HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Committee of the Whole March 15 2011 am1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Special Committee Of The Whole
March 15, 2011
CALL TO ORDER
Council Chair Sam Crawford called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. in the Council
Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
ROLL CALL (10:04 :19 AM)
Present: Sam Crawford, Barbara Brenner, Ken Mann, Bill Knutzen, Kathy
Kershner, Carl Weimer and Tony Larson.
Absent: None.
COMMITTEE DISCUSSION
1. PRESENTATION BY THE EMS PLANNING COMMITTEE AND DISCUSSION OF A
"CRITICAL ELEMENTS LIST" (AB2011 -107)
Crawford described the recent history of the emergency response agreement and the
community effort to plan the future of emergency medical system (EMS) in Whatcom
County.
Dave Ralston, South Whatcom Fire Authority Chief and Whatcom County EMS
Planning Committee Chair, submitted and read from a presentation (on file).
Crawford stated the planning effort decisions must be made at the beginning of the
three -year process so they can begin structuring a system over the last two years. Keep
the momentum going. Based on today's discussion, he will write a resolution that the
Council should approve in two weeks to formalize the Council's decisions.
The EMS Planning Committee members introduced themselves: (10 :27 :59 AM)
• Don Fields, North Whatcom Fire and Rescue and EMS Planning Committee
Vice -Chair
• Floyd Roorda, Fire District 1 Commissioner and East County Commissioner
Representative
• Bob Busch, Fire District 11 Commissioner and West County Commissioner
Representative
• Duncan McLean, Fire District 11
• Gary Russell, Fire District 7 and West Region Representative
• Barry Buchanan, Bellingham City Council and EMS Planning Committee, City
Alternate
Crawford stated that so far, the committee has been ad hoc and operated by
consensus.
Presentation Questions
Special Committee of the Whole - EMS Planning, 3/15/2011, Page 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
Knutzen asked about the value of the Olympic Coordination Center to the EMS
program. Write a letter to federal legislators to prevent losing the facility. There was
discussion about the Center.
Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, answered questions about the differences
between emergency management, emergency services, which they're talking about today,
and emergency communications.
Mann asked and there was discussion of:
• Whether a new governance structure could be an elected system. Existing
elected officials would sit on a Board and manage the system.
• How they define the stakeholders. They would include equal shareholders
similar to the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) Board.
(10:39:23 AM)
Weimer asked and there was discussion of:
• Whether there are other EMS structures elsewhere in the State they could
use.
• Whether a new EMS Board would be of similar structure to the current EMS
Planning, and how much consensus there has been on the EMS Planning
Committee.
Brenner asked and there was discussion of:
• The consideration of legal action in terms of layoffs and unfair labor practices.
• Whether the new system would keep the existing employees.
Kershner stated she would like to individually discuss the element regarding
consideration of legal action. She is in favor of including the training element and of
approving a resolution in two weeks.
Knutzen asked and there was discussion of:
• Concerns from the East County residents.
Weimer asked about and there was discussion of:
• How costs are proportionally distributed.
Mann stated he will want more information on the issues of proportionality, the
consideration of legal action, and how they would administrate their own employees.
(10: 58 :15 AM)
Brenner asked and there was discussion of whether there are other fire district
systems where the employees are employed by a regional district.
Crawford stated the Councilmembers could come up with a list of questions in the
next two weeks, and discuss responses to those questions at another Committee of the
Whole meeting in two weeks.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business.
Special Committee of the Whole - EMS Planning, 3/15/2011, Page 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 11:03 a.m.
Please contact the Council Office to obtain an
official, signed copy:
360- 676 -6690 or council &o.w hatcom .wa.us
Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk
Sam Crawford, Council Chair
Special Committee of the Whole — EMS Planning, 3/15/2011, Page 3