New faces aspire to BL fire board

The Election Day battle for three Ben Lomond fire board seats is being waged in the long shadow of June’s failed $10 million bond measure to rebuild the town’s fire station.

The Election Day battle for three Ben Lomond fire board seats is being waged in the long shadow of June’s failed $10 million bond measure to rebuild the town’s fire station.

Measure S garnered 60 percent of the vote but needed a two-thirds majority to pass. Opponents had argued that the station could be remodeled for less. The 1940s-era building is too small to garage modern fire engines and needs seismic upgrading.

Incumbent Matt Schelegle and four challengers see the search for a less costly alternative as the fire protection district’s top issue.

“It will be the No. 1 priority, and it’s basically a money issue,” said Schelegle, a Union City firefighter who was named to a board vacancy in January in the midst of the Measure S campaign.

Incumbents Mary Clark and Roger Lee are not seeking re-election.

Challengers are Mike Ayers, a fire battalion chief in Tiburon and former Ben Lomond volunteer firefighter; Biff Beltz, a Fremont fire captain who serves as a volunteer fire captain in Ben Lomond and was on the board from 2000 to 2005; Lisa Hill, co-owner of Jeff Hill & Sons excavation contractors; and Ed Wilke, a manager in the semiconductor industry.

The current board is forming a committee of community members to advise it about the firehouse issue, and Schelegle favors that approach.

“I want the community involved in the decision,” he said.

Schelegle also envisions equipment purchases to be an issue in the near future, including possible replacement of a fire engine and buying other equipment that can be “put to use for years to come.”

Ayers and Hill are running as a slate.

“I am able to bring sound leadership and fiscal responsibility to the board and in doing so mend the disconnect that now exists,” Ayers said.

He supports a community-based solution to the firehouse issue and sound budgeting in “very unstable economic times.”

He has also proposed development of a “standards of coverage” study, which matches community expectations with district resources to determine the appropriate levels of service for different kinds of calls “rather than a ‘one size fits all’ prescriptive formula.”

Beltz said the fire station issue has questions “that are going to have to be settled in some way” and agreed that a $10 million bond was too large. He pointed out that Fremont has rebuilt three fire stations, upgraded seven and built a training center for $51 million.

Hill said Measure S failed because “the board was not listening to the community and decided to move forward with a plan that was fiscally irresponsible.” She said she and Ayers would “provide honest and dedicated leadership” as board members.

Wilke faulted the board for failing to provide detailed answers to “basic questions” about the fire bond, including cost estimates for alternatives and repayment schedules.

He said a retrofit instead of a rebuild would be “the most cost-effective method” of fixing the firehouse. He said San Mateo retrofitted a station about the same age as Ben Lomond’s for $2.4 million.

Source: http://pressbanner.com/content/view/2013/42/ - Written by Chuck Anderson | Press Banner
Friday, 31 October 2008