Tag Archives: Eastside Fire & Rescue

EF&R firefighters zero in on Sammamish ‘closed’ meetings, but city officials say EF&R officials held closed meetings, too

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Firefighters of the Eastside Fire & Rescue District appear to be laying the case to sue the City of Sammamish for allegedly holding closed meetings when a city council appointed committee studied whether Sammamish should leave EF&R and create its own fire department.

The Sammamish Reporter has this story. The firefighters union include Sammamish Comment in its press release and documentation.

Press Release: 012314 Case builds against Sammamish officials in violating OPMA

The emails included with the press release were highly selective, and certainly indicate city officials were cognizant of the emails and data being subject to public scrutiny. It’s also clear from these highly selected emails that the city officials wanted to keep these emails and documents out of public hands.

One of the issues that emerged during public meetings was the lack of public participation and process throughout the time when the study was going on and how the city reached its decision. Certainly legal issues could be cloaked in Executive Sessions of the city council. But the process in how conclusions and decisions were reached had to stand up to public scrutiny, and the city fell down on this score.

There is another issue, however.

While the EF&R union accuses Sammamish of violating the Open Meetings Act, some city officials say the EF&R District officials also held closed-door meetings as they negotiated with Sammamish over altering the agreement that outlines the operation, funding and governance of EF&R.

The EF&R Board, led by an arrogant Issaquah, for years had refused to adjust the funding formula that placed an unfair burden on Sammamish taxpayers. Our city basically was left with no choice but to play hardball. I’m glad that in the end an accord was reached adjusting the funding, but I also supported the plan to leave EF&R if it wasn’t.

Other than making a point, I don’t know what the union’s activities hope to accomplish: Sammamish didn’t leave EF&R, a seven year agreement was reached and it’s time to move on.

If the EF&R wants to continue this feud, then I suggest Sammamish tackle the alleged backroom, smoke-filled rooms that appear to have permeated EF&R. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

Attention turns to Sammamish tonight on EF&R issue

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Sammamish City Manager Ben Yacizi is supposed to give his recommendation whether to leave the Eastside Fire and Rescue consortium tonight at the city council meeting. He is expected to endorse forming Sammamish’s own fire department.

But there is a new twist.

The Eastside Professional Fire Fighters last week offered to pay up to $10,000 for a professional mediator for Sammamish and Issaquah to resolve differences over the funding and other issues. Although EF&R is made up of five entities, Issaquah is the leader in opposing a funding change that Sammamish wants, in order to save our taxpayers $440,000 a year.

I’ve learned that EPFF has received some positive response from Issaquah to the prospect of a mediator, which was my suggestion to Sammamish at its council meeting last week, and which EPFF acted upon.

There is also some movement on the part of EF&R members to adjust the funding formula, which could render moot the need for a mediator or for Sammamish to leave EF&R.

What impact these developments will have on Yacizi’s recommendation remains to be seen. The City Council plans to make a decision November 12.

The fire issue is the last damn thing on the agenda tonight.

The Council meeting begins at 6:30pm and is televised on Comcast Channel 21. It is streamed live on the city website as well.

Issaquah issued this statement on Tuesday saying it wants Sammamish to stay in EF&R.

Eastside Firefighters offer to pay for Mediator in Issaquah-Sammamish dispute

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The Eastside Firefighters association made an offer today to Issaquah and Sammamish to pay for a professional mediator to resolve the differences between the two cities over the entire Eastside Fire & Rescue dispute.

I suggested use of a mediator or arbitration when I appeared before the Sammamish City Council Tuesday.

The association’s letter to the Councils is here.

Meantime, Sammamish told Save Our Fire Department that its signs erected along streets in the city are illegal and need to be taken down or moved to private locations. Sammamish claims they don’t qualify as political signs under the city’s sign ordinance. Save Our Fire Department takes the position that the signs are political and qualify for their public right of way locations. I agree with the Save Our Fire Department group on this one.

Sammamish council gets an earful from public over EF&R

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The Sammamish City Council got an earful from a standing-room only crowd at the City Council meeting October 29 over the prospect of the City Council deciding to leave the Eastside Fire and Rescue consortium and start its own department.

The Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter has this story.

The Sammamish Review has this story about a dust-up between Mayor Tom Odell and a principal of a school, who commented on the EF&R issue at the previous meeting.

The Review also has this story about the status of a funding model change proposed to Issaquah.

Save Our Fire Department, a new group, urged the Sammamish City Council Tuesday to stay with EF&R. Acknowledging the City Council’s legitimate concerns over the funding model, spokesman Jonathan Wiseman, president of the Eastside Professional Fire Fighters, noted that EF&R is attempting to persuade other EF&R members to reach an accommodation with Sammamish over the funding dispute. Wiseman told me before the meeting that firefighters seek a one year extension of the current agreement to allow more time for a resolution.

Odell told the crowd after public comment that Sammamish tried for 18 months to alter the funding model which results in Sammamish paying roughly 10 times per call than Issaquah for Station 83 responses.

Station 83 is the one on Issaquah-Pine Lake Road at the roundabout.

Sammamish City Manager Ben Yacizi is to give his recommendation to the City Council on November 5, likely to leave EF&R and form the City’s own fire department. The Council plans a decision on November 12.

Many speakers questioned the validity of the financial analysis and projections of the studies on which the recommendation and decision will be based.

The futile negotiations with other EF&R members is spearheaded by Issaquah, which refuses to budge on funding.

I spoke during the public comment period and suggested all parties move to professional mediation or binding arbitration, entering a stand-still agreement of 6, 9 or 12 months as mutually agreed.

Although Sammamish has publicly made this entirely about funding and finances, there are other issues that also should be part of any mediation or arbitration process.

As is its practice, none of the City Council responded to either my suggestion or those comments of others, except for closing comments by Odell at the conclusion of the public comment period.

Save Our Fire Dept website launched; how about advocating fair and balanced financial contributions, too?

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Update, 4pm Oct. 28: The Eastside Firefighters issued a press release today accusing the City of Sammamish of violating the Open Meetings Act, holding meetings outside of the public process on the EFR issue. The press release is below the jump.

Original Post:

A new website called SaveOurFireDept.org has been launched to take on the City of Sammamish and its plan to leave the Eastside Fire and Rescue service.

A decision is supposed to be made Nov. 12. Another City Council meeting is tomorrow night.

This is an enormously controversial subject, with plenty written in the Sammamish Review and Issaquah/Sammmamish Reporter, as well as on this blog. Typically, the City of Sammamish has muffed its messaging on why, in detail, it’s considering leaving.

It comes down to a couple of simple issues:

  • Sammamish taxpayers are and have been paying a disproportionate share to fund EFR since incorporation. In recent years, this amounts to about $500,000 per year. Do the math: $2.5 million in over-payments in the last five years. This ain’t chicken feed.
  • Station 83, also known as the Klahanie Station, is at the heart of the matter. This station is on Issaquah-Pine Lake Road by the round-about. It was built by the developer of Klahanie (hence its unofficial name) when King County approved the project. Station 83 also serves Providence Point and several other areas in nearby Issaquah and areas adjacent Klahanie that are in the Issaquah Potential Annexation Area. A majority of the calls from the Station go to Issaquah and the Klahanie PAA, but Issaquah only contributes 6% of the funding toward Station 83’s operation.
  • Sammamish has been trying for several years to get the funding adjusted on a more equitable basis. EFR members, led by Issaquah, have consistently refused.
  • It’s after years of effort and constant rebuffs that Sammamish has reached this point of preparing to leave EFR.
  • There are other issues as well. At one point the EFR members pondered extending EFR to Snoqualmie Pass. Sammamish would wind up subsidizing part of this. There is also a plan to build buildings and a new fire training tower (despite use of the one off I-90 east of North Bend), at a great cost.

I appreciate the obviously organized effort, largely backed by firefighters, it appears, to lobby the Sammamish City Council to stop them from leaving EFR. The service is good and there are obvious synergies by being a member of EFR that would be absent should Sammamish withdraw.

But why aren’t these same people showing up at the Issaquah City Council, and those of other EFR members, to lobby them for a more equitable split of funding? This, fundamentally, is what’s at stake–and Sammamish has tried for years without success to adjust the funding. Issaquah is the principal roadblock.

The SaveOurFireDept crowd doesn’t have any contact or meeting information, or a call to arms to descend on other city councils, whose obstinance is a key issue that has driven Sammamish to this point.

If SaveOurFireDept wants to truly do so, it needs to lobby more than Sammamish. It needs to lobby the EFR members and show up at the EFR Board and lobby it, too.

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