Carbon Monoxide Alarm Mandate Signed Today

Ten years ago we lost two grandchildren to Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning – a loss that changed our family forever, made even more tragic because of the ease in which this tragedy could have been prevented. A simple CO detection device costing around $40 would have prevented this loss.

The governor just signed into effect a Carbon Monoxide Alarm mandate bill (HF1337 and SF1003) that would require CO detectors in newly constructed single family and multifamily dwelling units effective January 1,2007 and August 1,2008 for all existing single family and multifamily dwelling units.

Don’t wait until then to have them installed in your home. Do it TODAY!

Thanks.

Not About Listening but Better Information

I am a bit surprised and pleased to see how many people pay attention to some of the things we do on the council and always happy to explain why we, or at least I, make some of the decisions on your behalf that I do. At my coffee last Friday this was the main topic of discussion,as it was at several other gatherings I attended this last week. There was a letter to the editor and even a question to the PB Answer man.

In the Friday, May 12, letter to the editor, Mr. Bill Burt asked a couple of interesting questions implying that the city council doesn’t “listen to the people” because we made a decision reversing and earlier Planning and Zoning Commission decision on a Willow Heights development. This decision seemed to be inconsistant with a statement I made earlier that evening about supporting our civil service commission referring to supporting the decision of the Fire Civil Service Commission in the hiring of one of the firefighters last month. I truly support and commend all the volunteer commissions we have that dedicate their time and talents to helping us govern this great city.

It’s not a matter of “listening to the people” or of “support”. It’s a matter of missions and making the best decision with the best information.

The Fire Civil Service Commission “is responsible for the selection of entry-level Firefighters’” – “responsible” being the key word. In addition they reviewed the background check information, testing and interview scores, and participated in the interviews. THEY had the necessary information to make their hiring decision and they did. The council’s role is to insure that hiring policies and laws were followed and that they hire according to our staffing plan – which they did. I fully support this.

The Planning and Zoning Commission in this case is an “advisory” role. . We had the advantage of the fine work they did in their meeting to identify not only the standard requirements that development sites bring but also the concerns of the nearby residents. WE had more information to make the final decision. We not only had more time to investigate the solutions to the concerns and requirements but we also had benefit of a much more thorough presentation made by the developer’s consultants as well as the support of our Public Works engineers.

In short, we had more information to make a better decision and that’s what the process is about. Otherwise, why have two meetings?

I have a more lengthy response explaining the process and if you want it let me know. As always, I am open to discuss this with you or visit with me at my weekly coffee at Grandma’s Kitchen every Friday from 7am to ???.

Cost Savings Proposal Coming Soon

One of the most frequently asked questions asked especially around tax time is, "Just what are you doing to keep our taxes down?" Asked or not, this is a very valid expectation that we should all have regarding our city’s operation.

Sometimes this is difficult for me to answer because on a day-to-day basis I think everything we (the city) does should be on a needs-only, efficient, and timely manner and to single out any particular functions among the many functions that our departments do boggles the mind.

Here is some good news. You should be hearing and reading about an energy cost savings project we’d initiated last year with Johnson Controls. At our May 8th COW (Committee of the Whole) meeting Johnson Controls outlined the results of their 6 month study and made recommendations that we will discuss and most likely approve at our next council meeting on May 15.

Johnson reps worked closely with all departments and especially our Director of Finance to identify areas that would most benefit our fair city in the next 10 years. They identified 20 areas which could realize savings and that were in need of change anyway. They propose a course of action which would replace light fixtures, ventilation systems, boilers, and other similar kinds of equipment that would save us tax dollars for many years to come.

Our expected costs of making these changes are to be paid for by the savings and are guaranteed by Johnson Controls. We’re looking at roughly a $6,000,000 cost/savings to be realized in a 10 year payback – 12 years with amortization costs and a very conservative savings estimate. They guarantee a cost savings of around $650,000 a year for the life of the contract and, if not met, they will pay us the difference.

Our current utility costs had been used for the projections and so with the estimated rising costs of energy we expect the savings to be even higher than planned for. In addition labor savings attributed to the proposed improvements also had not been factored in which would increase the overall cost savings for us.

Keep tuned. I think this is a really exciting and different way to run our city and am excited to get started on this proposal.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk give me a call.

Bob
285-0295 bobnow@charter.net