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BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
Willing to stay – Volusia County firefighter John Calache, a DeBary resident, tells DeBary City Council members county firefighters will be happy to stay in DeBary, if the city and county can work out an agreement. Other firefighters in the audience nodded agreement.
BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
Faces of determination – Volusia County professional firefighters listen to DeBary discussion about the county's termination of fire services to the city.
Who wanted to end the contract with the county?
By Pat Hatfield
posted Jun 10, 2009 - 11:08:05am
Fire services: The topic was hot and bothersome at the June 3 DeBary City Council meeting, and promises to come up at the June 18 meeting of the Volusia County Council.
The question is who is going to fight fires in DeBary. The city has contracted with the county for fire services; recently, the county notified DeBary it no longer wants the job.
Volusia County firefighters plan to go before the County Council June 18, to demand that council members tell the county manager to reopen negotiations with DeBary.
In late April, DeBary got a letter from County Manager Jim Dinneen, saying the county would cease providing fire services to DeBary on Nov. 1.
Mayor Bob Garcia and city staff had already been looking at alternatives, after getting a feeling, Garcia said, that change was coming.
At their June 3 meeting, DeBary officials questioned what the county would turn over to DeBary, including the fire station, a fire truck and other equipment.
The heat went up after Volusia County firefighter John Calache, backed by a half-dozen other firefighters in the audience, told City Council members they would like to continue providing services to DeBary.
If the city had signed a 10-year contract with the county, firefighter John Calache told council members, "the county would have provided a brand-new fire station."
He said DeBary would lose HAZMAT, technical rescue and other special services the county now provides, if the city goes with another provider.
The run-down condition of the existing fire station, at the corner of Colomba Road and U.S. Highway 17-92, and the need for a second station have been city concerns.
Council members said they had never heard of an offer for a 10-year contract, however. But Mayor Bob Garcia said he was aware of a letter sent by the county about four years ago, offering a long-term contract.
The council was adamant the county should turn over the firefighting assets.
"We paid for the equipment," Council Member Jack Lenzen said.
Capt. Don Neyer of the DeBary Volunteer Firemen's Association said an inventory of the fire station has been completed. The city will know what is there.
City Manager Anthony Gonzalez said city and county staff discussed a possible extension of services until Jan. 1, and discussed the building. He reported DeBary got no commitments, other than a desire for a smooth transition.
But on June 5, Volusia County Chair Frank Bruno told The Beacon he was puzzled about the DeBary City Council's discussion. Bruno said it has always been the county's intention to give DeBary the assets.
"Everything is going to be turned over to them. They paid for it," Bruno said.
Bruno said he and County Manager Dinneen met with DeBary Mayor Bob Garcia and City Manager Anthony Gonzalez at the end of May, and told them everything would be turned over to the city.
He said a letter will be drafted, "to make it perfectly clear. All equipment and facilities will be turned over to them."
Bruno said the county will help DeBary make a smooth transition in any way it can. He said the offer to extend services until Jan. 1 is still on the table.
Bruno said he also told Orange City Mayor Harley Strickland the county will turn over equipment to DeBary.
Orange City is one of the potential bidders to provide fire services in DeBary.
Orange City has already put together tentative cost estimates. DeBary Mayor Garcia said Orange City would charge $70,000 to $142,000 less than the county.
Garcia said he is ready to go elsewhere. He called the condition of the existing fire station "appalling," with mildew, falling ceilings and rats. Plus, he said, he just received a letter about a grant program that might help pay for a new station.
Council Members Van Conoley and Lenny Marks said they were ready to go elsewhere, also.
The council directed City Manager Gonzalez to pursue formal proposals from Orange City and Deltona for fire services, including a date when those services could begin.
The county firefighters, however, aren't so ready to turn DeBary over to another agency.
Firefighters from Local 3574 are campaigning to stay in DeBary, passing out fliers at local stores over the weekend, June 6-7. They urged residents to contact city and county officials to ask them to keep county firefighters in DeBary.
The firefighters set up a Web site, www.rescueDebaryfire.com, where residents can enter their names and addresses to generate a letter to county and city council members. The Web site also posts analyses of current and proposed contracts.
Firefighter Calache said when everything is counted, DeBary won't save money by switching. He reiterated what he told DeBary City Council: the County Council never voted to terminate services with DeBary, and, if given a choice, DeBary would rather stay with the county.
Only Bruno and County Council Vice Chair Joie Alexander were on board with terminating services in DeBary, Calache said.
"All this is going to come to a head at the June 18 County Council meeting," he predicted.
County Council Member Pat Northey, who represents Southwest Volusia, said there was no unilateral decision on the county's part to cut services.
Rather, the county had been expecting a letter from DeBary. DeBary had been looking at a partnership with Orange City and Deltona, or possibly forming a Southwest Volusia partnership.
Conversations between county and city staff members, including former DeBary City Manager Mary Ann Courson, had been ongoing for some time, at least since a summit of Southwest Volusia cities in 2007, Northey said.
Northey said she had breakfast with two mayors — Bob Garcia of DeBary and Dennis Mulder of Deltona — at the end of April. Then, Garcia said he thought he "was going to go" with Orange City, Northey said.
The county waited for a letter from DeBary, then after City Manager Courson was fired, Dinneen sent the letter to DeBary.
It would be difficult for the county if DeBary made a sudden decision to switch, Northey said.
The county is like a ship, she added. "It can't make sudden turns."
"Nobody is going to walk away from DeBary and leave it without fire services," she said. "We're not walking away."
She said DeBary will still receive HAZMAT and other specialized services, just as other cities in the county still receive them. Northey also said DeBary will get the fire station, truck and equipment.
County Council Member Josh Wagner said DeBary residents have contacted him about keeping county fire services, and he doesn't want them to have to pay more. "There are lots of things to figure out."
Wagner said he was unaware of the situation until the last County Council meeting, and he expects a lot more information at the next meeting.
Reader Comments
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It seems as though people are worried about losing their jobs, which is perfectly understandable IF there were any plans to actually lay off personnel. At this time there is no such agenda in sight.
However what this possible change does provide is NEW jobs and opportunities to other men and women.
I know for a fact that Volunteers are and will always be more than welcome inside the doors at Orange City. That department has been around since 1890! THAT’S JUST SHY OF 120YEARS!! Founded by volunteers to protect, serve and educate the citizens, not to mention they went UNPAID for 80+ years (give or take) and STILL were able to provide the same level of care as paid departments.
The only main difference between a volunteer and a career firefighter is how much more that volunteer is sacrificing to serve their municipalities. A paycheck (or lack thereof) shouldn't negate someone's credibility and abilities.
I am proud to call all of my fellow firefighters brothers, whether they like who I work for or not. It's about the citizens! I think it is clear that the citizens of Debary are not only ready, but asking for a change.. Ultimately it is THEIR decision.
VCFS is the worst organization ever and members should be ashamed to even say they are a Brotherhood.
The original Orange City proposal was written with total consent of the Orange City City Manager. The contract proposal since the last commission meeting will actually be less, since the County of Volusia will be leaving all of the equipment. The Deltona proposal will more than likely be less than proposed originally also.
In response to Special Teams such as HazMat and Technical Rescue; all are funded by outside sources not sole tax dollars. The other agencies contribute personnel and the County cannot refuse to send them to anywhere that requests them by law and also to prevent losing the grant money provided to support the teams.
Union President Calache is doing what he can in the best interest of his union membership; admirable. Unfortunately he has no right to speak on behalf of the council (City and/or County). If he is speaking on behalf of the county (making promises to the City of Debary, which occured) then who is actually running the government?
As far as bashing of Volunteers, considering a portion of the full time firefighters came from the volunteer program: good call. I guess those that were hired by the county were **** and you made them the firefighters they are today. As far as the interests of the citizens of Debary; the firefighters that are in Debary change from year to year as they bid out. They have no interest in staying in the community and only one or two even live in Debary.
The final thing to realize is that the County cancelled the contract. Why should the city beg the county to stay? The City pays for poor service, 6-8 minute responses. Orange City and Deltona have 4-6 minute response times.
Clearly it appears their worried about their jobs just as the rest of us are unfortunately! How can you have individuals fire fighters making claims for the county?? In NY we had a siren that blew a code to all the vlounteers that would indicate what intersection the call was for, if you were close to the fire house head there, if not head to the fire location. Maybe if we had the same system in DeBary we it could also double as a Early Warning system for hurricane/tornados?? Maybe even grant money is available to fund it!! We had a handful of paid firefighters and volunteers made up the other 90%. Time we started getting back to basics, it's not like we have a tremendous amount tall buildings to fight fires in!!
Doesn't this mean that this service does not need to be inlcuded in proposals because the team responds across jurisdictions already? To "any incident"?...and is not based on a contract..but is a county service...paid for w/ our county taxes?
From the Volusia County Fire Services website: "The Volusia County Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Team, a State Resource team, is designed to provide a specialized response of personnel and equipment to incidents involving materials that present a physical, health, biological or radiological hazard to the public. ... The team is comprised of 68 members of specially trained personnel from Volusia County Fire Services, other county agencies, municipal fire departments, and EVAC."
Again, just asking...If this is a "state resource team" that is interdepartmental and crosses all jurisdictions currently...why would that require special consideration in a proposal for municipal fire service? Doesn't this team respond to municipalities and unincorporated areas across the county already...regardless of who the provider of basic fire service is?
It will have to be re-written and and re-submitted at a much higher cost.
Orange City and Deltona cannot provide the same level service the county can. They are far more expensive than the county is. Deltona bid was double what the county's was, and has a $700K increase in the second year.
Orange City put in a bid that was $10K less than the county, but did not provide for any special teams Hazmat,Tech rescue, etc. Saying Orange City can provide those service's is a flat oiut lie! Deltona has firefighters that are on the county Haz Mat and Tech Rescue team.
Orange City does not. Why is that?
Everything Calache said to the city council was accurate. Dont twist it into some fictious lie.
To JackO The volunteers in Debary are worthless, they have there own agenda that has nothing to do with the county fire service, and are constantly undermining the county's efforts. They give all volunteers a bad name.
As for Community Support that is on the propaganda site; the IAFF members do not support community volunteer programs in Debary. "No pay, No play". They wouldn't even come out to support the Orange City officer that was shot in the face for a benefit breakfast, while other agencies did come in and support the officer.
OK now to some intersting facts about the Debary Fire Services debate that was initiated when the County of Volusia has elected to end services (a business decision).
1. There has never been a formal proposal for the building of a new fire station in Debary, made by Volusia County for any “long term” contract. It had been mentioned in unofficial talks several years ago, but was never negotiated.
2. Orange City and Deltona Fire both have Hazardous Material and Technical Rescue response capability, as well as the County must provide this assistance if asked for it at no charge to the city. This is because of funding sources (State and Federal) and the teams are multi-jurisdictional teams (not solely Volusia County Fire personnel). There is no reason for a proposal bid for these services.
3. Volusia County has not provided a bid for the upcoming Fiscal Year and has sent an official letter terminating services. They have offered to extend service until January 1, 2010 if needed. The contract that is being put out, as “the better price” is this current years total budget cost. There was never a line item budget in place, which is why the county cannot account for fund expenditures.
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