By Northfield Center Township Trustee Paul G. Buescher
March 22nd, 2016
This is an open letter to the residents of Sagamore Hills and Northfield Center in response to the decision by your elected officials to withdraw the Township of Sagamore Hills from the Northfield Center – Sagamore Hills Fire District and contract the services of Fire and EMS protection from the city of Macedonia. It is written by the members of the Northfield Center – Sagamore Hills Firefighters’ Association, AFSCME AFL-CIO.
As reported on March 15, 2016, Sagamore Hills trustees Dave DePasquale, John Zaccardelli and Paul Schweikert voted during a meeting to provide a 6-month notice to your fire district that it would no longer be using its services and would contract Fire and EMS protection from the city of Macedonia.
On February 23, 2016 a meeting was held between leaders of the Nordonia Hills communities to possibly begin the process of exploring regionalization. The decision was made shortly thereafter that Sagamore Hills would simply just leave the fire district.
Exploring regionalization is a process that takes time to explore and study. Information would need to be gathered about how a decision this big would impact the residents of the community. This is a process that is not to be taken lightly. However, they made the decision in a matter of days. Other local leaders have noted that it was incredible how quickly such a major decision was made and without any input from the public. This is not a merger but rather a takeover. You the residents were kept in the dark. You were not informed of how this will impact you, as members of the current Northfield Center – Sagamore Hills Fire District. You were not asked if this is a direction you would like to see the township go. We the firefighters of your district were not consulted for input. In fact, we knew nothing about this until the morning of March 15, 2016 when an email was sent with the letter of intent.
Northfield Center Township, and all of its residents who this also impacts were not aware of Sagamore Hill’s intentions until they were emailed the same letter on March 15th. No communications were made prior to this date from Sagamore Hills to make their intentions known.
The fire district was formed in 2010 as a way to formalize the agreement between
Northfield Center and Sagamore Hills to provide fire and EMS protection to the residents of both communities in a cost effective and efficient manner. Prior to this agreement, these services were contracted to Sagamore Hills from the “Northfield Center Fire Department” for the past 40 years. This district was the next step from that. It was progression. It has provided you the residents with outstanding and cost effective service. In fact, it has worked so well that daily staffing increased due to an increase in call volume in the communities, which helped take the quality of service to the next level. The district was able to increase staffing very cost effectively due to the part time status of all firefighters. Leaving this district and going back to “contracting” is a step backwards. It is not regionalization.
Sagamore Hills trustees stated that the decision was based on economics and that Macedonia was selected because they were the “most financially secure community around”. However, they have proposed recent income tax increases to offset ballooning costs and recent articles in local newspapers quote Mayor Migliorini as saying that he is “finding finances difficult in the city” and recent repairs to Ledge Road would be scrapped 1. Recent news articles also attest to the dire financial instability in Macedonia2. This is not financial security. You will be paying money to a city that you don’t live in to subsidize their services. Are you, the residents of Sagamore Hills being used to pay for a brand new ladder truck for Macedonia, costing nearly $1,000,000? An expense that is not yours to be burdened with.
By having your membership in this fire district taken away, this is what you will be
losing:
· The current staffing of 4 members around the clock at a centralized fire station to
respond to emergencies. Contrary to what Sagamore Hills Trustees stated in their
letter to separate, we are not a “part-time volunteer fire department”. We provide
you with fire and EMS protection 24 hours each day with a fully staffed fire
station. Macedonia will staff 2 fewer firefighter/paramedics in a “retrofitted pole
barn” in Sagamore Hills. What happens when the city of Macedonia receives
multiple requests for emergency service? (Something that happens frequently.
Macedonia Fire Department has the same call volume as the fire district) Will
these 2 people at the Sagamore “Substation” be pulled from your town to cover
the host city leaving you with no fire or EMS coverage? Are these 2 firefighters
going to be kept in a barn for the next 50 years or will Sagamore Hills have to
foot the bill to house them, requiring money which Sagamore Hills says that they
will not ask for or pay for? That is money that could be invested in your current
fire district. Why pay Macedonia to hire additional personnel to put only 2 of
them in your coverage area when you currently have 4?
· 4 firefighters is the basic make up of a fire department engine company that is
required to start initial fire suppression operations. Without it, not much more can
be done than to sit back and wait until more of their personnel show up from
Valley View Road, South of Route 82 in Macedonia. To enter your house and put
out a fire requires what is known as the “2 in/2 out” rule which requires 2
firefighters to remain outside the structure to provide emergency assistance to the
2 firefighters inside (OSHA Rule CFR 29 1910.134(g)(4)1-3 and National Fire
Protection Association Standard 1500). By having 4 firefighters on scene
immediately with the first fire engine, we can take immediate action inside your
home when there is a fire.
· Thirteen members of the fire district live within its borders, six in Sagamore Hills
and seven in Northfield Center. They have a personal and vested commitment
to the Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire District. Some are life long
Sagamore Hills/Northfield Center residents. Others have fallen in love with this
community after serving its residents for years and have chosen to move to this
area. A few members are Nordonia graduates. Many more have children who
will attend, are currently attending, or have graduated from Nordonia. Eight of
these members are career firefighters; seven of which bring experience from
departments outside of the Nordonia Hills area. By the end of 2016, four of these
Sagamore Hills/Northfield Center residents will have served on the fire
department for 10+ years, three will have served for 15+ years, and an additional
three members will have served this community for over 20 years. These
dedicated men and women live in your community. They have family and friends
in this community. They have seen Sagamore Hills evolve over the years and
understand the significant impact this change in fire and EMS coverage will have
on the residents of both Sagamore Hills and Northfield Center. Your local fire
department members care about Sagamore Hills, choose to work in their
community, and want to continue serving the residents of Sagamore Hills as
members of the Northfield Center – Sagamore Hills Fire District.
· To the residents of the “Springwood” Streets (Spring Creek, Springwood, Sandy
Hill, Rolling Brooke, Springledge, Springmont, Springpond, Springview, Crystal
Creek, Wood Hollow and Cricket Lane): your area has no fire hydrants. Over
the last several years we have developed a plan to deal with a fire in your home,
as this presents special and unique challenges. In addition to this plan, we have
obtained equipment that is particular and dedicated to your area to allow for the
most effective fire attack possible.
· Reduced staffing means that critical medical emergencies requiring rapid care
(trauma, cardiac arrest, heart attacks, strokes, etc.) would put you the residents in
a situation where you were forced to wait for additional personnel to arrive to
assist you because there are only 2 in your coverage area.
· You will lose the current firefighters and paramedics who have devoted their
careers to getting to know you the residents. Knowledge of your communities,
neighborhoods, businesses, schools, churches, national park, roads, and families
will be discarded. We have trained in your neighborhoods and your buildings
to be as safe, efficient and effective as possible. This has taken 40 years to build
and is vital when seconds matter.
· Established close working relationship with the Sagamore Hills Police Department.
· You will be losing 3 firefighter/paramedics trained in car seat installation. By
calling the station and setting up an appointment or just stopping by, we can
properly and safely install your car seat in your car and teach you how to do it
also.
· You will lose the highly trained firefighters and paramedics that currently respond
to your needs when an emergency arises. This includes people who are
firefighters, state certified paramedics, many nationally registered paramedics,
fire service instructors, EMS instructors, CPR instructors, paramedics trained in
specialized pediatric emergency care, rope rescue technicians, HAZMAT
technicians, confined space rescue technicians, trench rescue technicians,
members trained in performing rescues in swift water conditions, members
trained in dive rescue, members trained in performing rescues on ice and many
other various disciplines. You will also be losing members who are nurses,
mechanics, carpenters, fire inspectors, business owners, medical helicopter flight
paramedics, previous fire chiefs from highly respected departments, and multiple
members who work full time and part time on other fire departments, bringing a
wealth of experience and background to the table.
· Cost effectiveness. The fire district is comprised completely of part time
employees making an hourly rate. Overtime is nearly nonexistent. No benefits,
retirement or health care are paid to district firefighters, thus eliminating
overhead. This allows for much lower operating costs with the benefits being
passed on to the residents. Expenses paid by Sagamore Hills in 2015 totaled
$646,000. This is an inflated figure because it includes one-time purchases to
replace an aging SUV command vehicle and a portion of an ambulance cot
loading system that was obtained off of a grant. The first year of this proposed
contract with Macedonia Fire is $750,000 with subsequent increases thereafter3.
This is an increase of over $100,000 to start. $100,000 more for less protection
than you currently receive. Trustees refuse to entertain the idea of exploring new
and innovative funding opportunities.
· Residents of the fire district will also lose the highly successful residential lock
box program. The residential lock box program was started by the firefighters
association several years ago. The program provides secure and lockable boxes
that are located outside your home which store a key to your house. Only the fire
district has the key to access the box, allowing us to enter your home during an
emergency, safely and quickly with no damage. Currently around 100 residents
take advantage of this program. The program is funded by money donated from
your fire fighters with every pay check, costing you nothing.
· Residents of Northfield Center Township will also be left with reduced fire and
EMS coverage due to the actions of Sagamore Hills, going against the initial
principles of forming this fire district. You will be just as affected by this
decision as residents of Sagamore Hills are.
Most of all, you will be losing the most dedicated, committed, professional fire
department that is dedicated to you, the residents of Sagamore Hills and Northfield
Center. When 911 is called, these men and women leave the station to get to you as
quickly and safely as possible and not one of them would hesitate to lay their lives down
in order to protect you, your friends and your families.
We urge you to contact the Sagamore Hills trustees and voice concerns you may have.
You were not given the opportunity before this decision was made and this may be the
only chance you have. We are honored to be your fire department and hope to remain so
long into the future. Our support for you is unwavering and our primary mission.
To contact the Sagamore Hills trustees and voice your concerns, they can be reached at
the following4:
· John Zaccardelli 330-468-3532
· David DePasquale 330-908-0520
· Paul Schweikert 330-467-4970
Respectfully,
The firefighters and paramedics of The Northfield Center – Sagamore Hills Firefighters’ Association, AFSCME, AFLCIO
MARWYCK DRIVE TREE TRIMMING
By Trustee John Romanik
On March 3rd, a Marwyck Drive resident called the Town Hall questioning why someone had spray painted pink markings on the base of homeowner’s trees up and down his street. After some inquiries to Summit County and the local utility companies, it was determined that a contractor for First Energy had marked the trees.
I spoke to First Energy’s External Affairs Manager for northern Summit County, Joe Faga, who explained that the trees were marked for trimming within the company’s easement on that street. He went on to say that on Marwyck Drive, there are three high tension wires at the top of the telephone poles that carry 69,000 volts of electricity from Olde Eight Road to Brandywine Road. So, Marwyck is not a typical residential street as far as power lines are concerned.
Mr. Faga left a message on Tuesday, March 15th saying that over 90% of the residents have been contacted and everything is going well. He said that some of the trees that are marked for trimming were in fact requested by the homeowner to be removed entirely. A First Energy Forestry Department representative should have visited each resident with marked trees as of Friday, March 18th. The work will be performed by the Asplundh Tree Expert Co. of Hartville and is scheduled to begin in April or by mid-summer depending on the contractor’s schedule. If anyone has any further questions, please contact me at romanik_nct@roadrunner.com .
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q >>> – Hi Paul: If you’ve covered this before in your newsletters I apologize for taking your time. Do these door knockers (Jehovah Witnesses) need to register with the [Township]? I thought they did but had one today who was adamant that I check the law.
A >>> – Religious groups are exempt from the solicitor permit process.
YOUR GENERAL COMMENTS
NOTE: All comments must include your name and a phone number. This information will NOT be published. However, if you want your name to be published with your comments you should include the word “SIGNED” next to your name.
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Nick Kostandaras will not answer the hazel road question because He does not seem to know that NCT is in Summit county.
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Kimble needs to tell their drivers not to put the empty can or cans in the middle of the drive. The last two weeks I have had to pull to the side of the road and then put the containers off to the side so I could pull in the drive.
_________________________________________________
Thank you,
Paul G. Buescher
Northfield Center Twp. Trustee Vice-Chairman
Northfield Center-Sagamore Hills Fire Dist. Board
330-467-9451
TrusteeBuescher@aol.com
www.northfieldcenter.com
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