It all started and ended in heated debate. The Point Montara and Half Moon Bay Fire Protection Districts met for another special meeting to address the two districts desire, or lack thereof, to merge into a single district.
The only problem is that it appears neither board can agree on anything these days - except to agree to disagree.
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PMFPD has for months repeated the concerns it has with its contract with HMBFPD, which provides fire services and management of the PMFPD. Its directors say they are being overcharged for administration of their district and that rising costs are driving it into dangerous debt.
Because it has repeatedly brought these concerns forward for months with no resolution, PMFPD board President Bruce MacKimmie followed the contract's protocol and put his concerns and recommendations in writing to the HMBFPD board.
His recommendations weren't well received at the meeting, and labor took serious concern with his request for layoffs.
MacKimmie was out of town on vacation, so he wasn't able to respond to the criticism immediately.
Nonetheless, his letter and comments quickly led the two districts down a very familiar path of divisiveness.
There are two diametrically opposed camps in this debacle. The HMBFPD board is looking for a commitment by the PMFPD board to pursue consolidation, something it did unanimously back in January.
The PMFPD board, however, is still concerned with the contract and what it perceives as unfair costs associated with the fire services and management agreement. Because it's had these concerns for so long, the PMFPD board is unwilling to commit to consolidation without assurance that these issues will be resolved.
Moreover, it wants action.
"I think you're hearing everything we're saying, but I don't see you taking any action," PMFPD Director Ginny McShane told the HMBFPD board.
Former firefighter Lane Lees, who has filed a lawsuit against the HMBFPD alleging he was retaliated against and forced into early retirement, offered a popular analogy.
He referred to the potential merge as a wedding. You don't plan for a wedding before you're sure you want to get married, he said.
"You need to know you can get together beforehand," he added.
"I'm not sure if I'm even engaged to get married. I'm flirting with the idea" to consolidate, McShane said. "I really do feel right now that there's a lot of bad blood between the boards."
Since the PMFPD is actively pursuing alternatives, such as contracting with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Fire Chief Jim Asche agreed with Lees' analogy, adding it's like leaving the groom at the altar while the bride pursues other options.
CDF will be making a presentation at the PMFPD meeting in August.
"At this point I just feel like backing off on this," HMBFPD board president Tim Moran
said.
"Some of these are issues I brought forward three years ago and they're still not resolved," PMFPD Director Gary Riddell said as he took heat for not committing to consolidation. "I wasn't elected as a board member to bankrupt the district. To make up these budget shortfalls we have to do something drastic."
The PMFPD is $150,000 in the red, while the HMBFPD is short anywhere from $250,000 to $400,000, depending on who is supplying the figures.
Riddell said numerous times that he wouldn't be serving on the board if he didn't think it was in the community's best interest for both districts to work together as one.
But, "I don't like this contract," he said. "Our costs are exceeding, are really outstripping our income."
In a move that will further delay dialogue on consolidation, the two boards voted to hire a neutral facilitator to help steer both boards toward that aim. They've tentatively scheduled an Aug. 3 meeting for those discussions, but that leaves only two weeks for a facilitator to be found, reviewed, hired and scheduled for that time.
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