Public Safety

By Louie Arrollo

Public Safety needs include establishing a Gang Control Officer, replacing the existing downtown fire station as soon as possible, making plans for a future fire station on the West side of Ceres, and moving towards three person engine companies in the fire departmane.

Additionally I believe the investigation of graffiti, some of which is gang related, requires the same intensive investigation. It is not enough that we remove the graffiti by painting. The responsible persons must be identified and prosecuted in a criminal court. It's a known fact that the passive taggers of some years ago have turned into creatures of violence, some of which have aligned themselves with street gangs. The blight these taggers leave on public and private property cannot be tolerated.

As far as I'm concerned Ceres boasts one of the finest fire departments in the area, if not the state, for the amount of personnel so employed. Currently the City of Ceres has two fire stations. Station #1 is located in the downtown area, and Station #2 is on the North side of town. Currently studies are underway to determine the needs for fire suppression in the future, beginning with the location of fire stations. Station #1 has been obsolete for many years and is not large enough to house all of the equipment assigned to it. I believe that plans must be made to tear down the building at Station #1 and replace it with a new one very close to the original site as soon as possible. This station would become the main station with all the accompanying fire resources.

I believe while the City is looking at plans for replacing Station #1 we should also plan on building a fire station on the West side of Ceres and a timeline for completion considered. For the past several years considereable growth growth has occured on the West side. Additionally the Ceres Fire Department provides medical aid and fire suppression to the heavily populated County government offices, including the Stanislaus County Jail, all of which are located on the West side of the city. With the city being divided by a freeway it would only make sense to construct a fire station on that side of town.

I also believe in three person engine companies. I believe in the future cities will be mandated to field more than two endine companies. However, if Ceres is to provide quality fire suppression to its citizens and also provide for the safety of our fire personnel, then a proactive approach should be taken and resources provided. The City of Ceres should have at least a five year plan in place to show growth of a division and how that growth will be funded. It's not to say that funding will be immediately available to accommodate this. However, we must consider laying the foundation for reasonable expansion and work toward maturation of personnel.