Seems that District I Council Member Joaquin Martinez has started parroting Whitmire. Wonder what other tricks Whitmire will teach him.
Regarding a fire truck that does not fit in the fire station, Martinez blamed the previous administration.
A $1.5 million firetruck is sitting idle, not because its broken, but because it doesn’t fit inside the fire station it was intended to serve.
At Fire Station 61, which was built in the 1960s, the fire department has struck a problem. Station 61 is near the corner of Almeda Genoa and Monroe.
“It is a little disappointing that the previous administration did not make sure that these trucks were going to fit,” Councilmember Joaquin Martinez learning that a firetruck purchased years ago is not going to its intended station.
According to the Houston Fire Department, they received the truck back on June 9. In a statement, HFD says “while the ladder truck fits in the bay door, the clearances are narrow, and when combined with the grade of the driveway, it is currently unfeasible to keep the ladder truck in service at this location.”
This means the $1.5 million investment is now just sitting in storage, but the existing ladder truck is still at the station.
Typically, the lead time on purchasing new firetrucks is two to three years.
KHOU 11 asked Councilman Martinez how this may change the purchasing process moving forward.
”We purchased old solid waste vehicles, heavy trucks that are now, you know been diminishing a lot quicker,” Martinez said. “We are looking at doing things correctly the first time and not having to come back and retrofit something because of, something that was a mishap or just overlooked.”
First, I don’t understand why a fire truck is unusable because it is out in the weather. Like many Houstonians, I don’t place my vehicles in the garage, but I still use them. What makes those fire trucks so special that they must be covered to be usable? Are they like the Wicked Witch of the West and melt if water falls on them?
Second, why would the community not have to worry? What did they have to worry about before he went crying to the media about a previous administration?
Third, if Joaquin Martinez cares that much about the community, why hasn’t he done anything about the Greyhound Station that they stuck in his district? What is the parrot doing to help the people of that neighborhood?
Fourth, if Martinez needs to publicize himself, let him find something really important other than bad-mouthing a previous administration. Martinez did work for the last member council member, maybe it is Martinez’s fault as well?
