Council to receive update on hazardous material services
The Porterville City Council is awaiting a decision in Visalia that could determine who the city contracts with to provide hazardous material responses.
An informational item on Tuesday’s Council agenda says its contract with the City of Visalia expires June 30, when an existing collaboration between the cities and Tulare County — all serviced by Visalia’s Hazardous Materials Response Team — could be disbanded because the county reportedly plans to withdraw.
In November, for the first time, the county and its eight incorporated cities began subsidizing half of the annual operating costs of Visalia’s team, which had determined that it could no longer provide the services at no cost. The subsidies are set to expire June 30, when an alternative funding source was supposed to be identified, most likely through the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), administered by the county.
Porterville paid $6,000 for the six month contract.
But according to the agenda, on March 23, a Tulare County Fire Department Chief told Visalia’s City Manager that the County no longer wanted to participate using CUPA, and would be contracting with Fresno City Fire and Kern County Fire for responses.
It is up to the Visalia City Council to determine whether it will extend new contracts to the cities.
According to City Manager John Lollis, it would cost the City about $1 million to create its own hazardous material team. Instead, he said the city will contract with another agency to provide the services if Visalia is no longer an option.
The City Council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Council Chambers in City Hall, located at 291 N. Main St. To access the agenda, visit www.ci.porterville.ca.us/govt/citycouncil/agendas, or by visit the City Clerk desk in City Hall.
