Janis Van Zanten’s letter fascinated me. I appreciate when the authors of letters to the editor do their research and can comment intelligently. I am amazed by the ones that act like gophers and pop up on the rare occasion with no information to back up their fabrications.

As a former member of the County Service Area 38 [Advisory Committee], she should know better. After she resigned, I never saw her at another meeting or an IFPD meeting. She has the popular misunderstanding that the $94,000 Pine Cove CSA 38 contract with IFPD is for ambulance and EMT service.

It is and it isn’t.

It’s for transportation with fast response time. CAL FIRE provides the EMT.

With the unilateral dropping of the ambulance service contract, IFPD is throwing away the much needed $94,000 enhanced response time money from Pine Cove. With mutual aid, this may mean that either IFPD or AMR will respond, charging the standard transportation fees they charge everyone but not the $94,000.

Pine Cove residents voted in a tax to pay for enhanced response, much like the tax Idyllwild residents chose to defeat the last election. Who supports the ambulance service of IFPD more? Those who choose to tax themselves to provide finances or those who don’t?

Since another ambulance company will have to serve Zones 2 and 3, why would we need IFPD at all?

Each month CAL FIRE has to bail them out with paramedic service as well as fire assistance. We need a well-organized, Hill-wide ambulance service not this higglety-pigglety plan that is at the whim of folks who want something for nothing and others who can’t realize that throwing away money won’t balance the budget.

The complaining that Ms. Van Zanten mentions has been residents pointing out to IFPD that if you don’t provide the staff, only one ambulance can be used, and the contract calls for two fully staffed ambulances on duty. This falls on deaf ears.

Pine Cove residents who attend IFPD meetings keep trying to get them to understand that both sides need to honor contracts. Pine Cove comes up with money but IFPD doesn’t come up with the staff.

I also wonder at her statement, “Get over yourselves and get back to negotiations.” I take this to mean, “I want this, so YOU do it.” If a person wants something to happen that individual needs to get involved.

She used to be involved and it would be nice for her to return to public service.

Nancy Borchers
Pine Cove