10-14-2003 - Regular Meeting - Minutes•
MINUTES
ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING
OF THE
WEST COVINA CITY COUNCIL
October 14, 2003
Mayor Herfert called to order the Adjourned Regular Meeting of the West Covina City Council at 7:50
pm in the Community Room on the first floor at City Hall, 1444 W. Garvey Avenue, West Covina.
Councilmember Hernandez led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL Mayor Herfert, Mayor Pro Tern Miller
Councilmembers Hernandez, Sanderson, Wong
Others Present: Pasmant, Adams, Genovese, Loveday, Fields, Urban, Dewus,
Greene, Chung, Lee, Janis, Taylor, Wills, Yauchzee, Berry
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Mayor Herfert asked for comments from the audience and the
following individuals addressed the City Council:
Ed Casanova Ed Casanova, 809 Avington, spoke favorably towards the BLD
project, urging Council to move forward with it.
Ferdinand Chan Ferdinand Chan, 3129 E. Virginia Avenue, agreed with the BLD
project; however, he felt the community really needed soccer fields
and should be included in the project.
Joanne Wilner Joanne Wilner, 2108 Casa Linda Drive, felt the City could abandon
the BLD project if the City chose to do so. She expressed concern
that the City Council was being swayed by economics. She
favored a community park at the BKK site, rather than the Big
League Dreams project.
John Scheuplein John Scheuplein, 1800 Aroma Drive #247, noted his support for
BLD.
Mark Booth Mark Booth, 1455 Queen Summit Drive, was concerned that a
chasm between Councilmembers was too deep to bridge, even
when it comes to something as beneficial to the community as the
Big League Dreams project.
AMBULANCE SERVICE
Fire Chief Greene elaborated on the staff report and responded to
Council's questions and comments, particularly regarding the
different hiring/compensation methods open to the Council for
discussion concerning drivers for the ambulances.
Assistant Fire Chief Janis offered additional comments
regarding industry standards for ambulance driver compensation.
Jim McNeal of Cole -Schaefer Ambulance added additional clarify-
ing comments about the hourly wages.
Recess A brief recess was called at 8:45 pm to change the battery in the
video camera. The meeting reconvened at 8:52 pm with all
members present.
Council Minutes of 10/14/03
Adjourned regular meeting
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Jim McNeal Jim McNeal, Cole-Sheafer, stated he would need to let drivers go
if his business dropped. He stated that California law doesn't
allow governmental entities to make a profit.
Chief Greene reminded the Council of the size of the Fire
Department's budget and any monies received from the ambulance
transport program would recover only a small portion of it.
Art McKiesnan Art McKiesnan of American Medical Response (AMR) discussed
the availability of ambulances and response times.
Stephen Recce Stephen Recce, Bellflower, referred to Wage Order 9 and stated
the rules covering hours and shifts concerning ambulance drivers.
Ed Rendon Ed Rendon, El Monte, spoke as a Teamsters member and said the
Fire Department's proposal would hang up twenty-six workers.
Richard Sena Richard Sena, South El Monte, asked Councilmember Hernandez
to reconsider the motion.
John Scheuplein John Scheuplein, 1800 Aroma Drive #247, felt the whole issue is
public safety and response time. In business, you win contracts
and you lose contracts, and that's the nature of doing business.
And that may happen with the ambulance companies on this issue.
He favored the Fire Chief s recommendation.
Herb Redholtz herb Redholtz, 2622 Altamira Drive, felt this proposal opened a
revenue stream and spoke in support of the staff recommendation.
Pat Belmonte Pat Belmonte, 1234 Butterfield Avenue, suggested the matter be
placed on the ballot for the citizens to decide. She stated that she
has plenty of petitions of individuals who would like to vote on
this.
Francis Dowling Francis Dowling, Schaefer Ambulance Service, noted that
Schaefer's attorney wrote a letter suggesting that the City Council
needs to check with the City Attorney before making a decision.
Council Comments Councilmember Sanderson wondered about the business license
fees and tax loss to the City from these ambulance companies if the
City moves forward with the transport program. She felt there
were so many questions about the finances and concerns about the
number of ambulances necessary for the size of our community.
She hasn't heard an outcry from the firefighters that it's necessary
for the City to take on the transport program. Therefore, she sug-
gested working with the ambulance companies.
Councilmember Hernandez felt public safety was the main issue.
He stated his desire to move forward in the best interest of the
citizens. He felt there was a lot of confusion about the RFP
process, Wage Order 9, and the numbers presented tonight, making
it difficult to move forward.
Motion Motion by Hernandez and seconded by Herfert to table these issues
until we get further clarification on the questions that have been
raised today.
Motion carried 3-1-1 with Miller voting no and Wong
abstaining.
Mayor Herfert stated that as Chief Greene brings back the answers
to the questions, somebody could reagendize it they wanted to.
From his own perspective, he said the issue has always been about
service not about money. This issue came up during the budget
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Council Minutes of 10/14/03
Adjourned regular meeting
process and there were issues brought up tonight that make the
proposal questionable. Those need to be pinned down before
moving forward. He said he would like the Council to move
forward with the pass -through fee and suggested that be agendized
for the next meeting.
• PURCHASE OF THREE (3) TYPE II AMBULANCES
Council reviewed the staff report.
Mayor Herfert stated that the action on the preceding item
applies to this item as well (tabled until someone asks for it to be
reagendized).
ADJOURNMENT Motion by Sanderson and seconded by Hernandez to adjourn the
meeting at 9:40 pm. Motion carried 5-0.
Attest:
V/�
City Clerk Janet Berry
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Mayo teve er ert
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