UPDATE: CHIEF PETERSON RESPONDS - MAY 18, 2009 AT 2:00 PMMartin: ...You know through our conversations that no one wants to see the delivery of 911 emergency dispatching services improved more than me.
I have worked very hard at great personal sacrifice to see that happen.
But the plan to do that has shifted once again. Not by me, but by those placed in positions to make it happen. I base my beliefs on facts and my personal experiences having constructed, designed, equipped, and staffed the current emergency communications center which provides services to 20 fire, law, and emergency agencies in Stark and Portage County.
It is my job to advise my Board and make recommendations based on real information ...
And as far as not getting the director's job, Ive made it clear that Mr. Mark Busto (the current RED Center Director) was the most qualified for the county 911/dispatch position and he didn't even get a second interview before the hiring committee. I have a job. I run a communications center today. I was asked to apply to add legitimacy to the process.
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ORIGINAL STORY BELOW
Not too long ago Nimishillen fire chief Rich Peterson was a top level candidate to be Stark County Central Dispatch re-work project manager.
However, the person who the SCPR thinks 9-1-1 committee chair (Stark County Council of Governments - SCOG) had promised the job to was Canton safety director Tom Nesbitt.
Nesbitt is on his way out (being pushed out by Mayor Healy - in the opinion of the SCPR) as safety director. Yours truly believes Gonzalez cut a deal with Healy to take a problem (in terms of not being a "yes man" for the Mayor) off his hands. But Gonzalez had not counted on Stark County commissioner Todd Bosley being so strong for his man.
Bosley's man?
Yes, Commissioner Todd Bosley has long had strong ties to Peterson from the days that Bosley was a Nimishillen Township trustee.
Bosley pushed hard, hard, hard for Peterson but was forced to compromise with Gonzalez on for Safety Director Joseph Concatto who served in the Janet Creighton administration.
Now we learn that Peterson has convinced Nimishillen Township trustees to pull out of the SCOG 9-1-1 effort at last week's trustee meeting.
No wonder Stark County cannot make much consolidation progress. Folks like Peterson are fine with merging operations as long as he is in charge. Peterson is the personification of turfism in Stark County.
Nimishillen's pullout is a blow to SCOG and Bosley. The exit makes it much more difficult for Bosley et al defeat the 1/2% sales/use tax repeal effort if it makes it to the ballot.
Why?
Because it is beginning to look like it is a real possibility that the SCOG 9-1-1 project will not fly.
Other local governments are taking a long, hard look at whether or not they are going to participate in the effort. If others go official, then the project is likely dead.
The SCPR believes it would be a political blow to Bosley if the 9-1-1 reconfiguration fails. His main campaign theme in the 2006 election campaign was: guess what?
Yes, fixing Stark's broken 9-1-1 system.
Stay tuned.
There are interesting days ahead on the SCOG 9-1-1 project.
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