Page 3 - The Friday Flyer • September 18, 2015

SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
THE FRIDAY FLYER A-3
There is no gold at the end of this rainbow – yet. The big doors are still closed and probably won't open for another year. But the City is still working on a municipal fire depart- ment that one day will be housed here. In the mean- time, Council on Tuesday approved two contracts that would allow neighboring County Fire stations to once again serve Canyon Lake. (This photo was taken by Bob Ireland in August 2014.)
Contracts approved for County Fire Services
BY SHARON RICE
EDITOR, THE FRIDAY FLYER
Fire Station 60 won’t be manned any time soon; however, residents no longer will have to rely solely on American Medical Response (AMR) for medical emergencies if the neighboring cities of Lake Elsinore and Menifee agree to the two contracts for Fire Services that the Canyon Lake City Council approved Tuesday night.
The first contract between the City of Canyon Lake and the County of Riv- erside – a “Cooperative Agreement to Provide Fire Protection, Fire Preven- tion, Rescue and Medical Emergency Services for the City of Canyon Lake” – allows for Fire Services to be provided by Stations 94 and 97 in Lake Elsinore and Station 5 in Menifee (Quail Valley)
for a period of one year.
As part of the agreement, the City
would be paying for a total of five per- sonnel divided between the cities of Lake Elsinore and Menifee, as well as administrative positions and support for the County of Riverside.
The second contract – “Cooperative Cost Sharing Agreement Between the City of Canyon Lake, the City of Lake Elsinore, the City of Menifee and the County of Riverside to Provide Fire Ser- vices in the City of Canyon Lake” – is a four-party agreement that outlines the way the costs and payments are split be- tween the parties. The estimated cost to the City of Canyon Lake is $1,148,268 for 12 months of service.
Canyon Lake’s contract with Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire expired June
30, 2015 and County Fire withdrew its personnel from Station 60 after the City Council refused to renew the contract for budgetary reasons.
Since July 1, the City has been oper- ating under a State of Local Emergency that saw fire engine response coming from as far away as Murrieta, Perris and Corona, while an ad hoc commit- tee made up of Council members Dawn Haggerty and Vicki Warren worked with City Manager Ariel Hall, Interim Fire Chief Mike Wilson and outside fire pro- fessionals to begin putting together a municipal fire department.
Another action that took place Tues- day was to change the ad hoc commit- tee to a standing committee, which al- lows more flexibility with the public and greater transparency. Now residents will
know when the committee is meeting and will see a posted agenda. Members of the community will be able to attend meetings.
Dawn and Vicki announced Tuesday that they are close to having a first draft ready for review by the Finance Com- mittee and the City Council. Dawn says that, while she is not happy about hav- ing to sign a contract with County for a full 12 months, (commencing at final approval of the contracts), it will give the City time to create a quality depart- ment.
Most people in attendance at Tues- day’s meeting were pleased to see the contracts approved and look forward to once again having fire and medical response from the neighboring sta- tions.
Residents prepare for drought, El Niño . . .
ttFROM PAGE A1
drains and pruning large trees.
What else should Canyon Lakers do to be prepared for El Niño? “Flooding is the most expensive natural disaster in the United States,” says Olivia Humilde, FEMA’s Mitigation Outreach Specialist. “We all know that mother nature will do her thing, and you can’t really control
it.” But you can prepare for it. Residents can identify their flood
risk by entering their address at www. floodsmart.com. They also can talk to their neighbors to find out what hap- pened in their neighborhood during the heavy rains of 1998 and 2005, es- pecially since Canyon Lake homes are built on many different elevations, situ- ated above and below other homes and empty lots. In 1998, the ground became
so saturated that water actually seeped through the walls of some homes with rooms below ground level.
If there appears to be a risk, consider flood insurance. Most homeowners’ in- surance policies don’t cover flooding so, if it’s felt to be a consideration, now is the time to buy it. Policies usually take 30 days to go into effect.
This week’s issue of The Friday Flyer looks at surviving the drought.
Future issues will look at surviving the storms.
In the meantime, residents will want to check out www.rivcoready. org, “Ready In 30.” Each day during the month of September (National Pre- paredness Month), the County of River- side’s Emergency Management Depart- ment is providing a tip or suggestion on being prepared for El Niño and other disasters.
THE FRIDAY FLYER
Volume 34 Number 38
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