In a move that may help speed emergency help, the Leon Valley City Council approved the purchase of responder accountability equipment and patient handling equipment at its last meeting. The cost of the equipment - $37,394 - will be reimbursed from a State Homeland Security grant. Leon Valley Fire Chief Stan C. Irwin said the system should be up and running soon. “The equipment has been on order,” Irwin said. “I expect within the next couple of weeks the system will be ready to go.”

Irwin said that time and safety would be the key benefits of having a controller system when there’s an emergency in need of a fire truck or an ambulance. “The system is important for the safety of firefighters answering emergency calls,” Irwin said. “It will also help us get to the victims sooner.”

In case of a fire emergency, a signal would be sent to a traffic controller. Traffic controllers will be located at the intersections of Huebner and Evers roads and along Bandera Road at Reindeer Street, Huebner Road, Wurzbach Road, Loop 410, Shadow Mist, Grissom, El Verde, Timco, Seneca and Poss. “Fire trucks will be able to go up and down Bandera Road handily with this equipment,” Irwin said. The nearby medical center doesn’t have a timer system, but Irwin said he hoped that’s in the near future. “I think San Antonio might be using us as a test bed,” Irwin said. “Access to the medical center would be a good marriage.”

In other business, the council tabled action on approving additional monies for the Huebner Creek project. The planned improvements would lower Huebner Creek, so southbound lanes on Bandera Road won’t flood when it rains. Recent rains delayed work on the project. The project’s contractor, R.L. Jones Ltd., has asked for an additional $35,000 to offset the cost of the delays. Jones was contracted by the city to construct Huebner Creek channel improvements below the point where the Texas Department of Transportation contractor’s work terminates. TxDOT’s work has been delayed due to difficulties related to utility adjustments.

Interim Public Works Director Fred Stolz said if the project were terminated, and had to be bid out again, it would cost considerably more. “Is R.L. Jones holding us hostage?” Councilman Art Reyna asked. “We’re giving them $35,000 to wait?” However, Councilwoman Liz Maloy said the request for the money was reasonable. “This is not the fault of R.L. Jones,” Maloy said. “Jones hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s not a precise science. It doesn’t take too much to throw a project off schedule. This is fair. It’s the way you do business.”

Councilman Marcus Semmelmann, meanwhile, said he didn’t like paying the $35,000. “But it’s the only choice we have,” he said. Stolz said the project was required to improve the channel hydraulics around the recently related City Public Service electrical tower. “The delays are expected to continue through December, and Mr. Jones has requested additional compensation that would allow him to pursue other work until utility adjustments through the area are completed,” Stolz said.

City officials expected the work to be completed by December but, because of the delays, it now might not be finished until Jan. 8, 2007. Council tabled taking action until Dec. 7, unless Mayor Chris Riley calls a special meeting before then. Funding for the project and the additional $35,000 change order would come from the CPS Energy conversion fund.