Village president candidate Jenny talks Station 13

As a sitting Glenview trustee and a candidate for Glenview Village President in the upcoming April election, I feel it is important to put forward the key approaches and philosophies that will help guide our board and our village for the next four years. My intention is to establish a series of ongoing communications as an important component of our campaign as well as a precursor to a transparent administration. I want community members to know who I am and how I treat people, as well as my leadership style and approach.

In the coming weeks you will hear more about the core services we will provide, as well as our focus on responsible fiscal stewardship, our obligation to collaborate with all Glenview residents and our commitment to continued transparency and engagement. I am thankful for the robust discussion and input from residents and business owners across our community, as that engagement is essential to getting us to the best possible solutions for Glenview going forward.

First, I would like to address recent public discussions about our fire department's communitywide service levels. By way of background, the Village Board conducted a thorough review of service data over a period of two years, that identified a substantially increased need for ambulance services. Currently, more than 65 percent of emergency calls are for emergency medical care. In short, as a community we have fewer structure fires and more need for ambulances than we did several years ago. The movement of Fire Station 6 from its former location on Glenview Road near the railroad tracks to its current location on Waukegan Road dramatically improved efficiency levels, as well; for example, instead of waiting for trains to cross they now simply go under the train tracks at Lake Avenue to get to western areas of the village. Systemwide, we are also using technology such as priority dispatch and automatic vehicle locating to improve efficiency and service levels. Finally, the village owns a fire truck that is stationed in Northfield and is used to support Glenview when we need it.

In the service improvement plan, the number of fire and medical responders employed will remain unchanged and the number of ambulance teams will increase from two to four, which will provide around-the-clock, 24-hour service. In other words, we will be providing two additional ambulances available for overnight responses, including a newly assigned 24-hour ambulance, centrally located in the Village, that will provide improved response to the entire community.

Our goal is to enable the fire department to better match current personnel with the equipment appropriate for the most common types of emergencies to keep Glenview safe. The plan also aims to make the department more versatile, provide relief to other ambulance crews in Glenview and improve overall service for the safety of the community. Currently, resources at Station 13 are called out for service approximately 25 minutes a day and account for approximately 4.5 percent of the department's total calls. The new plan attempts to better maximize those resources by placing staff and ambulances where they can be more effectively utilized. No fire trucks will be removed from the fleet and we have not yet decided on any course of action for the Station 13 building.

Public safety is critical and will remain our top priority; we will monitor how these improvements are implemented while continuing the same high levels of service our residents have become accustomed to. As leaders in the next term, we will carry forward Glenview's tradition of using a data-driven approach in conjunction with expert opinions - and in cooperation with the Village's department heads and public input - to maintain core service levels and public safety while providing thoughtful and responsible fiscal stewardship.

Michael Jenny

Glenview