Public Works Building

The previous council borrowed $6 million for several capital projects; skate park, south side drainage, sidewalk replacement, and a new public works building. While I have mixed feelings about borrowing the money, I decided I would not oppose these projects since funding was secured by the previous council and I didn’t run to undo things started by previous councils.

Let me step back a moment and explain that this money is borrowed money and is already deposited in the capital fund. An often misunderstood factor about the city budget is there are several funds that have specific laws and requirements. Only certain expenses qualify for many of the funds. It is illegal to use money from the capital fund for salaries of employees not working on capital projects. We cannot use this money to pay for police salaries. We cannot loan this money to the ailing general fund.

The money was already borrowed prior to me being elected. I want to make sure these projects get done as economically as possible. I want to make sure these projects are completed and money spent in the best interest of the community. This is why I have argued for sidewalk projects to be completed by city crews instead of contracting them out. Capital funds would qualify for these crews’ salaries while they are working on sidewalk projects. This would have relieved some pressure on the general fund.

Now that the skate park and sidewalk projects have been settled, the Public Works building will soon be brought to the front.

The Public Works department is scattered in several buildings all around town. These buildings were not built for their current use which leads them to be inefficient. Many currently need hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of repairs and upgrades. Some need torn down altogether. The city lacks proper storage for its equipment and is losing its storage space for its winter salt. The engineering department is housed in the old water department building and lacks phone or internet access.

The thought is by centralizing the department; it will run more efficiently by not having crews driving all over town to retrieve the necessary equipment to complete a job. The city would save money on energy efficient building rather than heating several 100 year old buildings. And the city would save on maintenance and longevity of equipment by being able to store them away from the elements.

I have asked to see a feasibility study on this project. The reasons listed above sound plausible, but is a new building the best solution for the problems? How much maintenance would have to be put into existing buildings? Could they be used more efficiently? Is there other office space where the engineering crew could work from? Could equipment be stored in a three sided shed? Can we estimate savings on utilities, productivity improvements, and equipment replacement? Is there grant money available?

I’d like to see a list of goals the city wishes to achieve and find the most cost effective way to meet those goals. If that is building a new public works building, then lets get on with it. But if the money could be spent more wisely and achieve most of the same goals, we should consider other alternatives.

ALS Ambulance Service

By state law, a municipality is responsible for the ambulatory care of their community. Mattoon mostly handles this by licensing and regulating private ambulance companies. In recent years, the Mattoon Fire Department has been operating as a backup with a Basic Life Support ambulance, and recently upgraded that ambulance to Advanced Life Support.

The city’s ambulance service should be used for emergency care only. Non-emergency transfers should, and will be left to the private firms. As long as there are two private companies in town, I have reservations on whether the city should enter the rotation. I can’t think of anytime where there have been three companies in rotating coverage.

My position on this is the same as it was during the election. If the City of Mattoon goes into the ambulance business, three conditions must be met.
1. It must improve public safety.
2. It won’t lose the city money.
3. It won’t put existing companies out of business.

Before the second ambulance company came to town, Mattoon was relying on Charleston for backup ambulance service. They were called 4-5 times per week. They were usually cancelled in route as another ambulance was freed up, but there shouldn’t be such a gap in service. There are many emergencies where minutes count. It can take up to 20 minutes for Charleston to get here. That is a long time to a heart attack patient.

The city has worked with the union to train six more paramedics. This would give MFD enough trained personnel to staff two ALS ambulances. The decision to purchase a second ambulance has not been made. But if one of the existing companies closes, the gap must be able to be filled immediately. It takes two years to train paramedics. We cannot rely on Charleston for two years.

It is the city’s responsibility to make sure we are covered with adequate ambulance service. Communities across the state and nation are increasingly running ambulance services in conjunction with their fire departments. As long as there are two companies in town, I don’t believe the city should or will enter the rotation of regular ambulance service.