To: Mayor Dave Edler

Councilmember Maureen Adkison

Councilmember Micah Cawley

Councilmember Kathy Coffey

Councilmember Rick Ensey

Councilmember Bill Lover

Councilmember Sonia Rodriguez

Subject: City of Yakima EMS Levy Results and Fire Fighter / Paramedics Proposal

June 1, 2009

We thank.you for Yakima Fire Chief Hines letter response dated May 5, 2009 which addressed some of our questions to you in our recent correspondence but left many questions unanswered. SOAR remains steadfastly opposed to expanding Yakima Fire Department services at this time to include paramedics on fire engines. Please be reminded once again of the February 3, 2009 EMS levy proposal which failed by a substantial margin with over 59% NO votes.

Even though Chief Hines continues to seek City Council approval to “just” allow the Yakima Fire Department to utilize the paramedic services of two current fire fighters, Chief Hines May 5, 2009 letter to SOAR clearly states his goal is “to place a Firefighter/Paramedic on every neighborhood fire engine.” What is the start up cost and ongoing cost for his clearly stated goal?? Can the City of Yakima afford this goal ?? Please refer to our previous correspondence in which we stated our strong belief that Chief Hines proposal with the two current fire fighters is

just the “nose of the camel in the tent.”

We believe that our City currently has an EMS system that works with private ambulance services and a user pay system. Our City cannot afford to be and do everything for everybody. We must use our limited resources in the most cost effective manner. During times that the City is discussing closing parks and pools due to shortage of resources, it appears unwise to be considering expanding fire department services.

Chief Hines included his August 4,2008 letter to Bob Hall in his response to our concerns. It is interesting to note that year 1987 to 2007 statistics are used by Chief Hines to show that fire calls of an emergency medical nature increased by over 400% during this time period. These same statistics can show an almost 20% decrease in non-medical emergency calls ( we presume fire related calls) during this same time period as shown below:

1987 – 3,189 responses X 0.48 = 1531 / 49.6K= 31 calls per 1000 population

2007 – 9,009 responses X 0.24 = 2160 / 85.0K = 25 calls per 1000 population

We encourage the City Council to look very carefully at all the statistics being presented to you as very different messages can be delivered from the same raw data.

SOAR continues to respect our Yakima Fire Fighters and the job they are paid to perfonn. We believe the City Council should direct the Yakima Fire Department to focus on vital fire fighting services and let the private ambulance services do their job.

Very truly yours,

M.A. (Mel) Tanasse

Save Our American Rights ( SOAR )

To: Mayor Dave Edler

Councilmember Maureen Adkison

Councilmember Micah Cawley

Councilmember Kathy Coffey

Councilmember Rick Ensey

Councilmember Bill Lover

Councilmember Sonia Rodriguez

Our March 24, 2009 letter from SOAR to the Yakima City Council asked several questions regarding the EMS proposal. To date, the Council has not addressed or answered any of these questions. We also reminded the City Council of the EMS Levy vote results which were an overwhelming NO vote on this proposal. The idea of expanding the fire department services to include paramedics should be put to rest with another resounding NO vote. SOAR has continued consideration of this issue since it is still under consideration by the City Council and now has more questions including the following:

+ Where is the public support for this proposal?? Where is the citizens group or committee that would be advocating that paramedics be added to fire trucks? The only support for this idea is the fire chief and fire fighters union. Ask yourselves why the fire fighters union is pushing for paramedics on fire trucks?? Why does the firee department want to compete with private ambulance services?? Could the answer be to expand the fire fighters union and increase fire fighter salaries as paramedics while cloaking their proposal under the banner of public safety ??

+ Were the two existing fire fighters hired as firemen or as paramedics?? Do they receive additional compensation because of their advanced training which is not currently required for their jobs ??

+ The City and its citizens currently enjoy private ambulance services and a user pay system. That is, only persons needing EMS and transport services pay for these services. Why would we want to change to a publicly funded system ??

+ Our City currently has an EMS system that works. Unfortunately, our City government cannot afford to be everything to everybody. We have to use our limited resources in the most cost effective manner. Our current EMS with privately funded paramedics works and does not cost our taxpayers money unless they need and use the ambulance service. Why would we want to change ??

+ Why does the City Fire Department respond with large, expensive fire trucks to all 911 EMS calls?? It seems that huge fire trucks costing over $ 800,000 lumbering to an aid call is the absolute waste of a firefighting apparatus?? Why can’t the EMS dispatchers use discretion as to when large, expensive fire trucks are necessary ??

+ Is the City Fire Department responding to all 911 calls for EMS to simply increase their “call volume” to increase statistics and revenue from the Countywide EMS levy funds?? Can’t common sense and good judgement be used to determine when large, expensive fire trucks are sent on EMS calls ??

+ Fire Chief Hines stated publicly that a shortage of fire fighters has placed our citizens in danger. Would training of additional firee fighters as paramedics leave us with fewer fire fighters on duty or much increased overtime or additional cost for temporary fire fighters to fill these positions while others are being trained as paramedics?? The annual fire department overtime budget is already over $ 400,000. What would be the pay increase for fire fighters who are trained as paramedics?? What will be the future budget impacts of this program to add paramedics to fire trucks ??

+ How will the City fund training of additional fire fighters as paramedics if the City proceeds with paramedic/firee fighters?? How will the City fund the expensive equipment and medications necessary for paramedics on fire trucks ??

+ We believe that this current proposal to allow the two existing firefighters who are trained as paramedics to perform paramedic services is just the proverbial” nose of the camel in the tent”. If approved, we fully expect to see additional proposals from the Fire Chief in the near future to hire Dr train additional firefighters as paramedics, then purchase smaller emergency response vehicles with transport capabilities, and then ultimately to take over the ambulance services duties including transporting of patients to the hospitals, thereby putting the private ambulance companies out of business. This would be a poor direction for our City to go.

+ Perhaps the Yakima City Council should direct the firefighters duties, when not responding to fire calls, to improving the City’s safety and fire rating by being involved more with code enforcement, weedy lots, trashed up properties, derelict buildings, etc ??

Again, we respect our Yakima Fire Fighters and the job they are paid to perform. We believe the City Council should direct the Yakima Fire Department to focus on the vital fire fighting services and let the private ambulance services do their jobs. We look forward to answers to our questions from our City Council.

M.A. (Mel) Tanasse, President

Save Our American Rights (SOAR)

September 18, 2001 adjourned meeting minutes

Yakima City Staff estimates the cost of the Grade separation aka “Underpasses” for “MLK Jr.” St. & Lincoln Avenue at $14,000,000.

March 19,2002 adjourned meeting minutes.

Mr. Wolcott from Berger ABAM Engineering reviewed the problems caused by the BNSR rail traffic. Safety concerns at the Railroad grade crossings have caused accidents and it was noted a fatality occurred at the Mead avenue crossing which involved the Central Railroad. In addition, the delay caused by the estimated 4-24 through trains per day was expected to impact Police and Fire response time.

As it turns out there is a much greater safety factor existing when you consider that the East bound traffic on Lincoln avenue is choked down to a sharp right hand 90% turn on to Pierce avenue heading South about %of a block then another sharp left hand 90% turn to enter eastbound MLK Jr. This traffic transition is a hazard and doesn’t speak well of engineering – photos taken Nov. 15th

2008.

Air pollution: The City was/is concerned about the air pollution created by idling cars stopped for trains. It is my belief there is more air pollution created by cars stopped for traffic lights on MLK Jr. and Lincoln avenues. Cross traffic lights are triggered immediately when one car approaches thus causing MLK Jr. & Lincoln traffic to stop unnecessarily. This occurs early in the morning between 5 am and 6:30 am.

September 18, 2001 adjourned meeting minutes.

Traffic: The City has calculated the average vehicle delay at 9 minutes per crossing. By 2030 the estimated delay at rail crossings would be 11 minutes per train to clear.

2008 Facts:

3 BNSF through-trains heading south were timed to determine the traffic delay at the Yakima R/R crossings and the results were train #1 = 3 minutes 3 seconds to clear; train #2 = 4 minutes 3 seconds to clear and Train #3 = 4 minutes to clear.

September 18, 2001 adjourned meeting minutes.

City statistics showed through trains totaled 4 to 6 per day with a potential capacity of 12 to 14 per day. The City argues that enlarging the Stampede Pass tunnel and other line improvements could increase trains per day through Yakima to 20 – 26. Mr. Walcott claims to have documents supporting the increased train capacity.

2008 Facts:

BNSF has no immediate plans to invest in Washington. There is no longer a bottleneck in the Stevens Pass Tunnel. There’s has been a phenomenal increase in productivity, including the expansion to 10,000 foot trains through the Stevens Pass Tunnel instead of 7,000 foot trains. See 6-27/7-3-2008 Puget Sound Business Journal.

September 18, 2001 adjourned meeting minutes.

Trains – Mr. Wolcott pointed out that the Railroad is a private company and their business depends on competition as well as the import/export of goods. It was noted the BNSF – SPS route through the Columbia River Gorge was at their capacity, leaving the Stampede pass route as the most likely to be expanded.

2008 Facts:

The Columbia River Gorge route of SPS will receive improved connections where the North-South Rail line turns east to parallel the Columbia River to the Vancouver Bypass when the $115 million project is completed. Further, executives for the West’s two largest railroads are pouring money into Southern California routes, whiles investing very little in the Northwest. Los Angeles and Long Beach have the best prospects for import growth while Puget Sound ports stalled at about a quarter of the Southern California volume. See 6-27/ 7-3-2008 Puget Sound Business Journal.

March 19,2002 adjourned meeting minutes.

Mr. Wolcott suggested “MLK Jr.” and Lincoln Ave. should be Phase 1 of the grade separation “underpasses” project due to the amount of traffic utilizing those streets. Estimates of probable construction cost for Phase 1 were $24,963,339. By 2005 estimated costs for the same Phase 1 construction had risen to $29,950,000 and $34,770,000 by the end of 2006.

Currently, the cost estimate for this project has increased to over $42,000,000 with no end in sight. This figure does not included the additional costs to purchase BNSF property west of the main tracks and south of Lincoln Avenue which we guess will be upwards of $750,000.

Fact: 8-19-2008 “Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce” Mexico has opened bidding on a new $4 billion Seaport that will rival Los Angeles and Long Beach which are the largest ports in America. The Punta Colonet Project is located 150 miles south of the U.S. border and a planned railroad would bring containers directly to points across the mid-western U.S. and is anticipated to begin operation in 2012 with a capacity to handle 2 million 20 foot containers and could expand to several times more. Yes, these freighters would be sailing from Asia with goods heading north.

Fact: 9-2-2008 “Los Angeles Times” Los Angeles, Long Beach, Seattle and Tacoma imports are down 13% for first 7 months of 2008. Those that are in the know don’t believe a turnaround will begin before the second quarter of 2009. Now, with financial institutions and Wall Street in distress, it is anybody’s guess as to what will occur.

Fact: 6-27-2008 “Puget Sound Business Journal” the Vancouver Fraser Port authority will spend $2.5 Billion on a new offshore terminal doubling their capacity to 5 million 20 foot containers. In addition, expanding the terminal to handle 12 million 20 foot containers. The newly opened Prince Rupert port has a goal of handling containers from Asia bound for the Mid-West. British Columbia ports were up 7% the first half of 2008, while Seattle was down nearly 5*A>.

IT APPEARS, BASED ON THE ABOVE-STATED FACTS, THE ESTIMATED TRAIN TRAFFIC STASTISTICS USED TO START THIS PROJECT WERE INACCURATE. NOW THAT CURRENT AND ESTIMIATED FUTURE TRAIN TRAFFIC SHOWS THAT THE PREVIDUS TRAIN TRAFFIC PROJECTIONS HAVE NOT BEEN REALIZED, THE WISE MOVE WOULD BE, AT A MINIMUM, TO REDUCE THIS “UNDERPASSES” PROJECT TO ONE (1) ONLY UNDERPASS!!!!

Author:  Louis T. March
Copyright: 2004
Publisher:  Representative Government Press, P.O. Box 18104, Raleigh, NC 27619

Author: James C. Russell, Ph.D.
Copyright: 2004
Publisher: Representative Government Press, PO Box 18104 Raleigh, NC 27619

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From the Wall Street Journal July 10, 2009:

A series of Senate floor votes this week seeking to toughen immigration enforcement is giving the Obama administration its first real taste of the chilly climate for overhauling immigration laws.

On Thursday, the Senate approved a measure that would effectively overturn an immigration-enforcement decision announced one day earlier by the Obama administration. The Department of Homeland Security had said Wednesday that it would rescind a Bush administration program aimed at forcing employers to fire workers who are unable to resolve discrepancies in their Social Security records.

…

The Obama administration also said Wednesday that it would fully implement a Bush administration initiative that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to use an electronic government program aimed at keeping them from hiring illegal workers. It is expected to affect more than 170,000 employers.

But that wasn’t tough enough for Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who has spearheaded efforts against immigration overhauls in recent years. Sen. Sessions won passage of an amendment after the Obama announcement Wednesday that would make the program, known as E-Verify, permanent and mandatory, removing any White House discretion to end it. Before the amendment passed, Sen. Sessions won support on a key procedural vote from 10 Democrats and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Related articles

• Government to Require Verification of Workers (nytimes.com)

Non-Stormwater discharges are broken into three groups (Ecology 2007):

• Illicit Discharges
• Conditional Non-Stormwater Discharges
• Allowable Non-Stormwater Discharges

Each is explained in the following three sections with appropriate examples listed

(adapted from Ecology 2008 and RSWMP MODEL IDDE Ordinance 2009).

1.1.1 Illicit Discharges and Connections

Illicit discharges are the introduction of non-stormwater runoff, sewage, or hazardous materials into the public storm drain system through illicit connection and illegal dumping.

Illicit connections are physical connections to the storm drain system that have not been approved for storm water drainage by the facility owner and/or functions to convey a prohibited pollutant. Examples include an internal plumbing connection (e.g, washing machine or garage floor drain) or a service lateral cross-connection.

Illegal dumping is the intentional or inadvertent dumping of prohibited materials into the conveyance system, streets, inlets or basins, and the improper disposal of material on land that is then discharged to the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) when it rains.

Examples:

• Sanitary wastewater from improper sewage connections, exfiltration, or leakage
• Effluent from improperly operating/ or designated septic tank systems
• Fruit packing wash water
• Surface flow and irrigation drainage from feed lots and hobby farms
• Commercial car wash and wastewaters
• Radiator flushing wastewaters
• Engine degreasing wastes
• Improper oil disposal
• Leaky underground storage tanks
• Excess fertilizer or pesticides
• Laundry wastes
• Spills from roadway or other accidents
• Dewatering of construction sites
• Improper disposal of household toxic wastes
• Chemical, hazardous materials, and garbage
• Swimming pool cleaning wastewater and filter backwash

Please consider a mass email to everyone in your address book.  So far 165,000 of you have come to see this clip from your emailed links.  We need millions of Americans to become aware.  Copy/paste this link into an email and blast away.

Is there any voter who wouldn’t benefit from seeing the Fed clip?  Taking the time to send a few emails could be the difference between winning and losing the battle.

Some Republican members of Congress want the U.S. Census Bureau to end a 2010 Census partnership with Acorn, the community organizing group that was hit by accusations of voter-registration fraud in the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, signed up in February with the bureau to be a “2010 Census Partner,” which includes, among other things, identifying job candidates, encouraging its members to participate in the count and distributing literature explaining the importance of the census.

But in the wake of accusations that some former Acorn employees engaged in voter registration fraud in the 2006 and 2008 elections, the partnership isn’t sitting well with some Republicans on Capitol Hill who worry that Acorn could skew results. There’s a lot at stake since the census is used to dole out money to states and localities and to allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

…

Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa) tried unsuccessfully to attach an amendment to a must-pass appropriations bill to forbid any Acorn involvement in the 2010 Census. The outspoken Mr. King is perhaps the most vocal critic of the organization, introducing a host of bills that would limit Acorn’s affairs in federal governance.

As for allegations of voter registration fraud — some Acorn employees were accused of signing up voters using names like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys — Acorn spokesman Scott Levenson said his organization has cooperated fully with authorities, and promptly dismissed people accused of with wrongdoing.

At the time, many of the potentially faulty registrations were flagged to election officials as a result of the group’s own internal controls.

That hasn’t dispelled the distrust. “There is a trust issue when you mention Acorn and the census together, regardless of what they’re doing. It casts doubt on the accuracy that would come out” of the headcount, said Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R., Ga.).