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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN SEP 07 1999 M I N U T E S - CITY OF BEAUMONT Lulu L.Smith DAVID W. MOORE, MAYOR John K. Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Guy N. Goodson CITY COUNCIL MEETING Andrew P. Cokinos Bobbie J. Patterson SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 Becky Ames Lane Nichols,City Attorney Stephen J. Bonczek,City Manager Barbara Liming, City Clerk The City Council of the City of Beaumont, Texas, met in a regular session on September 7, 1999, at the City Hall Council Chambers, 801 Main Street, Beaumont, Texas, at 1:30 p.m. to consider the following: OPENING * Invocation Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call * Presentations and Recognition * Public Comment: Persons may speak on scheduled agenda items Consent Agenda Mayor Moore called the meeting to order at 1:36 p.m. Pastor Danny Waymore, First United Methodist Church, gave the invocation. Ms. Carolyn Howard of Main Street led the pledge of allegiance. Present at the meeting were: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson. Also, present were: Stephen J. Bonczek, City Manager; Lane Nichols, City Attorney; and Rebecca A. Hoge, Deputy City Clerk. *Presentations and Recognitions Mayor Moore acknowledged today was Councilmember Ames birthday, Councilmember Cokinos birthday was last week, and Councilmember Ames reminded Mayor Moore his birthday would be next week. One Proclamation was Issued: "The Banks Horticultural Center, " Mayor Moore recognized and thanked Jack and Bert Binks for their generosity and philanthropy in providing the funding for an educational and visitors center to be located next to the Conservatory at Tyrrell Park. Mr. Binks accepted this proclamation stating he and his wife have lived in the Beaumont area for more than 70 years, and wanted to do something for the generations to come. Mayor Moore and Councilmembers were invited by members of the Beaumont Council of Garden Club to the ground breaking ceremonies to be held this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. for the at Tyrrell Park. Mayor Moore read a letter of recognition from Governor George W. Bush, recognizing Councilmember Patterson for her efforts in Operation One Vote for sponsoring voter registration drives, vote rallies, and candidate forums in Southeast Texas. Councilmember Patterson thanked Mayor Moore for publicly recognizing her, expressed she felt voting was an important issue, and urged everyone to register to vote for the coming November election. *Public Comment: Persons may speak on scheduled agenda items Citizen comment was invited on the Consent and Regular agenda Items Mayor Pro Tem Davis asked when should citizens' wanting to speak on Other Business Fire Station #11 come forward, and Mayor Moore responded after Agenda Item #6. Ms. Kim Steinhagen, president of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, addressed Council to encourage an increase in the Art Museum's current FY 1999 Budget from $185,000 to $225,000, a $40,000 increase to help the museum out of a financial situation. She introduced staff members of the Art Museum; Ms. Lynn Castle, Interim Director, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, 620 20th Street; Mr. Andy Gardner, 2405 Euclid; who spoke of deleting key positions, not cutting any projects; and spoke of current projects like art after school, art to go, programs outside of Beaumont, Odom Junior Adult Center, Conn Tech Art Gallery, and a computer lab called C Space. Ms. Shirley Mitchell, 1310 Ducette, addressed Council and praised the current EMS service, she spoke of their trained paramedics and well-stocked ambulances, and in her opinion going to a private ambulance would be a mistake. Mayor Moore asked to that anyone making public comments to reference the different ambulance companies as private carrier. Dr. David Parkus, Director of Trauma Services at St. Elizabeth Hospital, address Council listing his previous work experience in the field of trauma surgery, stated Beaumont EMS has some of the best paramedics, and remarked quality of care for the City of Beaumont was their main concern. He commented the trauma surgeon at St. Elizabeth and Beaumont EMS and how closely they worked together on protocols and trauma alarms in the field, and remarked mixing private ambulances into the 911 system would cause a decrease in quality control since private services do not follow the same protocols. He commented as the City grows more trauma patients would be seen, EMS should grow, and remarked he supported the addition of a fifth City ambulance staffed with two paramedics. He stated Dr. Weldon Sweet, Medical Director of Med Link, also supported adding the fifth City owned Beaumont EMS unit. Mr. Louis Williams, 102 West Caldwood, addressed Council and asked that Regular Agenda Item #1 be tabled until it can be studied further in another workshop. He said he invited a representative from the Texas Health Department, Mr. David Reeves, to give Council facts and figures. Mr. Williams referenced an editorial in today's newspaper and remarked the writer missed his point in the comment"private ambulances operate successfully throughout the region," stating private ambulances operate throughout America. Mr. David Reece, State Health Department in Houston, addressed Council and said his main purpose in coming today was to be a reference person, he asked if anyone had any questions on what was within the bounds of the EMS Act, what was legal, and what was not. Councilmembers asked Mr. Reece if he would give the type of systems that presently exist in Dallas and San Antonio; about quality control, protocols and was there a difference; asked if a paramedic was on the first responder vehicle sent out by Dallas's Fire Department EMS Units; about preventive or intervention measures, trauma services, or invasive services; asked if EMT's were as qualified as the paramedics and was there a difference; would there ever be a situation where you would need two paramedics on the same call; and how was staffing done at most of the intermediate cities in his region, was it through private service, city run services, or a combination. Mr. Reece said the major cities in Texas, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi have a Fire Department running EMS with firefighters on the ambulances; El Paso is a third city service; and Fort Worth has a contract with a private provider for services. He said the Health Department requires every licensed EMS provider to have quality improvements, EMS has evolved over the past thirty years, and currently they do evaluations of the firm as a whole to check if their quality improvement program is actually working. He stated protocols are determined by the medical director of each organization, each organization that provides a level above the level of basic life supports, anything invasive into the body, IV's infusions, intubation, usage of a defibrillator, any drugs require a medical director for whom protocols must be written. He remarked protocols are up to the medical director for each organization going from bare bones to full-fledged state of the Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 2 arts activities. He indicated ambulances are stationed in the fire stations in Dallas and Houston, they routinely respond pumpers fire trucks with the ambulances as they go, but the staff on the ambulances are fire fighters as well as paramedics or EMT's. He said he could not speak for units outside his region of sixteen counties, Galveston and Houston were in his region, and it was his belief all fire fighters on Houston fire trucks were basic EMT's with some paramedics. He stated there was a definite difference, basic EMT's are limited to skills that are not invasive of nature, bandaging, splints, CPR, using mechanical aids like oxygen, where you progress up to the paramedic level who can start intubation, intravenous infusions, administers medicine, interpret heart rhythm, administer the shocks, and said there was a good range of difference between what the two can do. He said the State regulates ambulance licenses on three levels of support, basic life support-basic EMT's, ALS requires an intermediate EMT as well as a basic EMT, and the MICU requires a paramedic and a basic EMT. He stated comparable cites to Beaumont were Pasadena and Baytown with Baytown using a third city service not related to the fire department but a city operated service, Pasadena contracts with a private provider for all their services and have no governmental entity providing their service. Mr. Roger Smith, Beaumont EMS paramedic for eleven years, addressed Council said he had worked with public, private, and volunteer services, and remarked discussions about which was better a city paramedic or a private paramedic needed to be taken out of the debate. He said he felt citizens deserved the same continuity of care no matter what part of Beaumont they lived in. He expressed the City has gone through intermixing private and city services in the past, he asked if this saved the City money when it was tried before, stated revenue was the management philosophy of private services, and supported using city services. Mr. Chris Shankle, a paramedic firefighter for the City of Houston Fire Department, manager of Express Care Ambulance Service Inc. in Houston, Texas, and owner of a new ambulance service Life Star EMS in Beaumont, addressed Council and stated we were comparing issues that were not the same. He remarked all city 911 service calls must be responded to and cities do not make a profit because they cannot select their customers. He commented a private ambulance service has the ability to select customers, if customers do not have the resources to pay the bill, a private carrier does not have to come out and provide services. He said the City currently has four medic units staffed with two paramedics per truck, a supervisor car responding to 911 calls, and logistically 90% of the 911 calls are not life or death emergencies, when EMS responds to a call a determination would be made that no life threatening situation exists, and at this point emergency services should be farmed out for transport which releases the medic unit to go back into service for the next 911 call. He said the City of Houston operates under this system which was called a tiered system. Mayor Pro Tem Davis asked Mr. Shankle in his professional opinion, if he was a resident of Beaumont which service would give the best care; asked about liabilities when cities hire out service contracts, and questioned on private services choosing their calls. Mr. Shankle remarked he had not seen all of the proposals and would be difficult for him to say, he said logistically the City has what is needed, but the City's resources needed to be reworked. He remarked as a private ambulance owner he was willing to assist the City at any time needed. He stated the City needed to look at their busiest time, if it was from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., when you need a back up system as every call from 911 does not need a Mobile Intensive Care Unit. He said all calls would go through 911 first, 911 would assess whether a private service should be called, and a private carrier would have to let the City know they were available no matter what, and then the private carrier would respond. He spoke of the City having ten paramedics on duty, only operating four fully stocked ambulances, and use the other two paramedics in a supervisor vehicle which would give you the fifth unit. He stated determine your peak hours, take the two Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 3 paramedics from the supervisor's vehicle, put them in an ambulance to cover the City's needs, then when the needs are gone put them back into the supervisor's vehicle. Mayor Moore thanked Mr. Shankle for his insight and sharing another side of this issue showing the possibility of getting the necessary response, passing transport onto a private carrier, and said we need both public and private services blending to give our community the best level of care. Mr. Bill Proctor, 4340 Westridge, addressed Council on Regular Agenda Item #1 and said in using a private ambulance service the main problem was in the protocols, in some areas when level zero was reached services were rotated to a private carrier, there was a problem when private carriers were not made aware of streets in new additions, and spoke of past problems with private carriers. *Consent Agenda * Approval of minutes - No minutes were presented * Confirmation of committee appointments - No committee appointments were made A) Accept improvements constructed in The Meadowlands, Section Four and Five for City maintenance (approximately 447' north to and including the cul-de-sac and Vermejo Circle from the proposed Tahoe Drive approximately 135' east of 3 OM-4p end of roadway markers, improvements for Lots 16-21, block 1, Lot 7, Block 6 and Lots 17-19, Block 6 in Section Four) - Resolution No. 99-258 and (Vermejo Circle approximately 249' east to and including the cul-de-sac and improvements for Lots 8-16, Block 6 in Section Five - all improvements passed inspection September 1, 1999) - Resolution No. 99-259 B) Authorize a deed conveying a one acre tract of land to Statewide consolidated community Development Corporation, Inc. for the construction of homes related to the Neighborhood Revitalization Project (property located at 2525, 2545, 2565, 2585 Hebert Street and 3945 Garden Street, Lots 1 through 5 out of 1.00 acre tract in the J. W. Bullock Survey, Abstract 7. City acquired property from Lula Langham Potter, et al) - Resolution No. 99-260 C) Authorize the execution of a Special Warranty Deed to Beaumont Alumni Chapter, Kappa Alpha Psi (City sold property to Alumni in November of 1996 by a Quick claim Deed, owners have a buyer for property and title company states Quick claim Deed not sufficient needs Special Warranty Deed for insurance purposes) - Resolution No. 99-261 D) Authorize the lease of a police vehicle to be used for the project entitled "Southeast Texas Auto Theft Task Force" (1999 Ford Explorer police vehicle from Government Capital Corporation of Beeville, Texas, through Philpott Motors, funding from grant, rate of$600 per month, $7,200 for project year Sept. 1, 1999 -Aug. 31, 2000 ) - Resolution No. 99-262 E) Approve a contract for a computerized box office ticketing and distribution system for the Convention Facilities Division (3 year contract with option to renew for two years with ETM Dillard's Ticketing system) - Resolution No. 99-263 Councilmember Cokinos moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Goodson seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson Noes: None Minutes;September 7, 1999;Page 4 GENERAL BUSINESS 1. Consider a one year pilot project to provide emergency medical services to the community by a private ambulance company City Manager Bonczek asked to clarify a story in the Sunday newspaper incorrectly quoted him in saying he was not an advocate of running to a property tax to increase revenues, and remarked what he did say was raising property taxes should always be the last alternative considered. He said depending on Council's decision on Capital Improvement Projects, EMS issue, Fire Station #11, and other situations he would never say he would not recommend a property tax increase. Mr. Bonczek gave a brief outline on the status of the proposed pilot project to provide emergency medical services to the community through private ambulance companies. He remarked the results of the pilot project would be evaluated for effectiveness and service delivery in one year for a determination to see if the services should be continued, enhanced, or terminated. He said the current privatized system for rollovers would be formalized, gave statistical information about the private systems, and remarked a rollover with a need for a private ambulance could occur at any time in any section of the City. He stated adding a fifth unit would cost approximately $400,000 to $450,000, with revenues slightly less than $200,000, a cost savings of about $200,000 to $250,000 with the privatized system, and said we were not trying to subsidize the private system. He talked of the need to manage our 911 calls effectively turning non life threatening transports to private companies. He spoke of studies and results from surveys made by private services comparing patient outcomes with paramedic and EMT versus dual paramedic based on morbidity and mortality that indicated no significant difference in patient outcome. He requested Council's consideration of this pilot project, and stated if it does not work to our satisfaction we have other alternatives. Councilmember Smith stated she was not in favor of privatizing the north end of Beaumont including the east and west of Lucas Drive, said she understood the budget constraints, but they were talking of quality of care. She remarked she did not believe we could take all paramedics and compare them to the training and expertise our paramedics receive. She agreed we could revamp our 911 system, cover the City, and not have to add a fifth unit. She stated adding a fifth unit would be her preference, and said she did not want to privatize. She expressed her concern with liability stating you cannot contract liability. She said we needed to look at our operations, see where we can streamline to cut costs, think about increasing our revenues, and stated she was very opposed to a private unit. Councilmember Cokinos expressed his concern about the possibility of a tax increase for the citizens of Beaumont. He remarked he was willing to cut costs now, pushing ahead with big spending programs into a deficit was not the answer. He stated he wanted to avoid a tax increase, we were facing a financial crisis in the City of Beaumont, and expressed he did not want to see this crisis happen. He said he would follow the City Manager's recommendation and would consider a one year pilot project. Councilmember Ames commented citizens call 911 to get an ambulance whether it was an emergency or not and if this was tying up our emergency units she felt we should look at this immediately, because in her opinion City EMS was for emergencies paid for with tax dollars. She voiced her concern in our 45% collection rate, and said improving collections would generate more revenue which would pay for some of these issues. She said if we go out for bid to private carriers that this was a safety issue not a money issue, and she wanted to see the bid awarded to the most qualified company. She stated this was an equality issue, Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 5 whether private or public the service needs to be the same, and private service should not just be for just north end of Beaumont but rotate throughout the City. She remarked she did not support a tax increase, this was an important issue, and stated maybe we could cut somewhere else. Mayor Pro Tem Davis expressed his concerns on the fairness of this issue, asked questions on the staffing of this proposed pilot project, and spoke of taxpayers right to have the same services. He said for the last four years he has requested wages and benefits be cut, said we need to look at how we spend our dollars, how we put the Capital Improvement Programs into place, and analyze this information. He said we talk about tax increases when it comes to EMS and Fire, and he did not hear this when people were advocating relocating, building, or redeploying three new fire stations, building softball complexes, new Capital Improvement Programs pertaining to roads and streets, and he said we need to be consistent. He said from someone, who was an avid opponent of taxes, a tax increase would be considered to make sure that Fire Station #11 stays open, and the people in northwest and northeast Beaumont get the same coverage and protection as every other part of Beaumont. Councilmember Goodson commented until December of 1998 the City had EMT and paramedics on the City EMS units. He remarked we talk about equality and fairness, and stated all citizens were being asked to pay for this whether paramedic or EMT even those who would never even use the EMS services. He remarked he had no problem with rotating private carriers to different areas to be fair, and this was a protocol issue that should be researched. He listed resources, said they should be analyzed, we were trying to do the best for our citizens, and that everyone should understand we have to pay them. He spoke of receiving a March 26, 1999 long range financial forecast report which was the first time for discussions covering problems we would have concerning the City finances. He remarked the report predicted a 4% ad valorem tax rate increase, and we premised our budget on this amount, quoted a section where the staff said "the current revenue estimates assume potential for growth in the assessed value at 4% maybe declining to 3.7% the current economic due is reflected in the aggressive growth of 4% which is not supported by the trend of the past several years, the result of this assumption will generate an increase in property tax revenues of$520,000 for an estimated $13.8 million in FY 2000." He stated we did not get 2% gross growth in the City, and he said we have done some capital budgeting, operating and maintenance on those premises that have not born out in 1999. He supported the manager's recommendation because it was a pilot program, expressed disappointment that city staff and available resources in our medical community could not create a protocol satisfying everyone using public or private services. He gave a scenario stating if a call comes in two blocks off Calder behind Mr. Williams ambulance service, and if we do not at least consider getting that call to the closest ambulance he was not convinced we were doing our best. He stated he would not be convinced until every effort was made to utilize all the public and private resources in the City, and he was not willing to say it will fail now because we would not give it a chance. Councilmember Patterson commented this issue is not about ward politics, it is about consistency and parity across the City. She said we must provide citizens with the best quality care, and we would not be giving this if we have four ambulances with two paramedics and one ambulance with one paramedic and an EMT. She remarked based on the information given today, she was not aware we were not using all of our resources, following the best procedures, and said that needs to be in place. She stated City services should be for all citizens in Beaumont, and this can only be done by providing EMS service with two paramedics. She spoke of needing to provide parity and set priorities, and Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 6 commented you cannot provide cultural or recreational activities without providing public safety first. She stated she supported the City purchasing a fifth EMS unit. Mayor Moore asked Mr. Bonczek what was the most important criteria used in determining additional units, was it geographical of present units or response times? Mr. Bonczek responded response time. Mayor Moore spoke of the benefits of listening to the audience, made reference to private carriers, said the ability to restructure our current EMS system was worth looking at, expressed Council wanted the same continuity across the City, and as the City continued to grow adjustments would have to be made. He commented the budget impact would be about $250,000 which could be reduced with more proficiency in collecting for services rendered. He said he was not sure how to pass EMS service to a private carrier, indicated there was room for incorporation of private carriers, and he remarked from Mr. Shankle's conversation this might be the best way to proceed. He asked the city manager if we have considered putting the two paramedics on the private carrier to make the level of service as consistent as possible, and what would be the additional cost of having an additional paramedic. Mr. Bonczek responded the most cost effective recommendation based on service quality would be the paramedic and EMT. He said they would do a request for qualifications to make sure private carriers were qualified, spoke of improving collections, deployment, scheduling, organizational and staffing procedures followed by private carriers, and said if we were efficient four units might work by shifting calls. He discussed procedures that might be followed by going with a private carrier, and indicated this could stretch the availability and use of our current four units. He remarked in Mr. Shankle's opinion we had enough resources to accomplish this, said he did not believe there was sufficient time to work and implement these changes, and indicated this pilot project would give us that flexibility. He stated rotation had been discussed, but they were unsure of the feasibility, and the cost of adding an additional paramedic would be the difference between the salary of an EMT and a paramedic. Mayor Moore said we have to become more innovative in what we do, stated he did not support the pilot project proposal as it presently exists, he indicated having a proposal with the same level of equip staff he could take a better look at, and he remarked defraying the cost and having an opportunity to be creative might alleviate some of our current problems. He agreed with other councilmembers on the level of consistency in care, could support the manager's proposal provided it had that same level of care in every unit, and if savings could be found then we might accomplish both. He remarked he did not want people to saying if I didn't live here I would have received different service. He hoped that there was a way to defray the $250,000 increase, work with privatizing the manager's pilot project, and have private ambulances equipped exactly as city ambulances. Mayor Pro Tem Davis suggested since comments have been made today, the City Manager has been given added directives, he made a motion that Regular Agenda Item #1 be deferred one week allowing the manager to formulate another recommendation that provided two paramedics on a unit, meeting the concerns voiced by Councilmembers Cokinos and Goodson, and that would meet with approval of the entire Council. He said he did not want to vote against the recommendation of the City Manager, would like the manager to have an opportunity to assimilate what was said today, come back allow him to present a new recommendation, and applauded the manager for his strength of character in doing what he believed was the right thing. Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 7 Mayor Moore asked Mr. Bonczek if could he come back in one week with a counter proposal to the original proposal present today. Mr. Bonczek responded affirmatively. Councilmember Ames requested the City Manager also review our protocols on emergency situations if no preference was made by the patient as to where they would be taken. Mayor Moore expressed we were looking today at what might remedy the situation for the next several years without being a financial impact to this budget, and a one week deferment for additional information would enhance the project allowing us to make the best informed decision possible. Mayor Moore stated the consensus of Council was to defer Regular Agenda Item #1 pertaining a one year pilot project to provide emergency medical services to the community by a private ambulance company and bring it back to on the next council agenda. 2. Consider the sale of surplus property to Magnolia Cemetery Company Mayor Moore informed Council the two entities have come together through discussion and are working through an amicable agreement, and Council was faced with a decision of recognizing who was the highest bidder. Mayor Pro Tem Davis remarked the bid process was looked at, there was no impropriety, and complemented Mayor Moore for bringing the two groups together. Councilmember Cokinos asked City Attorney Nichols what was the State law on high bids and were we in compliance. Mr. Nichols remarked in this situation the City has only two options with reference to the disposal of property, the first option was to take competitive bids awarding to the most advantageous bidder, the second option was to have a public auction and just auction the property off publicly, and stated we have chosen the high bid. He said Council could lawfully reject all bids and start over, and stated we were in compliance with State laws. Mayor Pro Tem Davis moved to approve Resolution No. 99-264 authorizing the sale of surplus property after a thorough review of the bid process located at 1845 Pine Street former Pipkin School site, J. Drake Survey, City Plat V, Tracts 39-41, 45, and 48-50 for $35,501.01. Councilmember Ames seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson Noes: None 3. Consider additional fund for the Art Museum of Southeast Texas Councilmember Smith remarked the $40,000 would be from unencumbered funds from the FY 1999 budget having no impact on the FY 2000, other than lowering the proposed $225,000 to $185,000. Mayor Pro Tem Davis expressed he supported this increase for the Art Museum whose outreach program reaches Dunbar, Fletcher, and Martin Elementary, Magnolia Gardens, Plymouth Village; and said the Art Museum helps young people to see more than the negative effects of making it through the day to day harshness allowing young folks the Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 8 opportunity to get away from this. He commented additional funding in future years would be a different issue. (Mayor Moore left the Chamber at 3:00 p.m. during Mayor Pro Tem Davis remarks' and returned at 3:05 p.m.) Councilmembers discussed the Art Museum's participation in the outreach program in other cities and their contributions to the Art Museum. Mr. Gardner said with the museum was trying to branch out as a symbol to other places, there was no charge for outreach to other cities, and stated they do not turn any request for outreach down. The discussion continued and covered the Art Museum protege program, the museum being a regional museum receiving some support by memberships throughout the region, the Art Museum was a City owned property operated by a private corporation after $4 million was raised from private funds for the construction the museum given Beaumont, and this City asset receives operating funds from the Hotel Motel Tax bringing tourism to the area. Councilmember Patterson spoke of previous discussion with councilmember opposition to provide funds for operating cost, said if we were setting a precedent this needed to be across the board for all private and non profit entities when discussing funding, and she remarked Council should be consistent in what they do. Mayor Moore commented Councilmember Patterson's points were well made, had validity in terms of discussion in to how to proceed as a Council, and said this was not a connection in terms of ongoing funding toward the Art Museum. He remarked the Art Museum was in a partnership with the City of Beaumont with funding coming from the Hotel Motel Occupancy Tax for the arts. He said culture should be a stimulant within the present economy, they had some tough times, made adjustments, and the Art Museum should be progressing forward becoming more diverse. He expressed the saving received from this investment was the enrichment of young people, he challenged the Art Museum to make outreach equal among the four wards, spoke of how the Art Museum came to be located at its present today, and the benefit entire community receives. He stated we cannot totally lock ourselves into making broad statements that may affect us later as we do not know what was coming in the future. He wanted everyone to understand as we have told other entities as we continue to expand and change our scope of how we do business that we would not be able to do this next year. Councilmember Goodson stated the Art Museum was a unique facility and an important city asset. He said the Art Museum and the Entergy Museum were materially different from other facilities in the City, the entire $185,000 for the Art Museum represents monies toward the cost of the privatized operation through a nonprofit corporation as revenues from people coming through the museum would not offset operating costs. He said we need to know what our obligations were in early summer, presenting unexpected funding needs to Council as soon as possible allowing Council to create funding opportunities in a current budget or plan in a future budget. Mayor Moore requested members of the Art Museum submit a financial report to the Council every trimester on their progress, and on how they are developing and expanding. Councilmember Ames commented the City was lucky to have the $40,000 of unencumbered Hotel Occupancy Tax funds, praised the Convention and Tourism Bureau with hoteliers for the last five years the City has gone over budget in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues, and stated these funds can only be used to fund specific programs that promote tourism. Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 9 Councilmember Patterson asked if the Hotel Occupancy Tax funds could be used for economic development, asked the Finance Officer Beverly Hodges to check if these funds could be used for this purpose, and get the information back to her. Finance Officer Beverly Hodges stated she has never heard of that broad of a use for Hotel Occupancy Tax funds, and said she would have to check into statutory information. Councilmember Smith remarked that 20% of the people who go through the museum are from out of town. Councilmember Cokinos moved to approve Resolution No. 99-265 authorizing the additional funding in the amount of $40,000 for FY 1999 to the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. Councilmember Ames seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson Noes: None 4. Consider authorizing agreements with public service agencies that were allocated funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 1999 Consolidated Grant Program Mayor Pro Tem Davis remarked requests for funding have been made by all branches of the Salvation Army, and asked staff to get information to Council for possible allocation of the remaining $12,830 in funding for this organization. Mayor Pro Tem Davis moved to approve Resolution No. 99-266 authorizing the agreements with public service agencies BUILD ($35,000), Habitat for Humanity ($50,000), Martin Elementary ($5,000), Plymouth Village Trust Apartments ($5,000), Partnership Community Mental Health Center ($15,000), Henry's Place ($22,000), and Some Other Place ($25,000), that were allocated funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 1999 Consolidated Grant Program. Councilmember Ames seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson Noes: None 5. Consider an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 99-47 relating to the structure located at 4396 Sullivan Councilmember Smith moved to approve Ordinance No. 99-62 ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE AMENDING NO. 99-47,TO REMOVE THE STRUCTURE LOCATED AT 4396 SULLIVAN FROM SECTION 2 AND DIRECTING THAT THE STRUCTURE AT 4396 SULLIVAN BE DEMOLISHED OR REPAIRED WITHIN 90 DAYS;PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY,AND PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY. Councilmember Ames seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson Noes: None Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 10 6. Consider an amendment to the taxicab ordinance which has the effect of removing the requirement for a public hearing before the city council prior to the issuance of a new taxicab permit Councilmember Smith moved to approve Ordinance No. 99-63 ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE REPEALING ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 29 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT AND ENACTING A NEW ARTICLE III REGULATING TAXICABS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL;AND PROVIDING A PENALTY, Councilmember Cokinos seconded the motion. MOTION PASSED. Ayes: Mayor Moore, Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Councilmembers Smith, Goodson, Cokinos, Ames, and Patterson Noes: None Mayor Moore asked in the event a permit was denied would the person requesting the permit have access for repeal. Mr. Nichols answered this is in the ordinance, and said they can file a written appeal to the council. OTHER BUSINESS * Status report relating to Fire Station No. 11 Mr. Bonczek reported on fire service, the construction of three new fire stations, and said the redeployment of fire service had been discussed with Council since 1996. He remarked the administration had proceeded with Council's approval to construct three stations and continue redeployment of fire services. He said Fire Station #11 was scheduled for redeployment and they planned to institute EMS service at this location. He stated Fire Chief Bertrand and Public Health Director Mrs. Holmes would make today's presentation. He talked about attending a Charlton Pollard Neighborhood Association Meeting with Mayor Pro Tem Davis which has given him more information on the issue. He said a lot of information has been provided to Council, and a short summary of the basis for this decision, why it was made, and what it means to the community and neighborhood. He asked Council to allow the presentation and then they would answer any questions. Fire Chief Michael Bertrand thanked Council for the opportunity to discuss this issue of redeployment, he introduced Assistant Chief Chuck Mullins, Chief Training Officer Anne Huff, and Public Health Director over EMS Ingrid Holmes, and said they all would be assisting in the presentation today. He expressed pride in the firefighters, the quality of uniform service they provide, and remarked this presentation would show they were not always able to perform uniform service. He stated the target goal to respond quickly and effectively to all the areas of our city was five minutes or less. He said they were responsible for providing fire protection for the city limits of Beaumont which encompassed about an 83 square mile area, provide fire protection service contracts in lieu of taxes to 16 facilities, provide Jefferson County secondary fire protection for two areas just outside city limits (west-Garden Villa area, south of Beaumont the Cardinal Meadows area in the extra territorial jurisdiction). He commented there were many strategic issues like target hazards large loss of life or property, all modes of transportation, manufacturing, petro chemical industries, large warehouses, and a diverse population of service providers hospitals, nursing homes, schools. He indicated resources are currently allocated throughout the City providing service from eleven fire stations, with eleven fire pumpers, four aerial apparatuses; through three shifts of seventy personnel each. He remarked on any given day it takes 47 firefighters to adequately staff all of our apparatus, totaling 234 uniform firefighters, all other Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 11 divisions support the suppression division. He presented a map (Exhibit A) showing the current response boundaries for the eleven fire stations which indicates some districts significantly larger than others. He stated in 1990 a group called the Fire Prevention and Engineering Bureau examined our fire defenses and capabilities, and their study indicated there were excessive first due response distances in two areas in Beaumont (the northwest and southwest). He commented the northwest deficiency was improved in August 1992 by relocating Fire Station #5 which was redeployed to 8250 Old Voth Road, and significantly improved the response times for the residents in the area. He said part of their strategy was to forecast needs of our community and effectively respond to present circumstances. He remarked in 1996 the Fire Prevention and Engineering Bureau evolved into a group called Insurance Service Offices Commercial Risk Services (ISO) which came to Beaumont in September 1996 to conduct an updated study of 1990. At this point Chief Bertrand requested Chief Training Officer Huff to discuss ISO and what their purposes were, and indicated he would continue after Chief Huff's presentation. (Councilmember Goodson left the Chamber at 3:28 p.m. and returned at 3:32 p.m.; Mayor Moore left the Chamber at 3:30 p.m. and returned at 3:44 p.m.; and Mayor Pro Tem Davis left the Chamber at 3:30 p.m. and returned at 3:33 p.m.; during Fire Chief Bertrand remark's) Officer Huff spoke of the ISO, and remarked in Beaumont with more than 100,000 in population ISO came in every ten years to look at the fire department, grade them, translate the grade into a classification, the insurance industry would use the classification to determine what fire insurance rates everyone in the community would pay, and she stated uniformity in coverage is very important. She said the City was not mandated to comply with the recommendations made by ISO, if the fire department did not comply the City would get a bad grade which translated into a significantly higher insurance rates for the City. She stated ISO recommends the first unit arrive at the scene with a maximum distance from the station of 1.5 miles which she referenced Map#2 (Exhibit B), and she remarked the 1.5 mile distance was the driving distance not a radius distance which gives Map #2 the irregular shapes. She pointed out a number of gaps on the map between stations and from an ISO perspective this was not optimal. She indicated the national average for response time was 5 minutes, and said the goal was to be within the 1.5 mile distance while taking less than 5 minutes to respond. She said to conform with ISO we must minimize all the gaps like those in the southwest sector and in the northwest section. She said for efficiency of operations they would have to take the downtown area that is severely overlapped in coverage (Station 1, 3, 7, and 11) and take away some of these overlaps. She commented ISO was just a recommendation and we do not have to do anything they say, everything has to be weighed by our own internal analysis, we take the recommendation and believe it, and strategic issues have to be examined when looking at fire station locations. She said some strategic issues would be current allocations of resources, target hazards, water supply and distribution, response distance and time to all areas, the number and types of calls for service, and future growth and expansion. She said no citizen in Beaumont should have to wait longer than 5 minutes for a Beaumont Fire/Rescue Services Unit to be on scene, and waiting longer than 5 minutes make the odds to positively impact the situation progressively go down. She stated to reach the 5 minute target they look at historical response time data, forecast future needs, and look at growth in areas of the community. She gave a brief discussion and comparison of Charlton-Pollard Neighborhood versus Southwest Section for travel times and distances, she stated locations were chosen according to importance (schools, central, hard to access, and long run locations); all runs were made 5 mph over posted speed; recorded the mileage; out of station time was the same from when the firefighter hears dispatch, processes the information, run to truck putting on gear, and out of the station; and the on location time takes from the drive out of station to arrival at the scene. She stated the only place over the target in the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood was Minutes;September 7, 1999;Page 12 at the Mobil Refinery gate with a time of 5:06 minutes which was 6 seconds over standard. She said in the southwest section central location was where we start showing concern with a time of 5:12 minutes, going to the farthest reaches of the territory the time increases to 6:37 minutes which was unacceptable, at the farthest distance it would take 6:53 minutes to arrive on the scene. She stated they want the response time in these areas to go down, particularly in the Tyrrell Park area with the worse times in the City. (City Manager Bonczek left the Chamber at 3:36 p.m. during Fire Chief Bertrand remark's and returned at 3:38 p.m.) Chief Bertrand commented all responses in the Charlton Pollard and the southwest area were reviewed, looking at the total number and types of calls from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 1998, of the 265 responses 193 emergency medical calls or about 73%, 15 fire calls or about 6%, miscellaneous fire calls such as odor investigation, private fire alarm systems, power lines down about 21.5%, making fire and fire related calls about 27.2% into the Charlton Pollard area. He said there were 265 calls in the southwest area for the same time period, 44% (117) were emergency medical calls, 7.5% (20) fire calls, miscellaneous fire calls were 48.3% (128), and from these numbers over half of the calls in the southwest areas were for fire or emergency medical calls 55.8% with less than one-third of the calls into the Charlton Pollard areas were for fire. He said both areas need medical and fire services and on the basis of the data we can conclude the greater needs in the Charlton Pollard area were medical needs, and the greater needs in the southwest section are fire needs. He commented the total number of EMS medical calls responded to in the southwest were 237 as compared to 409 in the Charlton Pollard area, the fire department assisted EMS 117 times in the southwest area, 193 in the Charlton Pollard areas as first responders. He said redeployment was not new and has been used in planning for future growth and expansion, the fire department has redeployed fire stations five times, and the last redeployed Fire Station #5 from the downtown area to the northwest area in August 1992. He remarked in doing so the fire stations located around old Fire Station #5 were the ones that absorbed the additional call volume for the down town area making a significant improvement in response distances and response time in the northwest area. In summary he said our commitment is quality and uniformity, and there is no reason why any citizen within the city limits of Beaumont should have to wait longer than 5 minutes for a firefighter arrive on the scene. He expressed if an alarm were to come in today in the Charlton Pollard area they could have 16 fire fighters on the scene in 5 minutes or less our target goal, however, if the same alarm came in some areas of the southwest especially the Tyrrell Park area no firefighters could be on the scene within 5 minutes. Chief Bertrand spoke of a Charlton Pollard Neighborhood group meeting on August 10th, in which Mayor Pro Tem Davis invited the City Manager and himself to speak about the fire station redeployment and several issues were brought up. He said some of the following questions were asked and answered: Will property insurance rates increase? No, they will not, opening a fire station in the southwest area our total coverage for the City will be improved holding rates at their current level and may decrease rates for the entire community. Will a Beaumont EMS unit be located in Fire Station #11? Mrs. Holmes will answer this question later. Will the residents be assured of adequate protection with the number of target hazards in or near the Charlton Pollard areas if the station is moved? By following ISO's recommendation on fire stations locations, they will be capable of providing 13 firefighters in the majority of the Charlton Pollard area after the relocation of the station in the target goal of 5 minutes or less. Would the neighborhood be adequately protected from the hazards associated with the refinery? Most of the refineries have their fire fighter brigades stating Mobil has 120 certified OSHA fire fighters on their brigade, this movement will not have an effect on our responses to those facilities, and should not adversely affect Minutes;September 7, 1999;Page 13 the residents. If the station is moved will incoming units still have access to that area? For that area to be completely inaccessible by our units, all of the underpasses would have to be flooded, all railways blocked at the same time, historically this has never happened, and said if this fire station were to be redeployed in anticipation of floods they can staff one of the ready reserve engines with off-duty fire fighters locating them at old Station #11 until the threat of flooding is over. He said they will make sure they can access the area at all times. He stated the major benefits of relocating overall the response times and distances will decrease, it will finally provide the needed fire protection for the southwest part southwest part of our City, help balance out the distribution of engines, provide a uniform service to all citizens, and will be the most efficient and effective way. Mrs. Holmes remarked she was asked if the station was redeployed what would she do with Fire Station #11, and she indicated they would move the current Medic 3 station from Washington Blvd. and Sabine Pass to Fire Station #11 on Sabine Pass. She stated they have approximately 409 calls of which one-half are responded to with the fire department and should not impact the response time at all. Mayor Pro Tem Davis asked Mrs. Holmes her knowledge the redeployment of Fire Station #11, and she stated she had heard mention of redeployment in 1997 and 1998, but was not party to the discussion, she made references to the rent for Medic 3, and stated Medic 3 would be moving from Ward IV to Ward III. Mr. Bonczek spoke of the budgetary impact in retaining the fire station, remarked he has learned more about the situation, agreed it warranted further discussion in a public meeting, said we need to explain to the community the decisions that were made, and then listen to Council for direction. Mayor Pro Tem Davis read from a memo of August 12th, to Mr. Bonczek from Chief Bertrand, "In early 1996 1 approached the City Manager Ray Riley to determine the feasibility of building two new fire stations to replace existing ones with the probability of adding a third station in southwest area of Beaumont." He said a $2 million CIP program was used in building the three new stations, and that it is interesting that we have two Fire Station #11's. He read again from the August 12th memo, "Where we have been deficit for many years, the manager asked me to conduct a comprehensive review of our fire station locations, make a determination if any new stations were needed, additionally he asked me to determine what would be the optimum location for the new station. I was also advised that if there were new stations the City was not in a position to employ additional fire fighters, therefore, the focus of redeployment is existing." He remarked in his opinion this was legitimate of our City Manager and Fire Chief, but he was upset because no one attempted to give City Council a formal opportunity to act. He continued to read the memo from August 12th, "I made a presentation to the Council at workshop proposing the building of new fire stations, at that time it had not been determined exactly how redeployment would take place, therefore, the presentation focused on the location of new stations." Mayor Pro Tem Davis stated in 1996 he first became aware of the possibilities of what they wanted to do from a councilmember, he questioned the City Manager and said he did not believe that was a good way to move forward. He deliberated about Charlton Pollard as a unique community bordered by the Port, Mobil Oil & Chemical Plant with their own fire protection, Atochem, and he commented on the narrow streets in the area. He spoke of the information provided today and said in fairness a comparison on all the fire stations should have been presented. He commented there were more trucks in 1996 at Fire Station #1, he spoke of the two recommendations made by ISO, the 1981 redeployment of Fire Station #9, the 1992 the redeployment of the Fire Station on Grand Street to Old Voth Road, and Minutes;September 7, 1999;Page 14 said both of these redeployments were brought before Council. He asked the City Attorney to give him a ruling on the powers of the city manager's office, stated his reason for doing this was in the memo and quoted "in contrast in 1992 the redeployment was brought to the City Council, and the City Council was informed," reading another quotation from the memo "In previous meetings with the manager it was discussed the redeployment was managerial issue and did not require Council action". He said this statement was incorrect according to the legal interoffice memorandum opinion Article V, Section 3(4) under powers and duty of the City Manager quoting "keep the City Council advised of the financial condition and future needs of the City to recommend to the City Council for adoption such resolutions as deemed necessary," and he said the City Council passed a resolution in September 1998 giving permission to build three new fire stations at a cost of $2,199,200 and quoted the resolution "No therefore be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Beaumont that the bids submitted by Daniels Building Construction in the amount of $2,199,200 for furnishing all supervision, all labor, materials, supplies, equipment, and bonding for the construction of three fire stations located at 805 Woodrow, 1880 Major, and 6375 Walden should be accepted," passed on September 29, 1998 by a vote of 7 - 0. He said there was no discussion about relocation or redeployment nor was it a part of the resolution passed by this City Council. He stated it was his contention, the law states in order to relocate or redeploy it must be brought before the City Council, and that has not been done yet. He spoke of it not being in the budget, asked all concerned to review the budget as it pertains to Fire Station #11 whether you call it in Charlton Pollard or whether you call it on Walden Road, the budget is unclear. He spoke of Charlton Pollard not having the 200 new families in 1996, and the United States Marshall had not started the Weed and Seed program. He commented on redeployment of the fire station causing divisive politics, and said he never wanted to get into divisive politics. He spoke of the different meetings and the memos he has presented to Council and made the following references, a memo dated February 4, 1997 to Mr. Ray A. Riley from Micky J. Bertrand, staff reports mention nothing about closing Fire Station #11 to relocate to the new fire station #11, a workshop presented February 11, 1997 to discuss the fire station situation and this action was not discussed; April 20, 1998, and the first time information pertaining to the different relocation status of Station #11 officially came out with the redeployment. He commented the information submitted was provided by Mrs. Barbara Liming our City Clerk on his request for her to research all information of all council meetings pertaining to Fire Station #11. He remarked City Manager Ray Riley explained there was an overlap of responsibility with Fire Station #1, but there are no plans to close the station. Mayor Pro Tem Davis said the only reason he requested this issue come before Council was he believed they were trying to redeploy a fire station without the consent approval of the Council, and the intention was some say to drive away in the middle of the night away from our old Fire Station #11 to our new Fire Station #11, and every memorandum that has taken place cannot be disputed. He expressed the fire station should remain open because of a fairness issue, an issue of environmental concern, and the closing of Fire Station #11 was never brought to Council. He remarked we were here today because he asked the Mayor to put it on the Agenda, and expressed his appreciation to Mayor Moore. He stated if Fire Station #11 were closed it would leave Ward III deficient, and said this does not have the support of the Beaumont Fire Fighters Union. He stated redeployment of a fire station would require action of the City Council, Council should have been given opportunity to discuss with this issue, this did not occur, and he expressed his disappointment. (Councilmember Patterson left the Chamber at 4:27 p.m. during Mayor Pro Tem Davis remarks' and returned at 4:32 p.m.) Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 15 Chief Bertrand answered questions saying there were more fire trucks at Fire Station #1 in 1996, he requested the ISO study, ISO made two recommendations, and closing Fire Station #11 was the most judicious choice. Discussion between Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Mr. Bonczek, and Chief Bertrand continued regarding the scenario of what happened from 1996 to today, referring to memorandums and meetings in which Council passed a resolution to build the three new fire stations, their staffing, discussing the powers and duties of the city manager, and budget impacts. Chief Bertrand stated he worked under the direction of the city manager, certain reports and memo's were requested by the manager regarding status reports, there were occasions when the previous manager requested him to make presentations to Council from 1996 through 1997, there were times when the manager said it would be and would not be presented to Council. He said he had been extremely objective in these reports, he had not tried to hide any thing, said the fire department was very sensitive to all citizen needs, stated they were trying to provide uniform delivery of service throughout the entire city, and remarked this redeployment would not be giving less service to Charlton Pollard Neighborhood or the balance of Engine 11's territory. He referred to a presentation he made to Council on February 11, 1997, in his memo to the city manager he listed the two options recommended by ISO CRS, one eliminating Engine 1 moving it to the new station, the second was to relocate Fire Station #11 and eliminate Fire Station #11 that was currently on Sabine Pass, the memo was in the packet Council received, but was not said aloud in his presentation. After a discussion between Mayor Pro Tem Davis and Chief Bertrand. Mayor Pro Tem Davis asked Chief Bertrand to examine this entire matter and try to come up with a compromise that would work for everyone. Mayor Moore thanked Chief Bertrand for his presentation, and asked the manager if there was anything else he needed to add. Mr. Bonczek said he was looking for leadership from Council on this issue, he said this was from a previous administration decision that Council was involved with, and asked where were they going on this. Councilmember Ames asked Chief Bertrand about the long response times in southwest Beaumont, who covers the extra territorial districts and the prisons, and would this make a difference in coverage. Chief Bertrand commented the long response times will be eliminated when the new station opens, said we provide protection to 16 facilities outside the city limits which included some of the petro chemical industry behind the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood, to the prisons on HWY. 69, and stated this would make a difference in coverage. Mayor Moore asked if anyone in the audience would like to make comment on this issue. He asked that questions be directed to Council, and Council will direct the city manager. Mr. John Gerard, a resident of the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood, addressed Council and requested Fire Station#11 not be closed. He spoke of rebuilding their community, other fire station locations, he said this appears to be a black and white issue, the homes in the Charlton Pollard area are mostly made of wood which causes a greater fire threat, there needs to be fairness in all neighborhoods receiving adequate fire protection as tax payers, he said if it means employing 12 more people to man the new fire station we pay tax dollars Minutes;September 7, 1999;Page 16 then staff the new fire station, let the people on Walden Road have the new station, and asked Council not to take their fire station. Mr. Raymond Chasion, a resident of the Charlton Pollard area, addressed Council to ask them not to close their fire station, add EMS and put fire and EMS them together so they can have the same services as other neighborhoods. He spoke of what had been taken from his neighborhood since 1955, that they were tax payers who should have the same services as other parts of the City, he said he has seen people die because fire and EMS services could not get there in time, he spoke of weather conditions prohibiting fire and EMS services from getting into part of the area, he stated trains prohibit quick responses from fire and EMS services, and asked the City leave their fire station. Ms. Karen Thomas, 410 Neicy, addressed Council in support of keeping Fire Station #11 open and said if you take the fire station from the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood they could not have revitalization, economic development would stop, and commented statistics could tell you anything. She spoke of more hazards in the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood than any other neighborhood in Beaumont. She said she chose to move back to the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood under promises of revitalization made by the Council. She commented on new homes generating more taxes, this was a safety issue, spoke of the elderly people that live in the neighborhood, homes being heated by space heaters, insurance rates, she said EMS should be there in fairness, and made remarks about the demographics changes in the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood. Mr. David Davidson, addressed Council and spoke of the organizations working in the Charlton Pollard area to revitalize the community coming from all levels of government, private industry, charitable organizations, the Weed and Seed effort, but most importantly they come from the citizens themselves. He considered the fire station in the Charlton Pollard area a symbol of confidence citizens have in the revitalization efforts and to move fire personnel and equipment to more affluent neighborhoods undermines all the work that has gone into revitalization. He made comments on perception being reality. He said the new fire station has been built, hire personnel, buy the equipment, place it in new stations, and if that is the cost of doing business then that the cost of doing business. He spoke of wooden houses in Charlton Pollard area that used space heaters, the chemical plants being close to homes, and commented on fire trucks not being able to access the area on the narrow streets. He asked Council not to take the fire station out of that area because it was needed, and people living in Beaumont need it to have a united community. Mr. Bill Proctor, 4340 Westridge, addressed Council and said with EMS to enhance the 911 system it is up to the public when calling 911 to tell dispatchers as much medical information possible whether it was somebody off the street, in your apartment building, or a close relative or family member which would help response times. Mr. Dwayne Keeler of 950 Sherman Street a member of the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood Association, Inc., addressed Council and made comments regarding the fire district map and said removing Fire Station #11 would leave the Charlton Pollard Neighborhood the only district that would not have a fire station. He said the area is the most industrialized, they have been working with Public Safety on how to deal with possible incidents that could happen in their area and now they want to redeploy the fire station, and made references to the different response times needed to reach different areas. He stated at the last hour they wanted to take the fire station which was the second plan, and asked for fairness. Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 17 Mr. Gerard addressed Council again and spoke of when the City lost $6 million, of a promise to give them more firefighters when the money was recovered, the City recovered the money, and they have not gotten any more fire fighters. Mayor Moore stated we were here today to help citizens understand how this policy faction of government works, because this was a recommendation of the city manager and not an action of City Council, statements have been made in terms of the issue, and he did not want anyone to leave thinking Council has taken any action on this issue. He said the situation with Fire Station #11 was about the City trying to do the right thing when talking about fire protection and coverage. He remarked he was familiar with this situation with EMS some years ago, and remarked we have always had adequate fire protection. He said all departments want more staffing that was why we have a city manager and part of his responsibility is to bring Council staff recommendations. He stated today in fairness to this pro active Council, they have made every possible effort not to take anything away from communities, they have tried to add, instill new vigor, have worked aggressively to bring about constructive changes, and he said it was important credit was given to whom it was due. COMMENTS " Councilmembers comment on various matters. Councilmember Patterson and Mr. Bonczek discussed the economic development parity study, Mayor Moore suggested they have a conversation on the report before it comes to Council, and Mr. Bonczek said the report would be in Council Packet no later than Friday. Mayor Pro Tem Davis asked his Council colleagues to consider keeping Fire Station #11 open. He spoke of money spent on different capital programs that dollars always seem to come up when they discuss fairness issues. He said he asked no one to come here today, he did not want this to be divisive, and commented the entire community was watching what action they would take since they did build three new stations at a cost of$2.2 million. His complaint was he believed he was not given all the information from the beginning, he has worked to support Council and staff, and he was sorry his attitude had to be the way it was today. He said he felt bad for how he had to question Mr. Bertrand and Mr. Bonczek, we were discussing this today because of his request, spoke of his disappointment, and said the City was too talented for this. Mayor Pro Tem Davis suggested Mr. Bonczek, Mr. Richard, and Mr. Bertrand get together and find a way for relocation to be shared by every sector of this community, a way one community does not bear the burden, a discussion to take place coming up with new ideas, new plans, more than just one recommendation, while taking into consideration historical factors from past redeployment which resulted in Ward III receiving less, and he said at some point this practice must be stopped. He commented he would not have had a problem had both ISO recommendations been presented, he said only one was picked but two recommendations were made, he stated most of this had been done before Mr. Bonczek came, but he was the city manager now standing with this recommendation. Mr. Bonczek asked Mayor Moore if there would be any direction from Council on this issue, if there was a consensus of Council to keep the station open so he would know to focus his attention on coming up with the money in the FY 2000 to accomplish this to bring back to Council. Minutes;September 7, 1999;Page 18 Mayor Moore expressed to Mr. Bonczek every member of Council would have their own discussion with him, the benefit and purpose of today's meeting was to hear from the citizens and get information from the presentation. He said he would like Council to have time to digest all the facts presented today to make a good solid decision, and he remarked this was a tough time. He spoke of hearing the Fire Department was undermanned that additional people were supposed to be hired in the fire department, and asked Mr. Bonczek and Mr. Bertrand to get back to him and let him know the status. Mr. Bertrand stated currently we are fully employed with 234 fire fighters and there were no vacant positions, he said they were at a point where over the last few years our resources have been stretched by accepting agreements with facilities in lieu of taxes with responses outside the city limits and with a limited amount of resources it begins to affect the safety of our fire fighters. He said they could always use more fire fighters, and remarked they have an adequate staff the way they are today. Mayor Moore asked if this was the norm, was this what we have had for the last 15 years, and stated he wanted to get this corrected today as no one on Council wanted to be responsible for a lack of manpower in the proper areas. Mr. Bertrand answered affirmatively. Mayor Pro Tem Davis commented possibly someone from the fire union could address the need of employment that was brought forward, and Mr. Allen Boullion, 7290 Willis, addressed Council stating in the 1984-1985 budget book they had 244 fire fighters on the book, and today they have 234. Mayor Pro Tem Davis asked Mr. Boullion if the Beaumont Fire Fighter's Union was in favor of this relocation. Mr. Boullion replied no. * City Manager's Report Mr. Bonczek suggested he and Council take a tour to look at some of the capital projects, neighborhood works, have a chance to interact, and would like to schedule this tour in preparation of the October 12, 1999 partnership meeting giving him more time to learn about issues. He said he and Councilmember Goodson would be meeting with the Acorn Association tonight at 7:00 p.m., and he would continue attending neighborhood meetings. He said decisions of fire station deployment should be done in the most effective way to serve the community, control costs, try to approach the decision based on facts which is hard as these are emotional issues, and to do this they should rely on administration. He requested direction from the Council as he was not sure what his action should be at this time since he was not here thought the process. * Public Comment (Persons are limited to 3 minutes) Mr. Ed Garrod, 5955 Gladys, addressed Council to present a petition, expressed it was not meant to be an attack or an implication of wrong doing by Council but meant to be a plea to each councilmember to use their power as elected officials to make Beaumont a wonderful place to live, raise our families, and conduct business. He stated his group believed the recent law enforcement actions taken against sexually oriented business were necessary and absolutely critical in not only maintaining but improving this standard of living in Beaumont. He remarked by supporting these police actions against blatant violations of the law you have a chance to make Beaumont a different place. He stated without being organized they have drawn up a simple petition worded "We the undersigned citizens of the community support the recent Beaumont Police Department, Sheriffs Department, and District Attorney action against sexually oriented business in our area, and we ask City Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 19 Council to provide full support for them for our community," and asked each councilmember to look out into the community to see what they could do about making a difference. He stated our Police Department, Sheriff's Department, and District Attorney have done a good job, researched the action, gone out of, their way to do what they can do to help, and presented the petition to the Deputy City Clerk under Mayor Moore's direction. Mr. Greg Shepherd, 7880 Stone Circle, addressed Council as President of Main Street to thank Council for their efforts in revitalization throughout the City and downtown, as President wanted to continue working with Council and City to facilitate the public/private partnerships that have gone on, continue in the effort, and he stated they appreciate the support that Council has given. EXECUTIVE SESSION Executive Session in accordance with Section 551.071 of the Government Code to discuss contemplated or pending litigation: Settlement offer with Texas Department of Health relating to asbestos surveys City of Beaumont v. Heath Vaughn Enterprises, Inc. Claim of Southwestern Bell There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:22 p.m. a-i Vice, David W. Moore, Mayor j a, Q. Ae� Rebecca A. Hoge, Deputf City Clerk Minutes;September 7,1999;Page 20 Beaumont Fire Rescue Fire D ( Fire Districts i Fire FD10 !I FD11 r FD12 FD14 FD2 • FD3 I I FD6 FD7 FD8 FD9 i i - i N 0.7 0 0.7 1.4 Miles Printed January 25, 1999 EXHIBIT A 1 D E F G H I i K L m N 0 p 0 p 8 T u v w 1 :}2 2 3 ISO RECOMMENDED 4 4 5 1 .5 MILE RESPONSE DISTRICTS 10 10 aL 12 A 12 13 Is 14 14 18 It 1w KAOMONT Ve 19 20 24 21 L 1. 2 22 J223 24 2 _ l I :� 25 26 27 2 28 29 .90 31 EXHIBIT B BEAUMONT, TEXAS 32 SQJJARE MILES 7 94057 RFVISFU APRIL 16. 1999 C D E F G H I J K L m N 0 p 0 R 3 T u v w