The special study and discussion “County Vehicles and Motorized Equipment” published on 24 January was well timed to coincide with budget development and apparently of interest because of the public response we received:
1 – A copy of a Springsted Incorporated, Richmond Virginia, Final Report, EMS and Fires (sic) Services Plan, Essex County, June 14, 2010 was received by ESO. The report was addressed to the Chair of the Board of Supervisors and appears to be the product of a study/report that was prepared at the request of the Board. It doesn’t appear that it was ever made public but it addresses a number of the concerns that were identified in our 24 Jan blog. Questions arise about the study:
Was this a sole source contract or was it requested through an RFP?
What was the full cost of the Study?
Why it was not made public?
Which, if any of the recommendations have be implemented?
Will the Board of Supervisors please explain this at their next meeting?
The Report can be reviewed in its entirety at:
http://www.essexsunshine.org/pdflib/essex-ems-fs-plan.pdf
2 – A copy of the Virginia Fire Services Board (VA FSB) “A Report of Findings and Recommendations: County of Middlesex Fire & EMS Study” dated February 2011 was received by EssexSunshine.Org. In the January 24 blog, we had suggested that Essex County request the VA FSB to study and evaluate the Emergency Services Capabilities of Essex County. A study by VA FSB is provided pursuant to the Code of Virginia § 9.1-203.A.4 and is apparently performed at no cost to the requesting jurisdiction.
The Middlesex Fire & EMS Study has not been placed on line to our knowledge and ESO has not requested permission to reproduce the Report. It is our opinion that it is comprehensive analysis of the organization, funding, personnel, and training of the fire and ems providers. It contains detailed recommendations which could be implemented immediately or prioritized for implementation when funding, staffing, or administrative actions were available.
We previously recommended that a new study by the Virginia Fire Services Board be requested.
What action will the BOS take?
Will they inform the public if they request a new study?
If a study is requested, will they publish the study as soon as it is completed?
3 – We were asked about a rumor that at a recent Board of Supervisors Meeting it was reported that Essex Public Schools was operating 3 unsafe School Busses. I have been at most of the recent BOS and School Board meeting. Other members of ESO have been at many of those meetings too. None of us recall any report of unsafe school busses being used to transport students.
At the most recent School Board meeting, in conjunction with the development of the FY2015 Budget, a discussion of the decision to seek funding for 2 replacement busses (more on this later). As part of discussion a comprehensive report on the number and condition of the busses was provided by the EPS Director of Transportation. There are 3 old school busses which do not have roof hatches which are required for all new bus purchases. The busses were reported to be in good condition and have passed the annual safety inspections.
It appears that the rumor is a garbled retelling of a detailed fact based report by individuals who had not attended the meeting. Facts are important (and often overlooked or ignored) – it would benefit our entire community if more of the public were to attend the BOS and SB meetings and to actively participate in the governance of our community.
The Superintendent and the Essex County Public Schools have prepared a comprehensive and transparent budget which proposes the first step in a school bus replacement program with the acquisition of. The Transportation Director has provided a comprehensive presentation on the school bus fleet. Perhaps an additional worthwhile step would be to establish a “School Transportation” section within the new web site. That section could be updated periodically with an inventor of all public school vehicles including their date of manufacture, mileage, condition, and proposed replacement date.
As a closing comments:
1. ESO fully supports the thoughtful planning and budgeting for the future replacement or upgrading of all (county and school) vehicles, motorized equipment, technology devices and major systems and subsystems for communications, lighting, hvac, plumbing, food service equipment, and interior and exterior maintenance.
2. ESO does not have the data to evaluate the cost benefit between purchasing and leasing decisions. While leasing can reduce first year cash flow, it may not be the optimal solution to upgrades or replacements. We suggest that the cost benefit analysis of the school bus replacement be included in the proposed School Board Budget.
John Clickener – Editor of this article, Publisher of ESO
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