people.
If I again find out the name of this company, you best bet I will share it with all of you.
There is alot more in this "pot of politics" in Painesville than others understand or know. The untruths have gathered so much moss that I am shocked that some can even sleep at night. The old saying, "The real truth" shall come out is not really beginning to happen!
Buckingham and Dolittle are out of Cleveland and have been used extensively over the years since R. McMahon came back to Painesville. Yes this city does have an arbitration system in place with all of their unions.
Oh the power we received from a snowy spring election.
Take the snow off the sidewalks, the city gets on home owners about it, what about the office buildings, like 10 W. Erie St. owned by Consoladited Investment Corp. (Dan Smith) the sidewalk along Richmond St. never gets plowed by the city, because the building plowes there parking lot snow up and over the wall and on to the sidewalk, we saw an older lady with a walker walking in the road to McDonalds, wow he owns that too.
Oh yeah...Buckingham, Doolittle and Burroughs....I remember hearing that name before..weren't they the ones that made a truck load of money trying to keep the hospital here? I guess there is no local counsel good enough to handle that) And didn't they give Ms. Rita a wonderful little award right around the time all those big checks were flying from P'ville to their coffers? An award that she must not have been very proud of because she NEVER mentioned it back here at home...and funny too, our fair city seems to use them on a regular basis but we aren't listed as a customer of theirs...even though everybody else and their brother is...wonder why?
You should inquire who the Painesville School System employee as legal council? No its not the same people but they are in Geauga county.
Does anyone know what is going on north of W. Jackson St. near Route 44?
Looks like some kind of excavation on the Google satellite map.
Google map http://tiny.cc/P2kKy
Term, the Golden Dome might have a 'more tasteful' answer about the EMS response, but whoever said it was gonna leave a GOOD taste in our mouths? Chances are, it won't. Once again, Andy was right and I applaud him for trying. Not his fault he got shot down.
12:16pm, isn't that Hack's property? You know, the property that used to be the public Jackson Street Park until Hach somehow quietly obtained it from the city. What is he doing there? It does look like some major excavation. Anyone?
To 12:16 PM...I believe that's Councilman Hach's excavation project...I guess you'll have to ask him.
WOW..! Nice volleyball court and sled riding hill...I think terms asked about this property in an older blog..An Osborne ownes a majority of that property and the old city park.. Look at Lake County Auditor site...It will tell you ownership of all properties.. You can see how much your neighbors property is worth...
To January 10, 2010, 8:58 p.m.:
Sounds like you know a lot of stuff we all need to know. What else can you share with us?
And, what about this "Closest Responders" thing? Can this still happen for us, do you think? Maybe that is the answer we are looking for.
Yes, the "Closest Responders" can happen for Painesville and every other community in Lake County. Every Chief and every Administration (including the Cty Comm) are aware of this.
As stated, no one seems to want to take the ball/run with it/bring it out in the open for all to see and understand.
My biggest fear is that under the present City Mgmn't. of P'Ville, business will be as usual and this fire/rescue program will again go the wayside of; "We'll do our own thing." Just remember, no entity loses their identity with the Closest Responders Program.
The program is out there, and we in Lake Cty. need to press every government entity to bring it to the Big Table for discussion!!
Thank you, 4:34. Very important information.
Term,
What do you think about this "Closest Responders"?
It does need to be looked into. The question should aways be the best wy to serve the people of any community. Councilman Hada keeps mentioning a street in the township I believe it is Timberline? I'm not sure but he was talking about the time it takes the township fire department to get there, sorta like our Cobblestone area. Now if the city or Concord could cut response times over the township to that location than it would be a good idea to let that department be the firstb responders. When a loved one or a neighbor needs emergency aid most people don't care what the name on the side of the fire truck reads.
The problem will not only be money but the administrations of all these communities like to have control over all there departments, and there are a lot of citizens in Painesville that don't want anything to do with the township, or other locations and to be truthful it can be said that some in other communities don't want anything to do with us.
Taxpayers foot the bill for all this no mater where they live and should demand the most bang for the buck.
Term, I think you are correct. This First Responders does need to be looked into. The person on this board that brought it up said it does not require payments between policitic entities. There are obviously other concerns, as you stated, but I agree, this does need to be looked into. This could be the answer we have been looking for. If all the communities covered each others weak spots, it really could be a win/win situation.
These kind of ideas of communities working together is what our County commissioners should be working on. It's too bad they are hung up on just making sure everything bad in Lake County stays in Painesville so they can continue to get re-elected for the rest of their life by the rest of Lake County.
Anyone in Painesville who votes for these current commissioners needs their head examined.
Instead of Timerline, I believe Hada mentioned Tuckmore.
The question should be asked was the city invited to these talks?
I would be willing to bet the reason why Fire Chiefs dont want to do the closest availble squad idea is because the unit that transport get the money from the Insurance Company.
EfficientGovNow
http://blog.efficientgovnow.org/?p=62
3. Village of Fairport Harbor Fire Dept., Grand River Fire Dept. and Painesville Township Fire Dept.
The fire departments in these three communities would like to purchase and share an ambulance and fire engine. The fire engine will be housed at a single central location and be immediately available to each of the three communities, and the ambulance will serve as a back-up to all 3 communities.
This was posted back on April 16th, 2009.
The full name of the responder report is "Closest Unit Response Study. It was put together by "Emergency Services Consulting, Inc." The Date on this book is "December 2006."
This initial study covered the communities of Concord, Grand River, Madison, Painesville City, Fairport Harbor, Leroy Twp, Painesville Twp, and Perry.
This study was prepared by Phil Kouwe (project manager), Joe Parrott, and Robert McNally. This group is on google, but it appears that they have merged or taken over other entities in the interim. Mr. Kouwe was invited to the 9/16/09 meeting of the Madison Fire District at Station #1. This would go hand in hand with the districts desire to log-out of the central 911 system and go back to their own financed and controlled dispatching system.
When this study was completed, all of the communities above mentioned attended a meeting to discuss the results.
Not truly anonymous to some of you.
Okay all eight communty elected/appointed officials, where have you buried this 2006 study?
It does not belong in your "cobweb" file drawers and hidden from Public viewing. This study belongs on every table at every City/Town Hall and in the Public Libraries for all to view. Public money was used for this, yet the public is denied their just rights of the information.
Just In: Will it shock you that Painesville's CM statement 1/19/10 regarding previous and ongoing meetings with other entities regarding fire/rescue response is false? One only has to ask questions of others to gain the real truth.
You asked Mr. "C'; "Where have you been as this has been reported." Gee, I must be in the same place as there has not been one public reporting (by news or at meetings) regarding the date/time/place/agenda/results of your former meetings nor has there been the same publication of any current nor future meetings.
Rita, your lack of specifics and attack solidifies the previous fact-finding mission that you have turned-down and have not been present as you so stated.
Just a reminder Rita,you are not immune and can be held guilty for any of the three acts of mis/non/mal feasance.
I would have to say that the ball is now in the court of we the people: as our ilustrious elected have decided (since 2006) to ride-it-out and do nothing but pontificate (with untruths) how they all are on the ball and rectifying the situation(s).
By the way, any of these meetings between any/all communities are open to the public for viewing/listening.
I am sure that if this ever reaches the "Big" table, there will definitely be areas of insurance charges/medicare issues, etc that will need to be worked-out with hopefully compromise not greed; on top of other issues regarding the initial central dispatch 911 call/radio conversations between squads and central dispatch and radio conversations between the squads and the professionals in the E.R. There is an apparent slow-down time here that needs attention.
Not so anonymous to most of you.
Are there any public areas, or web sites this report could be viewed?
After watching the city managers performance at the last council meeting, she has lost all of her credibility. To the people who have always defended her, you most consider she spins quite a yarn on numerous subjects the thing is once you tell a lie you must always remember the lies you have told in the past. To JT. do you trust this person, yes or no?
Mary Poppins
Speaking of McMahon's treatment of Cimaglio at the last meeting. I know he's not upset, but I am. I would like to tell the other council members that I consider it part of their job to keep that woman and her attitude and tongue under control. They should have stepped in to shut her up. She cannot be allowed to speak to the citizens that way -- especially when it's to cover her own butt. Cimaglio got a little too close to home and she went on a defensive attack.
In my opinion, she IS guilty of not taking care of this matter and then covering it up in any way she needs to, including attacking the citizens.
I watched the 1/19/2010 council meeting on TV again last night, and I still can't get over it. And she had the nerve to sit there and indignantly report on all her/their supposed meetings, which you just know are not true -- and even if they were, they are six years too late!
We surely need to look into this
Closest Responders thing. We certainly cannot trust them.
It just keeps taking me back to wondering what the hell kind of unholy alliance IS there between McMahon, Hada, Hach, Abby, Fountain and Horvath.
Will some of you lowlifes please explain how its alright for clown to accuse the city manager of sitting on her hands and then mentions this first responder study that just proves shes doing something?
To 12:49:
Your comment is just too stupid to respond to right now. I'll personally let someone else tackle it, or get to it later, after I quit shaking my head.
I'll just start it out by saying that the Closest Responders study was done in 2006 -- yes, that's right -- 2006! We, the citizens are just now finding out about it because of someone who is contributing to this blog.
I can't go on right now. My head is shaking back and forth too hard to continue to type right now. Anyone else want to get the rest of it?
Okay, this is 3:47 again. I'm a little calmer now.
12:49, I would urge you to please actually read these posts. It is YOUR life and YOUR money that we (mostly Term) may actually end up saving.
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