Decision by Vale council draws fire
Restructure plan for ambulance service not popular with some

By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:16 AM PDT

Vale — The recent restructuring of the Vale Fire and Ambulance Department was a point of contention between current and former members of the department at the Vale City Council’s meeting Tuesday.

At the Aug. 26 meeting, the council named Todd Hesse as head of both the fire and ambulance divisions. Shortly thereafter, members began submitting leaves of absence to the city.

At the Tuesday meeting, one member currently on a leave of absence from the organization said he believed a volunteer committee should have been put in charge of the ambulance department, since it would be a “committee of peers.”

However, City Councilman Brad Williams countered that a paid city employee serves as a good point of contact between the council and the departments.

“We’ve got a paid city employee in charge of the organization,” he said. “And that’s the way it should be.”

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Gary Smith, of the Brogan Quick Response Unit, said he believed the decision did not fit with the way the department should be run, which normally consists of conversation rather than orders.

“You can not come in here with an autocratic ‘boom let’s do it!’” he said, slamming his palm on the table.

Smith said he believed neither he nor the council were qualified enough to make such an administration decision and that it should be left to an outside source to decide.

“I believe you need professional help,” he said.

Mike Buckner also spoke out against Hesse’s leadership ability and questioned his honesty, leading Williams to request the hearing be closed.

Councilman Michael Bannon, who was filling in for Mayor Bill Lawrence at the meeting, said he did not want to close the hearing because it was public.

The public hearing also included further complaints from some members who believed Karlene Keller, a supervisor currently on a leave of absence from the department, was ignored at the last meeting.

“That was not my intention,” Councilman Brian Zanotelli said. “I would never intentionally do that.” Zanotelli also said he believed other councilmembers did not intent to disrespect Keller either. Smith said he believed the council should be ashamed of itself,” for the slight.

However, Zanotelli countered he believed it did no good to “demonize” either side.

Shawn Nebeker, who has not taken a leave of absence from the department, said interactions between department members have gotten tense since the walkout.

“I get the bird flipped off at me,” he said of some of the members on leave.

EMT Robert Bair, who did not attend the meeting, said his decision to stay was because of public service.

“The people that left, whether I agree with them or not, left to support Karlene,” he said Tuesday in a phone interview. “I can support Karlene, or I cannot support Karlene. But I cannot abandon the public. You can support somebody or not support somebody and still do your job.”

This abandonment, he said, may cause hard feelings, if the members who took a leave of absence decide to return to the department.

“I would like to ask every one of them ‘do you feel you abandoned the public?’” he said. “I wouldn’t feel good if I left my partner standing there holding the bag.”

As for personnel issues, Bair said some more “inexperienced” members of the department “stepped up to the plate” and wondered what would happen to those members if those on a leave of absence were to return. Keller addressed the issue at the meeting, stating most of the members still have their pagers to respond when more people are needed. However, she expressed concerns that the locks on the building, situated at 252 B St., W, had been changed, giving her the impression they were no longer welcome there.

Barton said the change was because a radio was missing, though he did not accuse any of the members of taking it.

Bair also said allowing the locks to stay the same represented a safety issue because of the medication contained in the establishment.

The council did not vote on the administration issue after the hearing and also did not vote on a potential $2-an-hour on-call pay for ambulance workers, after the motion died because of a lack of a second.

In other council news:

—The council delayed voting on renting space inside city hall to serve regional circuit court tech supervisor Vickie Kugler’s new office. City Manager Brent Barton was tasked to look into competitive rates for the deal for the next meeting, slated to occur at 7 p.m. Sept. 23.