Posted by One happy resident, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Nov 4, 2009 at 11:38 am

Well people, here is a very objective opinion on last nights elections ! Every one seemed to win..The Fire Board got it's incumbent back, the union endorsed Jack Nelson who by far was the best of all candidates got elected and Steve Nachtsheim who was unendorsed made the third seat. What a good balance of candidates

for the new sitting board, one incumbent, one endorsed and one

unendorsed, everyone comes out a winner and above all, the residents and all classifications of employees in the Fire District.

In spite of all the bad publicity, this should be a win win for all. I ask that you give them a fair chance to to be effective..

Posted by News Guy, a resident of another community, on Nov 4, 2009 at 12:23 pm
News Guy is a member (registered user) of Almanac

See this related Town Square topic:

Web Link

Posted by Scholar, a resident of the Menlo Park: Sharon Heights neighborhood, on Nov 4, 2009 at 1:37 pm

Anger at the campaign tactics of a group overlooks the specific issues represented by their candidates. The issue was combining management with other fire districts, but the popular focus was on electioneering and politicking. The election is over but that key issue remains, without a mandate.

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Nov 4, 2009 at 4:20 pm

Scholar rest assured that the issue of fire department consolidation is not without a mandate. Your Fire Board is the ONLY fire agency in the County which has passed a resolution in favor of County-wide consolidation.

The problem is that the individual cities with their own fire departments are not willing to give up their fire departments.

In the case of the MPFPD the District existed BEFORE Menlo Park, Atherton or East Palo Alto were incorporated - otherwise we would have three separate fire departments covering this area.

I urge you to encourage other San Mateo County cities to adopt a fire consolidation resolution.

Posted by WhoRUpeople, a resident of another community, on Nov 5, 2009 at 8:56 am

Scholar and Peter raise an important issue--one which I hope gets some visibility both in the newspaper and in forums such as this one. Personally, I am currently opposed to fire district consolidation, but I readily admit I know nothing about the financial efficiency side of the issue and would welcome hearing from those with the knowledge. My opposition is based on my perception that when regulatory agencies get too big and powerful, they tend to over-regulate. I am not talking about the record of the MPFPD in the area of fire suppression I'm talking about its record regarding imposition of the most onerous interpretation of State Fire Code possible regardless of the situation. I realize the banner of "public safety" is a noble cause, but even noble causes can be harmed by over-zealousness.

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Nov 5, 2009 at 9:05 am

WhoRUPeople states"I'm talking about its record regarding imposition of the most onerous interpretation of State Fire Code possible regardless of the situation. "

Please give me (peterf@menlofire.org) specifics regarding onerous interpretations of the Fire Code and I would be pleased to follow up on your concerns.

Thank you

Posted by Interested, a resident of another community, on Nov 5, 2009 at 1:33 pm

"Scholar rest assured that the issue of fire department consolidation is not without a mandate. Your Fire Board is the ONLY fire agency in the County which has passed a resolution in favor of County-wide consolidation."

I fail to see how a resolution passed by ONLY one fire district in the county could be construed as a mandate for a county wide fire service. The fact is that a county wide fire service will have far more problems than we have even imagined. Each current entity will need to be represented on a new fire district, each will vie vigorously for premium service in its area and there will inevitably be those who will feel they are being "short-changed". This coupled with the need for a new commission or some other form of public agency to oversee a county wide fire district may result in no cost savings at all. We already have a perfect example in the county of such amalgamation that has resulted in zero cost savings, will a county wide fire district be any different?

I doubt it.

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Nov 5, 2009 at 2:54 pm

County-wide Fire Consolidation - Pros and Cons; sounds like a new and worthwhile thread.

Perhaps Interested or Scholar would like to start that thread with a summary statement.

Posted by wow, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Nov 5, 2009 at 3:48 pm

Retirement = far too many self righteous blog posts...

Posted by Interested, a resident of another community, on Nov 5, 2009 at 3:49 pm

Unfortunately I have not seen the resolution you mentioned, can you post it. It would get the ball rolling.

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Nov 5, 2009 at 4:09 pm

I am currently out of town but have asked the Board Clerk to send me a copy of the MPFPD Board resolution so that I may post it - please start the new thread and I will post it there.

Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Nov 10, 2009 at 7:15 am

The Fire Board's resolution has been posted as the first entry in a new discussion on fire agency consolidation.