In a PowerPoint slide presentation titled “Year to date update” at the 9/25/18 Board of Trustees Meeting, Oakland Township Fire Department (OTFD) Chief Paul Strelchuk presented these statements :

• Currently one full-time FF/Paramedic out on injury leave
• One may have to go on leave
• All shifts are covered by the remaining staff, creating Overtime and Burnout. One paid on call paramedic can fill in when available.

and

• Fire response requirements exceed our staffing levels and rely heavily on Mutual aid agreements.

The primary response of the Board of Trustees to these concerns was to call for Chief Strelchuk to speed up hiring of part-time EMT’s. ($15/hour, max 32 hour work week as directed by Board at 3/13/18 Board Meeting)

It is not clear to me how EMT’s can legally fill roles as either paramedics or firefighters.

The Chief’s recommendation was made in this statement on one of his slides

• No available swing type person to take some of the load. Might be something to consider to reduce overtime and burnout

There was no motion nor discussion pertaining to  this possible option.

All Townships in Michigan must have an elected Treasurer. I would summarize their duties as:

• Collect the taxes

• Invest the money wisely in investments approved by state law

• Stick to a Board-approved budget

•  Use good accounting methods approved by the State

• Pay the bills.

• Don’t steal

Our current elected Treasurer is Jeanne Langlois elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. She is a former commercial loan officer.

By Michigan law, elected Treasurers must appoint a Deputy Treasurer as a back-up.

Townships boards do not get to select the Deputy, but do have the authority to set the pay / compensation for both the Treasurer and Deputy. This results in an infinite possibility of division of work duties. While the elected Treasurer is ultimately responsible, she can delegate tasks to the Deputy.

In Oakland Township, the Deputy works a normal 40 hour week, does all the day-to-day tasks and collects a higher salary ($67,000) than their boss the elected Treasurer ($9,000). To receive an equivalent hourly pay to her Deputy, Treasurer Langlois would have to restrict her hours to 5.4 per week. As a member of the Board of Trustees, the elected Treasurer Jeanne Langlois votes on all Board motions about a wide range of subjects. Based on how knowledgeable she is on issues that she must vote on, I suspect she spends far more than 5.4 hours per week.

Mr. Claeson has been Deputy Treasurer since 2014, and by all accounts did a great job. We just received a stellar audit report from outside auditors Plante-Moran; which in part reflects on him. We welcome Mr. Blessed, who comes from Sterling Heights with 30 years of experience.

More about Treasurer’s Department can be seen on the Township website

http://www.oaklandtownship.org/township_departments/treasurers_department/index.php

 

Since 2007, Oakland Township has had a millage of up to 0.25 mils ($0.25 per $1,000 of taxable value) to fund connecting safety paths within the township that are not already within parks and funded by Parks Department or bordering subdivisions and funded by builders initially and then maintained by  individual Homeowner’s Associations.

Libby Dwyer, citizen chairperson of the all volunteer, unpaid,  7 member Safety Paths and Trails Committee (SPTC) says resident surveys show the #1 resident desire is a safe path to the Paint Creek Trail. She presented two options to the Board, this one and a path down Gunn Rd. from Adams to Paint Creek Trail. While the Board made no formal motion, it was obvious they favored the Gallagher Rd. path.

The most populated and highest tax base area of the township is the southwest portion. A 2012 plan to connect them to the Paint Creek Trail via a safety path down Adams Rd. from Delta Kelly elementary school to Paint Creek Trail was favored by the 2008 Board of Trustees, but was rejected in early 2013 by the new 2012 Board which contained 5 new members of 7 total. Their primary reasons for rejection were:

• Safety path is too steep (it did not meet national path standards for maximum slope)  and would be a hazard especially to daredevil youth on bikes
• The Board was unwilling to invoke “eminent domain” to place some of path on private property frontages.
• The Board felt long-term maintenance costs of the boardwalk “trestle” sections would be much higher than estimated by the previous Board.

The new 2012 Board of Trustees then decided to replace the Trails Planner paid job (40% of a township employee’s full-time duties) with a 7 member volunteer committee consisting of:

• Representative of Board of Trustees
• Representative of Planning Commission
• Representative of Parks and Recreation
• Four citizen members

SPTC plans trails, but must get Board of Trustees approval to go ahead with a project.

The previous Trails Planner had done a lot of work with PEA, the township’s engineering firm to develop feasibility of various routes. Safety paths in Oakland Township are made difficult by hilly terrain (potential for unsafe slopes) , wetlands (requiring very expensive boardwalks) and the desire to avoid eminent domain. Recently SPTC, using that work as a foundation,  did a comprehensive 15 page master plan which is an addendum to our master plan and can be seen at this link:

Click to access 348893092.pdf

The 40 minute  presentation and Board discussion of the proposed Gallagher path can be seen at Chapter 8 of the video of 8/14/2018 Board of Trustees meeting. Videos can be found by going to the township website http://www.oaklandtownship.org/. Click on “Watch Live Streaming” at far lower right  and click  your way to this Chapter.

The SPTC website says this

“The SPTC generally meets on the first Wednesday of the month in the Township Hall at 6:00pm. Citizen comment is always welcome. Always check the township website for time and location updates. Most meetings are televised live on Comcast channel 17 or on the township website where recordings of past meetings can be viewed. If you can’t attend in person, please email your SPT comments to Dale Stuart, Township manager, at dstuart@oaklandtownship.org.”

Link to SPTC website

http://www.oaklandtownship.org/township_departments/safety_paths_and_trails.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since we are not a city and have the “primitive” (former Manager Jim Creech’s accurate word) township form of government, Road Commission  of Oakland County has authority and responsibility over most of our roads.  A high injury accident history at the intersection, and a targeted campaign by mothers of Delta Kelly Elementary School led to a decision to install a roundabout. Oakland County Road Commission has the authority to dictate if it will be a roundabout or a traffic light. Oakland Township has no say in that decision.

We must contribute $500,000 to the $2,000,000 project if we want it to happen. RCOC will also put a repaving “preservation” layer on Adams Rd.  from Dutton to Gunn as part of the project.

The Board credited Township Manager Dale Stuart with negotiating our portion down from an initial $700,000.

RCOC uses state gasoline taxes to fund roads.

The board debated how exactly to pay the $500,000. The complete 30 minute discussion can be seen on the video of  9/25/2018 BOT meeting at Chapter 10.

Here is a refresher in how to find the video segment of this discussion:

1. Go to township website: http://www.oaklandtownship.org/
2. Click on “Watch live streaming” at very bottom right of home page
3. Click on “Board of Trustees – 2018”
4. C lick on “Board of Trustees – September 25, 2018”
5. Click on “Chapters”
6. Click on “Chapter 10, agenda 7/5”

 

 

 

On 9/25/2018, after information was presented to the Board by Parks Director, Mindy Milos-Dale, the Oakland Township Board of Trustees passed Resolution 18-14 by a 7/0 vote approving  a grant application to be made by Oakland Township Parks Department to Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund (MNRTF) for a “trail-head” parking lot in Paint Creek Junction Park (formerly Marshview Connector Park) on the west side of Orion Road between Adams and Kern. (See map  below). The proposed lot will accommodate cars and horse trailers and allow access to the northern part of Paint Creek Trail and proposed Iron Belle Trail near the border with Lake Orion. (See map and engineering drawing below).

Projected funding is projected to be:

MNTRF Grant                                                                      $228,450

Parks Fund (from township Parks millage taxes)                  $76,150

Total                                                                                     $304,600

(Site development plan drawing from PEA Engineering Drawing No. 5, Job No. OA1808, titled TF18-0098 Iron Belle – Paint Creek Trail – Northern Trail Development)

MNRTF is funded by oil and gas leases on state land. The program is protected by being written into the Michigan State Constitution.

According to the MNRTF website, since 1976  MNRTF grants have been awarded as follows:

• Total MNTRF grants-                    $1,167,483,823  (Yes, over $1 billion !)
• Oakland County grants –                   $88,131,612
• Oakland Township grants-                  $5,428,103

Parks Director Mindy Milos Dale provided Oakland Township Sentinel the following detail of MNRTF grants that have benefited or will soon benefit Oakland Township parks

Past Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Past Grants Received by Oakland Township:

• TF99-128- $ 2,010,101 -Acquisition of Marsh View Park (1999)
• TF00-311- $ 313,302 -Development of Bear Creek Nature Park (2000)
• TF02-013- $ 1,762,800 -Acquisition of Lost Lake Nature Park (2002)
• TF05-102- $ 893,700 -Acquisition of Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park (2005)
• TF07-057- $ 293,300 -Development of Marsh View Park (2007)
• TF10-069- $ 154,900 -Development of Lost Lake Nature Park (2010)

 

 Also currently in process is this grant:

• TF16-0009 Stony Creek Ravine Nature Park Expansion    $2,216,400 (2016 application)

Read more about MNRTF at this link: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79134_81684_79209_81657—,00.html  

A detailed listing of all MNRTF grants in the state by county can be found at:

Click to access MNRTF_Grant_Projects_Awarded_564902_7.pdf

 

 

 

 

Please be aware of the Board meeting coming up Tuesday 9/25. The agenda and Board packet can be seen at this link:

 

https://www.ecode360.com/documents/OA3183/public/457619825.pdf

 

I am most interested in item VII-7 “Fire Dept. Status Report” and sent the letter below to Fire Chief Paul Strelchuk with copies to Board, Manager and Attorney with my questions.

 

Bob Yager

 

 

 

 

Paul Strelchuk

Fire Chief

Oakland Township

 

cc: Board, Manager, Attorney

 

Re: Agenda item VII-7, 9/25/18 Board of Trustees Meeting, Fire Department Report

I applaud your attempt to provide vital information at 9/25/18 Board meeting. And I appreciate that the Board continues to provide Board Meeting Packets in advance.

I would like to see this important information presented in a venue where the public can ask questions for understanding and/or to challenge statements. Since Board Meetings have a “This is not a Q&A session” rule, I will ask these questions in advance and hope you address them.

Board Members can ask questions. I hope they will ask you my questions, if not answered for the public. Or alternatively I hope they open the meeting to questions from the public and expect answers from you.

 

From Board Packet – Page 54.

Run Volumes

• Year to date 673 runs

• Year to date Priority run response time Average 7 minutes 46 seconds,  From CFIRS.

• Year to date 80th percentile fractile time 8 minutes 54 seconds from Michigan EMS Information System data for medical runs. The average time of 5 minutes 49 seconds.

 

What is the definition of a priority run. How many have there been?

Why do you cite 80% fractile time for EMS runs versus 90% fractile times? Isn’t 90% within 8 minutes the OCMCA requirement?

The data in the Michigan EMS System is entered by OTFD personnel from your records, correct?

Is the EMS response time when two qualified medical personnel arrive as required by OCMCA  or is it still the time for the “first person with a radio to arrive” that has been reported in the past?

Why include any average response times. What agency suggests standards in terms of averages. Don’t all agencies agree that averages are misleading?

 

Page 56 –

You state that “Fire response requirements exceed our staffing levels…”. However you provide no data on our actual fire responses or the requirements to illustrate this point and clarify it to the Board or public.  Can you at least describe this problem for the most recent fire on Becker Drive.

 

Bob Yager

 

 

To:  Board of Trustees

Michael Bailey – Supervisor

Karen Reilly – Clerk
Jeanne Langlois – Treasurer
John Giannangeli – Trustee
Lana Mangiapane – Trustee
Robin Buxar – Trustee
Frank Ferriolo – Trustee

 

The purposes of this letter is to

• Propose that a Fire Board would be a good addition to our system of local government
• To remind you of resident, consultant and Fire Chief concerns and suggestions  expressed since 2015 and especially since October 2017

 

Fire Board Suggested

 

A five-person Fire Board is permitted under Michigan State Law, public Act 33 of 1951.

“POLICE AND FIRE PROTECTION (EXCERPT) Act 33 of 1951

41.812 Administrative board; appointment, qualifications, and terms of members; vacancy; expenses; continuation of prior administrative board; annual budget; powers and functions; section supplemental.”

Link: http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?

 

A Fire Board could provide these benefits to Oakland Township:

• It could be staffed with five people with significant backgrounds in fire, EMS or other public safety and risk assessment / management experience. This would reduce the need to elect Township Board of Trustee members with this background. These people exist and may be persuaded to volunteer.
• It could prepare and maintain a professional-grade Strategic Operating Plan, including Mission, Operating Principles, Goals and Objectives, and a significant factual reference database, by working with the Fire Chief, Township Manager, firefighter/medics and residents. Of course the Township Board of Trustees would maintain final approval of all such plans.
• The required overlapping terms of a Fire Board provides stability and prevents the sudden changes in thinking of the Fire Board, even if the Board of Trustees has a large turnover in any given election.
• The powers granted to this Board are at the discretion of the Board of Trustees and can be revised as needed. The Board could begin cautiously by giving them a single, very specifically defined task with a deadline and expand their task load as they prove successful.
• There is a lot to investigate, understand, monitor and decide in order to have a first class fire department. The amount of time required to do this is beyond what we residents can reasonably expect from the Board of Trustees with our current pay structure (per diem or fixed low salary) and no requirement for a public safety background in our voting decisions.
• Compare a Fire Board to our optional (at discretion of Board of Trustees) Planning Commission. The Planning Commission does significant valuable work in preparing and maintaining recommendations to the Board of Trustees for the Master Land-use Plan, the Zoning Ordinance and in reviewing individual development proposals. This arrangement seems to work quite well and relieves the Board of a significant time commitment they would otherwise have in learning about and performing these tasks without benefit of a Planning Commission.
• Fire Board meetings could reasonably entertain more public input and even entertain some discussion of input that time constraints do not allow at Board of Trustee meetings. This is much like the Planning Commission operates.
• Fire Chiefs are excellent incident commanders who marshal whatever resources are available and make quick decisions in emergency situations to rescue and protect the public and their personnel. Such Chiefs are often not highly skilled in presenting a case for added resources or new policies. A Fire Board could help the Chief by helping format the Fire Chief’s legitimate needs into recommendations  that pass the Fire Board’s scrutiny as reasonable and logical and also meet the Board of Trustees needs for clarity and completeness in items presented to them for decision.
• A Fire Board would be made up of residents directly impacted by their recommendations, unlike a non-resident Township Manager.

 

 

Concerns and Suggestions

Recently concerns have been expressed or issues raised by the following. Numbers in parentheses refer to a list of references with links at the end of this letter. The primary concern is still non-conformance to response time for EMS and fire.

• Fire Chief Paul Strelchuk (2, 5, 33)
• Various firefighter/medics both full-time and paid on call (3, 6,10)
• Retired Fire Chief Dave Piche in a report commissioned by the Board of Trustees (1,14)
• Resident Marty McQuade (retired VP/GM of Dupont Automotive Products – 13,000 employees, $4 billion in sales; skilled at minimizing hazard and risk in dangerous chemical processes)(34,41,42)
• Other residents (7)
• Bob Yager (7-9,-13,15-32,35-40,43-49)

 

With the number of concerns and suggestions it would seem  that no Board of Trustees meeting would pass without at least one Fire Department agenda item to deal with. Since items are not appearing on Board agendas,  it creates the concern that the Board has rejected all of the many  concerns and suggestions without public discussion or feedback to the public. While such discussion/feedback is not required by law, this does not seem like a recipe to encourage public involvement or arrive at the best decisions.

An ideal first task for a Fire Board might be to review the input cited above and construct a “concerns  list”. The items on this list could be  rated on a 0-3 scale for urgency, seriousness, and potential for growth. High scores are most urgent, serious or having potential for growth. A zero indicates no seriousness – no reason for concern at all.  Additional chronologically arranged reference materials are provided below.

 

 

 

Reference Information about Concerns and Suggestions

1 – Report by Dave Piche, retired Bloomfield Hills Fire Chief, commissioned by Board of Trustees, FOIA #1816

1816 – Response(Piche report)

1816-Documents- Dave Piche Report

2 – Draft Strategic Operating Plan. 10/2015. Author – Paul Strelchuk, Consulting assistance by Marty McQuade

OTFD 10 Yr. Strategic Operating Plan

3- Data package prepared by Full-time Firefighter/Paramedic Scott Rosati and given to Board Officers at Officer Office Hours in summer or fall of 2017.

Scott Rosati Report

4 – Contents of “binders” of about 500 pages given to Board of Trustees in late February 2018; FOIA #1817 (These are available only in hard copy).

5 – “Recommendations” report supplied to Board of Trustees in conjunction with reference #4 above. FOIA #1828

1828 – Documents (Recommendations from OTFD)

1828- Response Letter

6 – Email to Board of Trustees from paid-on-call firefighter paramedic who wishes to remain anonymous

*****

7 – 10-11-17 – Yager to BOT – Fire Department – Recent Comments by Jerry Kolinski

*****

8 – 10-12- 17 – Yager to Oakland Township Sentinel Distribution – Medical Emergency Response Time Meeting

Attachment: EMS Response Time

*****

9 – 10-12-17 – Yager to BOT – EMS Response Time Questions for Board Officer Hours

*****

10 -10-17-17 – Rosati to Yager = EMS Response Data 10-15 thru 6-16

*****

11- 10-22-17 – Yager to BOT Officers, et al – OTFD EMS Response Times

*****

12 – 10-23-17 Yager to BOT Officers, “OTFD Costs”

*****

13 -10-24-17 – Yager to BOT Officers, et al – OCMCA Response Time – FOIA 1743

*****

14 – 10-26-17 – Dave Piche report left in Yager mailbox

Dave Piche Report 10-26-17

*****

15 – 10-26- 17 – Yager to BOT Officers – Dave Piche Report

Attachment – Dave Piche Report 10-26-17

*****

16 – 10-27-17 – Yager to BOT – OTFD Plans

*****

17 – 10-28-17 – Yager to BOT Officers – Oakland Township EMS Response Time

Attachments:

Oakland Township EMS Response Time. (pdf file)

Oakland Township EMS Response Time.(Powerpoint file)

*****

18 – 10-31-17 – Yager to BOT Officers – OTFD Response Time Non-compliance 2012-2016

Attachments:

*****

19 -11-3-17 – Yager to Strelchuk – Communication

*****

20 – 11-12-17 – Yager to BOT, et al – EMS Response Time

*****

21 – 11-15-17 – Yager to BOT, et al – EMS Project

*****

22 – 1-16-17 – Yager to BOT et al EMS Response Project

*****

23 – 11-25-17 – Yager to BOT, et al – Officer Office Hours

Attachment: EMS Response Facts Oakland Township

*****

24 – 11-27-17 – BOT Email 2017-002, EMS Response Fact Sheet – Oakland Township

*****

25 – 11-27-17 – Yager to BOT – Suggest Follow Washington Twp. Monthly Reports – Police and Fire

Link:

https://washingtontwpmi.documents-on-demand.com/Document/b3dc5422-2d19-e711-80be-001fbc00ed85/Board%20Packet%20April%2005,%202017.pdf

***** 

26 – 11-28-17 – -Yager to BOT, et al – After-fire Public Review

*****

27 – 11-29-17 – Yager to BOT – EMS Data Dashboard Suggestion

*****

28 – 11-30-17 – Yager to BOT, et al EMS Response Time

*****

29 – 12-4-17 – Yager to Stuart – Three Questions about EMS Response Time

*****

30 – 12-5-17 – Yager to Strelchuk, Danek – Officer Office Hours 12-4-17 “Minutes”

*****

31 – 12-6-17 – Yager to Strelchuk, et al – My Next Meeting with Board Officers

Attachment: The Meg Peters Citizen Online Article 11-27-2015

*****

32 – 12-9-17 – Yager to Mike Bailey, et al – Request for added agenda item 12-12-17 BOT

Attachment: Project Charters

*****

33 – 12-9-17 – Yager to Strelchuk – Your Goals

*****

34 – 12-10-17 – McQuade to Board of Trustees – Oakland Township Emergency Response Defiiciencies

OTFD Deficiencies – 12-10-2017

*****

35 – 12-13-17 – Yager to BOT, et all Asst. Fire Chief – Maint. Tech – New Job

*****

36 – 12-13-17 – Yager to BOT, et al – Subcommittees and Open Meetings Act

*****

37 – 12-20-17 – Yager to Strelchuk – How to Achieve Citizen Input to Township Board to Help OTFD

*****

38 – 1-3-18 – Yager to Strelchuk, et al – EMS Response Time

Attachments:

FOIA 1770 – Copy of RUN STATISTICS

Chief Monthly Reports

*****

39 – 1-4-18 – Yager to Strelchuk, Kelly – Response Time OCMCA Certification

Attachments:

1756 – Response

1756 Appeal response

*****

40 – 1-27-18 – Yager to OCMCA – Concerns and Questions

*****

41 – 1-27-18 – McQuade to BOT

OTFD Response Deficiencies 1.27.18

*****

42 – 2-25-18 – McQuade to OCMCA Director Bonnie Kincaid

*****

43 – 3-7-18 – Yager to Stuart – Re- Second Large Data Problem in 483 Page FOIA 1817

Attachments: 3-6-18 Email Attachments

*****

44 – 3-9-18 – Yager to Dale Stuart – Average vs Fractal 90% Response Time

Attachments :

The Meg Peters Citizen Online Article 11-27-2015

Houston EMS Response Time

*****

45 – 3-15-18 – Yager to BOT, et al – Request for Agenda Item

*****

46 – 3-16-18 – Yager to BOT, et al – Request for Investigation (Star Ambulance)

*****

47 – 3-27-18 – Yager to BOT, et al – Remarks at 3-27-18 BOT 3-27-18 (about incorrect EMS response time data)

*****

48 – 3-29-18 – Yager to Mike Bailey – Oakland Township Fire Department (OTFD) Performance Data…

*****

49 – 4-3-18 – Yager to Stuart – Requested Agenda Item – Response Time

Attachments:

2017 EMS Response Times – Yager

2017 EMS Response Times – OTF

Please note the “Report a Concern” button on Rochester government website – below. Perhaps such a system would be useful in Oakland Township

Report a concern

Dear Readers,

Last night the Board voted 6/1 at agenda item #9  to restrict Chief Stelchuk’s options for meeting OCMCA’s 2- medics per ambulance staffing requirements to

• scheduling paid-on-call volunteers,
• hiring part-time personnel or
• using Star ambulance.

No additional full-time hiring is allowed.

Numerous residents and fire department members expressed grave concerns compared to the better option of hiring full-time people.  One resident and former volunteer OTFD member termed the motion “disgusting”. The Fire Chief Paul Strelchuk and Assistant Chief Lou Danek  were silent, leaving their opinions unknown. Consider for yourself what that means.

A very dangerous aspect of last night’s decision will be if we allow the lack of transparency shown to stand and become the norm.  I will not go down the somewhat pointless path of debating fine points of whether the Michigan Open Meeting Act was violated in reaching this decision. (The Open Meetings Act requires deliberations/discussions toward a decision to be made in public with some exceptions.  I assume the notice from OCMCA was interpreted as “litigation”, one of the legal exceptions allowing a closed meeting to deliberate.   I assume the total “official” deliberating was in the 6 PM closed session. What are the chances that there was no significant secret non-public deliberation behind the scenes before the 6 PM meeting? I say, zero chance. Do you really believe 6 people, who are known to argue extensively about far less important matters, became united in one hour about what to do?)

I will instead submit to the Court of Public Opinion the claim that residents expect and deserve a much higher level of transparency.

• No Board member who voted YES had any questions about the motion; It appeared to me that  the 6 totally understood the motion and had thoroughly reviewed it before it was made

• Supervisor Bailey, who voted NO, had questions. Hurray for him and his 30 years Township experience and significant engineering background in safety risk analysis.
• There was no professional information or data comparing the motion to any other options for cost, speed of compliance or any other factors whatsoever
• The Chief and Assistant Chief and Township Manager offered no public input whatsoever and were not asked to.
• The agenda item was billed as a “discussion”. There was little discussion of any significance. Only a motion to ram through regardless of public opinion or input. (A misleading agenda, even no agenda at all,  is perfectly legal for a regular meeting, unfortunately.)

I think the path of this motion was chosen by a board of 6 well-meaning people who do not realize how dangerously uninformed they are about OTFD, fire, EMS, emergencies and risk analysis in general.

To remedy this we must help them to become properly informed or replace them with those who are.  We need them to be reviewing performance data each month that tracks compliance and each concern expressed about this plan.  We need detailed reports on any incidents and their cause, such as the recent ambulance auto accident with patients aboard, or any failures to follow protocols properly. They need to understand that their past response time data is falsely low and how and why. We need to teach them a more sophisticated risk analysis model than “We can’t see any big problems,  so all is OK”.

Please help  OTFD to the extent you can and are willing to.

Bob Yager – Oakland Township Sentinel – Public Safety Editor

The following letters to our township Board of Trustees outline Mr. Marty McQuade’s position that our Board has not given this manpower deficiency issue the correct priority and needs to take immediate action to remedy our manpower shortage in the Oakland Township Fire Department in order to provide adequate and legally compliant Advanced Life Support EMS service. He suggests a specific path forward of scheduling paid-on-call and contract employees as a temporary measure while hiring 6 additional full-time employees as the permanent solution.

 

Mr. McQuade, retired Vice President & General Manager of the global Dupont Automotive business headquartered in the Detroit area, provided considerable volunteer consulting services in 2015 to assist the Fire Chief to develop a 10-Year Strategic Operating Plan.  The plan identified the Oakland Township Fire Department manpower staffing gaps in operating our Advanced Life Support EMS units according to the Oakland County license requirements along with deficiencies for fire and rescue operations.  The plan was reviewed with the Board of Trustees’ Fire Subcommittee consisting of Trustees Robin Buxar, Frank Ferriolo, John Giannangeli and Township Manager Dale Stuart and Township Manager Dale Stuart during 2015.

 

It is now 2018 and the draft 10-year Strategic Operating Plan which identified the staffing deficiencies and other key planning issues has never been presented to the full Board by the Fire Subcommittee, Township Manager or Fire Chief for acceptance, rejection or modification.  No substantive action has been taken by the township leadership to address the known staffing deficiencies since 2015.

 

Mr. McQuade’s December 10, 2017 letter to Mr. Bailey and January 27, 2018 follow up letter sent to the full Board of Trustees discussing the staffing deficiencies issues are attached below.

 

Editor’s note:  An independent consultant hired by the Township during 2017 to study the Oakland Township Fire Department made similar manpower deficiencies observations in his report which was leaked to Oakland Township Sentinel and can be seen at this link:

 

 

Bob Yager – Editor – Oakland Township Sentinel

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 27, 2018

 

Mike Bailey

Robin Buxar

Frank Ferriolo

John Giannangeli

Jeanne Langlois

Lana Mangiapane

Karen Reilly

 

Oakland Township Emergency Response Deficiencies

 

I am writing to all members of Oakland Township’s Board of Trustees in hopes of receiving a response and immediate action on what I consider to be a critical public safety issue for the residents of the township and our dedicated first responders.  The township needs a courageous Trustee to standup for our first responders and residents’ life and property protection.  I wrote a letter to Mr. Mike Bailey, Oakland Township Supervisor, on December 10, 2017 detailing my concern relative to the on-going non-compliant staffing of Oakland Township’s Advanced Life Support EMS units and understaffed fire protection services.  I believe the staffing non-compliance has been known at a minimum to the Fire Subcommittee, Township Manager and Fire Chief since at least 2015, if not before.  I was disappointed that Mr. Bailey did not consider to provide a response to me given the importance and criticality of this issue.  The feedback provided to the public since the writing of my December 10, 2017 letter on this issue has been one of Mr. Stuart advising he and Chief Strelchuk are working on the issue, Mr. Ferriolo and Ms. Buxar suggesting their “hands have been tied” by the recent union negotiations, Mr. Ferriolo advising Mr. Stuart April or May is OK to provide a plan/recommendation if that is the time he requires, Mr. Ferriolo commenting that the Fire Subcommittee “is engaged and ready to serve” although no substantive action has been taken since the committee was formed in 2015, and Mr. Bailey acknowledged to Mr. Stuart that it is a difficult task to get your arms around, however, the Board is staying out of it so there are not “too many cooks in the kitchen”.

 

Please understand my impatience to want Oakland Township to adequately staff our ALS units, to be in compliance with the State of Michigan and Oakland County Medical Control Authority (OCMCA) rules and protocols to operate an ALS ambulance, and to provide emergency medical and fire fighting services that have the required capability to save lives, property and minimize risks to our first responders.  I believe 2+ years of inaction on such an important public safety issue is reprehensible and is without any legitimate justification.  I have heard members of the Board say public safety is their first priority, however, the collective actions of this Board and Township leadership over the past 2+ years suggests otherwise.

 

I watched the video of the January 23, 2018 BOT meeting and found many of the comments from Board members on this issue quite remarkable and disingenuous.  Are you as an elected official of Oakland Township suggesting that the Board’s “ hands have been tied” since 2015 when the issues were formally identified and a Fire Subcommittee was formed of Trustees Buxar, Ferriolo and Giannangeli to address Oakland Township Fire Department (OTFD) issues?  Are you suggesting that taking no substantive action since 2015 reflects public safety is your first priority?  Are you suggesting that Oakland Township’s union negotiation is a predetermining and legitimate reason to not comply with the OCMCA license requirements to operate ALS units in the township and for this Board to take no corrective action for over 2+ years?  Are you suggesting that it is appropriate for the Board to not become involved in resolving this issue since 2015 because you do not want to distract the Township Manager from making a plan and recommendation?  Are you suggesting as Trustee Buxar remarked that we’ll “keep asking” in reference to Mr. Stuart developing a plan is sufficient action by this Board on such a critical issue?  This Board of Trustees has failed Oakland Township’s residents and first responders, and is complicit in operating our ALS units illegally.  This is not a personal attack, but a recognition of what has occurred between 2015 and 2018.

 

Based upon your inability to legally staff our ALS units, I strongly encourage you to seek assistance from the Oakland County Medical Control Authority to resolve any questions you may have relative to the requirements to operate ALS units in Oakland County so that they can clarify any issue that may be impeding your ability to take action.  I’m confident they will be very responsive to your questions and provide very clear direction.  I believe the OCMCA will advise you to either staff the ALS units with 1 paramedic + 1 EMT at all times or do not operate as an ALS service provider in Oakland County.  I suggest that if you do not want to provide compliant ALS service to the residents, that you explain this position in detail to the community so residents have an opportunity to provide feedback on how they feel about having advanced life support emergency capabilities in Oakland Township that meets State and Oakland County requirements.  Additionally, if the Township decides not to staff to legally operate ALS units, the OTFD will continue to be in an understaffed position to adequately respond to fires and execute home entry/rescue operations.  Today, most residents assume their elected leaders are following the law and providing ALS emergency services according to the license requirements and fire protection in line with NFPA guidelines.  It is not optional to operate ALS units in Oakland County with only 1 paramedic on-board and hope additional personnel will arrive on the scene in time.  It is misleading to represent that the OTFD can protect residents’ lives and property in fire situations where timely home entry/rescue is required.

 

In my opinion, the time for this Board to “keep asking” expired long ago.  It is time to stop asking and being complacent with public safety and to start taking immediate action.  I recommend a Special Meeting be called immediately to direct the Township Manager and Fire Chief to schedule Paid-On-Call EMT’s in combination with contract personnel to fill any schedule gaps to staff Station #1 and #2 ALS units with 1 paramedic and 1 EMT on a 24/7 schedule.  This is the minimum ALS operating license requirement.  I further recommend that you direct the Township Manager and Fire Chief Strelchuk to begin to hire 6 additional FTE’s to sustainably staff both ALS units, 24/7, with a minimum qualification of an EMT certification with a plan to upgrade the training and certification of these individuals to paramedic/firefighters over the next 12 months.  In my opinion, operating with volunteers and contract personnel is not a long term reliable staffing strategy.  The time for excuses and indecision has run out.  It is time to stop putting Oakland Township lives and first responders at risk.  Please protect the community you were elected to serve.

 

Sincerely,

 

Marty McQuade

Hills of Oakland

Oakland Township

 

cc:  Paul Strelchuk

Dan Kelly

 

 

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Here is Mr. McQuade’s earlier letter to Township Supervisor Bailey

 

December 10, 2017

 

 

Mr. Mike Bailey

Oakland Township Supervisor

4393 Collins Rd.

Rochester, Michigan 48306

 

 

Dear Mr. Bailey,

 

Oakland Township Emergency Response Deficiencies

 

I’m writing to you as a concerned resident. In my opinion, the Oakland Township Manager and Board of Trustees continue to put Oakland Township residents and first responders at significant risk regarding emergency services.  Their collective failure to provide minimum acceptable levels of qualified staffing for fire and emergency medical responses puts all residents and first responders at risk of life and property.

 

As you are aware, I provided a significant amount of volunteer consulting services to the Oakland Township Fire Department in support of developing a 10-year Strategic Operating Plan (SOP) in 2015.  The SOP highlighted key deficiencies in required emergency services manpower levels and response times.  The deficiencies are measured against the required Oakland County Medical Control Authority (OCMCA) staffing levels to operate Advanced Life Support (ALS) units within Oakland County and standards from the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) for firefighting.  In addition to these standards, the SOP benchmarking data of comparable surrounding communities highlighted Oakland Township’s emergency services staffing deficiencies.

 

The SOP was reviewed with the Board of Trustees’ Fire Sub-Committee consisting of Ms. Buxar, Mr. Ferriolo, and Mr. Giannangeli, and the Township Manager, Mr. Stuart, during 2015.  Additionally, residents and a consultant have recently highlighted the same deficiencies.  Unfortunately, Oakland Township management and leadership have seemingly ignored the required emergency services staffing requirements and the many warnings of staffing/response time deficiencies provided since at least 2015, if not before then.

 

The OCMCA standard requires licensed communities providing ALS service to staff each ALS unit at a minimum with 1 paramedic and 1 emergency medical technician (EMT) at all times.  Oakland Township’s ALS staffing fails to meet these standards and as a consequence significantly impacts response time and capabilities negatively.  The lack of having at least 2 qualified medical/firefighters on duty 24/7 at each station to operate each ALS unit and firefighting equipment places the first responders, distressed resident(s) and property at risk.

 

The approval and construction of the new Blossom Ridge and Carillon Creek developments, which we have been told will be predominantly occupied by the disabled, will create additional emergency services demand. Based upon the designed demographics of these new housing developments, the demand for emergency medical services will likely be at a higher frequency than the current Township average.  Considering this increasing demand for emergency services in the southwest district of the Township, please recognize that under the current staffing and locations of Station #1 and #2, it will not be sufficient to provide the required “90% Fractile” response times for these residents.  Perhaps Mr. Moceri recognized this response time deficiency for District #7 and therefore offered the land and building to place an ALS unit on the Carillon Creek property.  From a marketing perspective, Blossom Ridge and Carillon Creek developments do not need a cloud of inadequate emergency services hanging over the selling and leasing of these units.  From a common-sense perspective, these new developments of 300+ units primarily designed for the disabled require capable emergency services that are in compliance.

 

Oakland Township is not immune to the growing opioid crisis, medical emergencies in general, fires or vehicular accidents.  It is my opinion that it is only a matter of time until a fatal event happens in Oakland Township that may be viewed as preventable if the Township emergency response was staffed as required by the ALS operating license and NFPA guidelines.  A detailed discovery process as a part of a lawsuit likely would reveal the staffing/response time deficiencies, the significant paper trail highlighting these deficiencies, the knowledge of these deficiencies by Township leadership and witnesses to confirm these known deficiencies.  I encourage you to seek legal guidance on the risk of a negligence finding against  Oakland Township in the event of a wrongful death lawsuit, and the exposure to its’ taxpayers.

 

Mr. Bailey, as a resident with knowledge of the on-going staffing and response time deficiencies, I find it very concerning that management and leadership have failed to take the appropriate actions during the past 2+ years to adequately staff the Oakland Township Fire Department.  Excuses of the past, not wanting to place an increased millage on the ballot due to political concerns to fund the needed staffing, feigned calls of lack of knowledge of the standards, a view of immunity to law suits, or a position that Paid-On-Call (POC) staffing models as a component of the core staffing required to meet the OCMCA standards are all unacceptable.  Oakland Township first responders and residents deserve an emergency response service capable of providing at least minimum acceptable performance, and more appropriately, service and capability at least on par with other Oakland County communities.  Please stop ignoring the need to provide the staffing at each station with a minimum of 2 full time qualified employees 24/7 so that each ALS unit can respond to medical emergencies with the required staffing and our fire engines can respond immediately rather than waiting for POC members to arrive at the station before the units can proceed to the fire.  Oakland Township first responders want to save lives and properties.  Provide them with the resources so they can do their important public service safely and with the full capabilities to save lives.  Oakland Township residents and first responders rely on their elected officials to follow the laws, comply with emergency service standards and to provide the capability to adequately respond when the situation demands.  It’s time to take immediate action Mr. Bailey.

 

Sincerely,

 

Marty McQuade

Hills of Oakland

Oakland Township

 

cc:

 

Ms. Robin Buxar – Trustee

Mr. Frank Ferriolo – Trustee

Mr. John Giannangeli – Trustee

Mrs. Jeanne Langlois – Treasurer

Ms. Lana Mangiapane – Trustee

Mrs. Karen Reilly – Clerk

Mr. Dale Stuart – Township Manager

Mr. Paul Strelchuk – Fire Chief and Emergency Manager

Mr. Dan Kelly – Township Attorney