For the past few years, the Oakland Township Board has been trying to ensure that Oakland Township has adequate Fire and Emergency Service personnel to meet the needs of the Township, and the Oakland County Medical Control Authorities response time guidelines. The Township currently is not meeting those County guidelines. Earlier this year, the Board authorized the hiring of additional part time and paid on call firefighters to try and meet the County guidelines. The majority of the Board was opposed to hiring any additional full time staff. We are still not meeting the County guidelines.
At the December 11, 2018 Oakland Township Board meeting, the Township Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, and our Township Manager will be proposing hiring three full time fire fighters with advanced life support certification. They also are asking the the Board to consider building a new fire station closer to the high density population area of our Township.
Given the Board’s past reluctance to support the hiring of additional full time staff, resident input could have a significant impact on the decision they make. I would encourage as many citizens as possible (especially the seniors in our community) attend meeting and listen to the presentation of the Township Manager and Fire Chief. There will be an opportunity for citizens to provide their input.
Here is an excerpt of their presentation:
The full presentation can be seen by clicking on the attached link:
Township Manager and Fire Chief proposal
The December 11th meeting time and location are:
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: 4393 Collins Road
Why this is important to the citizens of Oakland Township? The level of Fire and Emergency personnel available to respond to emergency events can truly be a life saving decision. We have empowered our elected officials to make that decision on our behalf. The Township experts in this area are making recommendations that previously were not supported by the majority of our Township Board. Your input may help them make an informed decision.
Richard Michalski
Oakland Township Watchers 
If you present the facts to them. I don’t see why you can’t charge them with manslaughter if they fail to keep the citizens safe.
It seemed odd to me that we needed to unionize the FD. I never heard of any untoward labor practices. Also, the timing of when the runs are, should be considered for staffing levels.
If you think that the cost of building a new station and adding the pay and benefits are a lot, then you will be pleased to know that the Road Commission of Oakland County has cut a “deal” to charge OT ONLY $700,000, to put in an unneeded roundabout at Adams and Gunn roads. They have questionable statistics to back up their claims. It seems we should not be concerned, because the bulk of the $3M cost will come out of free state and federal tax monies. The Twp cannot afford this hit in 1 year.|
The icing on the project is that they will CLOSE Adams road for 3 months. The 1200 cars/day on Gunn will have to find another way to get to Adams. The golf course patrons, too. Everyone north of Gunn will only have the “minor” inconvenience of joining 8,000+ other cars taking Tienken> Rochester>Orion roads- at rush hours! The Kroger mall is going to die from less traffic, Rochester & Rochester Hills, will have a major traffic and public safety problem, and all done in the name of low cost maintenance and perceived safety.
The most obvious solution to the safety issue is a traffic light with no turns on red signs. Used to cost $150k, but RCOC said it was too much for that little intersection. It would now cost $250k to build it the way they like now. Good stewards of public tax money do NOT spend $3M on a $250k problem!
When a temporary construction bypass on 1 side of the intersection was suggested, followed by switching sides to get the other side built, they were astounded that a mere citizen could come up with such a common sense plan and immediately ignored it. The RCOC is out of citizen control. They forget that they work for the taxpayers and are supposed to help, not obstruct the lives and businesses of residents, under such dubious plans.