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Talk Is Heated At Fire Station As Union Pleas For County Contract
Union says that station's identity will be preserved
Consultant to be hired
By Steve Enders
For the first time, on Sept. 23, Saratoga firefighters' union representatives squared off directly with Saratoga Fire District commissioners to make an impassioned plea for better service and a contract with Santa Clara County to provide it.
The regularly scheduled board meeting at the firehouse was filled with interested troops, and discussion following a slide presentation given by union leader Bill Morrison bordered on edgy as he directly asked commissioner Jay Geddes why he thought the firefighters were "holding the city hostage."
Morrison said he read Geddes' statements in the Saratoga News last week and wanted to know what he meant. Geddes made the remark to the newspaper when asked to comment on the firefighters' asking Village merchants to place posters in store windows in support of their wishes to contract with the county.
When pressed, Geddes responded to Morrison, saying that his concerns lie in the fact that no matter who provides emergency services to the city of Saratoga, the firefighters still need a new station.
"This, to me, is the equivalent of a hostage situation," Geddes said to Morrison. "It's similar to employees at Apple [Computer] saying that you should go to work for IBM because they build a better computer. You can see why there would be some opposition to that. The two issues are completely separate."
Morrison shot back, saying the firefighters were against using bond money to purchase a former real estate office behind the fire station to house its dispatch unit. A contract with the county, he said, would eliminate the dispatch duties of the SFD altogether, making the other building unnecessary.
Furthermore, county would be able to house the firefighters in a portable unit while the station renovation was completed, he said. Morrison continued, saying the district's identity wouldn't be lost and the board would still function much as it does now.
Neither the board nor the union is contesting the fact that the SFD needs a new station.
Geddes countered, saying that no money from the bond could be used to buy any property since it must go into renovating the existing facility.
After clearing up the potential cost for a new station--the SFD says it would need a maximum of $6 million--commissioners expressed concern over why the firefighters brought their wishes up so suddenly.
Morrison said the local firefighters' union sent a letter stating their concerns a month in advance of their formal written opposition to the bond, which derailed the SFD's push for a new station last month.
Until then it appeared as though the SFD's public information campaign was working, and it would be prepared to put an initiative on the November ballot.
Now, the fire station's fate appears to be in the hands of a yet-unnamed consultant. The board on Sept. 23 was also given a draft request for a proposal to obtain a consultant.
According to Chief Ernie Kraule, the board will accept bids and eventually interview and select its consultant, who will look to other local fire districts, including Los Altos Hills and Morgan Hill, which recently entered into contracts with the county.
Kraule said the consultant will look at budgetary items and cost breakdowns as well as whether those cities are getting good service.
Kraule stressed that the board isn't outright opposed to contracting with county fire, but because the district has been in place for 75 years, it's not going to be an easy sell.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
