By Nathan Prewett
For the Tribune
CENTER POINT – The Center Point City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to spend $50,000 for the purchase of a Lifepak and building materials for a new facility where fire district firefighters can safely store turnout gear.
A Lifepak is a vital signs monitors and external cardiac defibrillators that constantly monitors heart rates and alerts users to sudden changes.
At the council’s July 13 meeting, Center Point Fire Chief Donnie West requested the council provide building materials for a structure called a “decompress room” where suits can be stored away from diesel fumes.
District Capt. West Ward told the council that studies suggest there is a correlation between diesel fume contamination on firefighter’s gear and incidents of skin cancer.
Center Point Fire District officials said they would themselves provide labor for the facility’s construction.
Also at the July 13 council meeting, West asked the council to purchase a Lifepak for his the fire district.
Mayor Tom Henderson said on Friday the machine requested will cost about $35,000
The additional $15,000 the council awarded to the fire district will be used for the building materials used to construct the decompress room.
“You cannot put a price on a life,” said Councilor Linda Kennemer. She added that the having the Lifepac may help the fire district to preserve its ISO rating, keeping citizens’ insurance rates from increasing.
The council also voted on Thursday to consider reimbursement for installation of clear polycarbonate at an empty building and to implement fencing and railing for Hillcrest Manor. Henderson said the owner of the empty building may be reimbursed for the installation of the polycarbonate. However, the city officials have not yet made a decision on this matter.
photo by Bethany Adams
During pre-council, Henderson said that the polycarbonate would replace the plywood that had been set on windows. The plywood would be unsafe for police or firemen as they will not be able to see inside in case of an emergency, he said.
The polycarbonate can only be taken out from the inside and not from the outside so potential intruders can’t get inside the building. It would also give more of an appearance of occupation, which the council said would improve the aesthetic of the city.
Henderson said that the polycarbonate on the building would serve as a test to see how effective it is before being used for other buildings.
During public comments heard at the meeting, Center Point resident Joyce Ashley asked the council how much the polycarbonate cost. Henderson said that it was twice the amount of the plywood, which was more than $500.
Also during public comments, Center Point resident Billy Hagood addressed invoices for the law firms, Spain and Gillon, LLC and Russo, White and Keller P.C. listed on the consent agenda. The billing amounted to $22,230.93 and $5,805 respectively.
Hagood asked if the city had a list of the hours that the law firms billed and why the legal services were needed. Council President Roger Barlow said this was proprietary information. However, Hagood disagreed.
Barlow then said that the number of hours billed was 79 and 105.
Also on Thursday, the council accepted a bid from Ensley Ornamental Iron to install fences and railing at the Hillcrest Manor, formally known as the Patterson House. The company bid $15,500 for the job, beating Allen Iron Works and Apple Fence.
In other business, the council voted to install all-way stop signs at a section of Hillcrest Road. Barlow said it is difficult for people to see oncoming traffic coming from nearby Karey Drive. Officials believe the signs may help alleviate this problem. The council also unanimously approved executing a right of way on Polly Reed Road as part of a project for road improvements.
Funding for the Civitan Park in Center Point, a matter discussed at the most recent meeting of the council, was not brought up Thursday. After the meeting, Henderson said that there have been no official updates and that the leadership at the Civitan Park Association may be discussing what to do.
The next Center Point Council meeting will be held on Aug. 10. Pre-council will be held at 6:45 p.m. followed by the regular meeting at 7 p.m.
2 Comments
Kevin Small
The utter disdain and disrespect Barlow and Henderson have for their citizens never ceases to amaze me.
Wake up Center Point voters before it’s too late.
Annette Stansell
I did everything I could do to inform the residents of Center Point about corruption in our local government only to learn some residents/voters will turn on you. My information was obtained from hours of research & legal documents. “City of” on the CP Fire Dept CP Parkway is intentional & deliberate to mislead & deceive the residents. Once again, the Center Point Fire Dept is a BUSINESS & has absolutely nothing/zero to do with the “City” of Center Point except one of their multiple business locations is located on CP Parkway. The mayor & council approved the city obtaining a grant for a “saferoom” to be built while the city residents has lost lives due to past tornadoes. Why did the elected leaders put a private business before the safety welfare of citizens? How did a private business obtain legal consent to build a private business bldg on “leased” property? Has anyone viewed their “sublease?” The mayor & council allowed council King to vote on giving huge amounts of taxpayer’s monies, a truck plus to the fire dept although King is a retired employee of the fire dept. Would this be unethical since he is retired from the fire dept?. The same goes for Barlow & Kennemur voting on tea party issues while Barlow’s wife & Kennemur were members of the auxilary. Council members were approving hundreds of thousands of dollars yet NOT ONE council member asked to review the contracts prior to approval. Pleasant demeanors, rubbing elbows, favortism, discrimination, turning heads & secret handshakes has destroyed Center Point, once was a great place to live.