Bars On Windows

By Steven P. "Steve" Kennedy

If ever there was a thorny political problem, this is the one.

If ever there was a thorny political problem then this is the one. Crime, arson, drug dealing, teen age promiscuity, AIDS, poverty, apathy, affluence and bureaucracy are all factors in this dilemna.

This problem has its roots in historically high crime rates in East Palo Alto where residents have installed window bars to protect life, health and property. And then along came a fatal fire on Fordham Street in 1997 where window bars and vicious dogs conspired to block escape and rescue.... and the MPFD knew that something had to be done.

The Menlo Park Fire District applied for a grant from the Peninsula Community Foundation and by 2003, a contractor working out of Custom Metal in Oakland was hard at work, removing permanent (fixed) window bars and installing latch release (hand or foot pedal operated) window bars. Each house was done at no cost to the resident and the contractor earned $500 to $800 dollars per house from the grant account.

The catch was that the contractor had to be licensed and bonded and willing to endure the miles of red tape and the endless bureaucratic delays. Few contractors were willing to do this when the big money and the easy money was in Atherton and up town Menlo Park doing kitchen remodeling. And then the sole contractor moved to Southern California, leaving the program dead in the water and the residents high and dry.

As of October, 2005, there was at least $30,000 in the account, enough for 40 or 50 homes. According to Jon Johnston in the Fire Prevention Department at the Menlo Park Fire District headquarters, there have been no recent referrals from East Palo Alto Building Inspectors, no referrals from Menlo Park Fire Department crews and no requests for service from residents despite a publicity campaign.

Jon couldn't tell me how many homes still had window bars on the front of the house and wouldn't even try to guess how many homes had window bars on the back of the house. He blames a total lack of interest by the residents as good reason to work on other fire prevention projects.

The future of the Bars On Windows program doesn't look promising for East Palo Alto because efforts have already been made by the MPFD to have the money released for general use in Fire Prevention and Education. Every year the MPFD spends about $3,000 on red plastic fire helmets for the kiddies and would like to spend big bucks on a trailer mounted electric sign that flashes messages like, "Change the batteries in your smoke detector, Today!" And you could bet that they wouldn't park it in a high crime neighborhood where expensive sentinel chickens for the bird flu testing program have apparently wound up in a frying pan. The bottom line is that beautiful $30,000 nest egg could be gone in a fiscal flash.

My conversations with Christopher Gale, a Building Official with the City of East Palo Alto, reveal that the right hand doesn't really know what the left hand is doing. Chris told me that some homeowners are buying and installing used, fixed window bars and at least two slumlords have left broken windows unrepaired and installed metal screening (which makes for a drafty house). So the back sliding has already started.

So the first question faced by this politician is what can be done, if anything, to get the program moving. Would it be enough for me to leave campaign materials that raise this issue and information about the removal opportunities (that are not currently and realistically available) on the front doors of homeowners as I walked the precincts before the election? I think this would be marginally effective and ethically questionable, effectively putting people's lives on hold for a year or two.

The second question is, if there was another tragic 'Bars On Windows' type fire in East Palo Alto, would this generate enough interest to restart this program? My most pragmatic political effort in this case will be to ensure that any candidate for Fire Chief clearly understand that before I can vote on his candidacy, I must be assured that in the case of a high profile window bar fire, he must immediately drop all other assignments and allocate 40 hours a week to Jon Johnston on this single issue. Then, with undistracted help from Jon, general contractors can be quickly recruited and assisted with the licenses, bonds and other requirements that will get them working to remove bars on houses in East Palo Alto, immediately, while the public interest is highest.

There is a short lived window of opportunity after a fire to effect change in the community. It takes an experienced politician to know when to play a card and how to play it for maximum benefit to his constituency. The most important decision that I will make during my four years as a Board member, is on the choice of a qualified Fire Chief. Please help a resident of East Palo Alto make the right choice.

Vote Kennedy for Director, Menlo Park Fire District Board.