By Annette Christie
The Watervliet City Commission voted to renew an agreement with Pride Care Ambulance Service for another five years. Bill Mears, CEO with Pride Care Ambulance thanked the Commissioners for allowing him to take a few minutes of their agenda. Mears said they have seen an increase in call volume for city residents. Where they used to transport 88% of their calls, this year is up to about 98% of calls “Certainly there is a need for an ambulance service in Watervliet,” Mears said. He reviewed the response times which is set by the Medical Control Authority to be 12 minutes or less. Mears said that Pride Care’s goal is below nine minutes while his own personal goal is for a six minutes or less response time. The year average in 2015 was 3:46, followed by the average so far in 2016 of 5:12. Mears said that the agreement was very similar to the one they approved in the past. While the agreement is five years, it does include out clauses. He noted that Pride Care carries insurance levels above what is required. He said that some recent changes in the organization include a retirement package for employees and all employees saw an increase in their wages this year. They are recommending to once again provide services to the community without any community funding. They charge fees for service only. They still continue to offer the Pride Care Plus One Ambulance Membership whereby a resident can pay an annual fee of $40 and then all out-of-pocket cost related to medically necessary ambulance services are absorbed by Pride Care. This would include trips to the hospital or to doctor appointments whether they are local or far away. Mears commented that if it was one day determined that they were doing a bad job or that the city leadership didn’t want them here any longer, they would fight for the business, but wouldn’t push to stay if they were doing a bad job. “We are providing a good service and ask for no community funding,” Mears said. The City Commission unanimously approved the five year contract renewal.
Ordinance Enforcement
Ordinance Enforcement was a good portion of public comments and with that, City Manager Emilie Sarratore introduced Officer McKamey. He was recently hired with the main focus being ordinance enforcement. He is scheduled to work 16 hours a week. One resident said that she has been visiting City Hall for about three years with various complaints about neighbors, complaining about an assortment of things including chickens and to loud engines. She asked again what was going to be done about the neighbors with the very tall grass that they only mow the part that officials can see and not the part she can see from her back yard. She expressed frustration with the system of reporting ordinance problems and then not having any follow up. Sarratore said that the new ordinance program began mid-April passed a new property code which we are utilizing that, then it had to be posted. Mid-May they were ready to go. Brinker stated that they now have this new system in place that we are trying and he asked residents to give them time. There are some rules written about noise. Chief Sutherland assured the City Commission and the resident that they have the ordinances they need and they still work. He said a big difference in the now is that any one of the city’s officers can write a ticket and if a resident doesn’t comply that is what residents will get and then it will be in the hands of the court system. Sutherland commented that they want to work with homeowners but only to a point but when that time runs out, the city has some recourse and the resident can end up with a misdemeanor infraction.
Other business
Another resident asked if the city could somehow get on a list to receive flag notifications when the position of the flag is ordered to be changed. He praised Sarratore for getting the lighting issues resolved in the city. A resident of Tri City Village, the gentleman asked about parking in the Family Dollar parking log. While they have no signage, they have threatened to have Tri City residents towed if they park in their lot. The Police Chief was going to check into that situation.
Prue Kiekenapp
Mayor Brinker brought forth a nomination for the treasurer position for the City. He said he spoke to four people about the job and was recommending Prue Kiekenapp for the position. The City Commissioner approved the appointment unanimously. Kiekenapp will be paid $8,500 per year with her job duties being what is described in the City Charter. The cost savings to the city is approximately $4,500 by hiring Kiekenapp. She told the City Commission that she is retired but that she has worked ever since she has been retired. The voters of the City changed the position from being elected to appointed in the early 2000’s. She had served as a township clerk, bookkeeper, medical transcriptionist, and even helped out at City Hall in the eighties with the treasurer’s job. The City Commission clarified that it does want to issue pool fill credits to its residents because the water being used does not go through the sewer system. Commissioner Melanie Marvin stated, “It is a small courtesy and it takes someone five minutes to go and read it.” Brinker added that residents are still getting charged for the water just not the sewer portion. The City Commission considered a second reading on the golf cart ordinance but it failed due to a lack of votes. The ordinance comes about following a change in state law that determines that golf carts will no longer be plated, nor are they required to be insured. Sarratore said that the law allows for a local municipality to decide for itself whether it will allow golf carts on local roads. Following the discussion, it was only Cobb and Kinzler that vote in favor of the golf cart ordinance. The City Commission did pass a resolution and two policies that have been on the table for a while. Sarratore said that the ACH resolution, the fraud policy and conflict of interest policy are necessary to comply with audit request. “We have been cited in the audit for a couple of years for these issues,” Sarratore said. We are using the same auditors. Commissioner brought up some concerns about how the agenda was being completed and the process for B S & A Administration. A conversation was held. Brinker commented that it is not the city manager’s job to do the agenda for City Commission meetings. The meeting is chaired by Brinker and he said it is his job to have the agenda packet complete. When Hummel asked about getting things in advance, Brinker commented that he doesn’t like to do that, not because it is a secret but rather because he would like the City Commission to have some good conversation during the process of their decision making. He stated, “I am not a proponent when they are in the packet you start looking at it and it takes away from us as a group talking about those things. You make your decisions based on what you see in that packet. You’ve already run your jury and run your trial before we have even had a discussion.” Brinker said he would make an effort to share things with the Commission but said there are some things he’d like to talk out and discuss before emails and texts go back and forth and minds are already made up before hand. Brinker also asked the City Commission about appointing a committee to oversee the renovation and replacement of the Skate Park at Hays Park. “The Skate Park is a top priority and we all seemed to agree at that,” Brinker said. He asked for guidance in appointing one commissioner to be the go to person for all Skate Park issues. Commissioner Deah Thornton said she would be that person and Commissioner Barb Schofield offered to help. Brinker said that he and Sarratore have worked on the budget all day but said he would like to wait on the presentation of it. It is expected to be presented at the next meeting on the 21st of June.
VETERANS PARK TO BE REDEDICATED… Plans to rededicate Veterans Park to Watervliet’s Military Veterans are underway for the Independence Weekend Celebration and will be announced soon. The park has recently been renovated with the addition of 6 service flag poles, new lighting, landscaping and new plantings. The project was sponsored and organized by the DDA with the assistance of the VFW Post and the City. (TCR photo by Karl Bayer)
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