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Woodside fire chief closes out 33 years of firefighting By Dave Boyce
districts respond to their own financial issues. Firefighters also help in the details of choosing new fire engines. “Every member in this organization contributes,” he said. “That gives them ownership. They have a piece of it. When change does come, it’s not as hard to go through.” “We all sacrifice,” he added. No one in the district has seen a raise or increase in benefits in three years, he said. “The labor body has been unbelievable, has been great to the fire district,” he said. “Everybody in this organization is giving back. ... It’s a pill that you have to take. We all swallow the pill and we move forward.”
Almanac Staff Writer
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esidential life in Woodside and Portola Valley and nearby communities is scenic if not always idyllic. It’s also dangerous. The forests include highly flammable eucalyptus, acacia, pine, juniper, scotch broom, French broom and coyote brush. Tectonic plates meet along the San Andreas fault, which runs under both towns. Protecting an upscale lifestyle in the midst of this, implanting in residents’ minds the constant threats of wildfire and earthquake, is one significant task for Fire Chief Armando Muela and the members of the Woodside Fire Protection District’s governing board. For Chief Muela, 54, it won’t be a daily issue for much longer. He has announced plans to retire on April 29 after 33 years in firefighting, including 17 years with the Woodside district, the past four and a half as chief. In late March, the district governing board will pick a new chief from among the five battalion chiefs in the Woodside district, Chief Muela said. Chief Muela isn’t going anywhere. He lives in Emerald Hills and said he plans to volunteer with the area’s disaster preparedness programs and to remain associated with the district’s foundation advisory board. The Woodside-Portola Valley Fire Protection Foundation raises money through donations for community-oriented expenses such as renewing firefighting equipment and facilities and funding fire prevention and training initiatives. With retirement, Chief Muela’s day-in-day-out tether of a cell phone and pager will be left behind. “There’s not a day when I’m not actively engaged (in district activities),” he said in an interview in his simply
Cooperative by nature
Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac
“I think it’s time for me to kind of take on some new challenges and reinvent myself,” says Armando Muela, who plans to retire April 29 as chief of the Woodside Fire Protection District.
furnished office at the fire station in downtown Woodside. “I think it’s time for me to kind of take on some new challenges and reinvent myself.” He said he looks forward to his 13th year as a chaperone for middle school kids on a 22-mile hike into and out of the Grand Canyon, to improving his golf game, and perhaps to college classes on subjects such as religion and political science. Chief Muela began with two years as a firefighter for the state, then two more in the private sector as an ambulance paramedic, he said. The next 30 years included 14 with the fire department in South San Francisco and the rest with Woodside, where he instituted a paramedic program that put advanced-life-support crews on fire engines. Ambulances at the time had a response time of 15
to 20 minutes, he said. Chief Muela retired under a rule for public safety employees that at age 50, they can retire with 3 percent of their current salary for every year of service up to 30 years. Chief Muela will receive about $162,000 a year, he said. Cashing out his unused vacation and sick leave should add up to $90,000 and he will have lifetime health care coverage for himself and his spouse, he said. Generous benefits. Asked to comment, Chief Muela replied: “My guess is that we will be managed down,” meaning that the state Legislature will act to “claw back” some benefits of retired public employees, including firefighters and police. “Government will shrink to a size that will be the new normal. I believe there’s a movement
Road, pedestrian path improvements coming The Woodside Town Council, in its annual review of proposed spending on road improvements over the coming two budget years, unanimously accepted a plan on March 8 to spend about $706,800 on 13 roads, but their attention focused on pedestrian improvements. The plan showed $40,000 for pedestrian projects in the 2011-12 budget year and $20,000 for 201213. Perhaps that latter figure should be $40,000 as well, Councilman Peter Mason said.
N WOODSIDE N OT ES
“I think we really ought to think about what we’re going to do for pedestrians,” Mr. Mason said, referring in particular to a much-used section of Woodside Road between the elementary school and Canada Road. “I think we ought to be dedicating at least $40,000 a year,” he said. Mayor Ron Romines, agreeing that improving walkways in town is a priority, suggested thinking about
12 N The Almanac N March 16, 2011
an optimum plan for pedestrian access. The plan also includes per year spending of $5,000 to rehabilitate bridges, $5,000 to seal cracks in asphalt, and $10,000 for road striping.
Recruiter hired to find new town manager The Town Council of Woodside on March 3 voted to hire a recruiter to find a new town manager, and the firm that the council hired
afoot by labor to understand this,” he added when asked to comment on the very public dispute in Wisconsin over bargaining rights for unionized public employees. A peaceable district
That movement has apparently been afoot for a while in the Woodside fire district. Unlike their counterparts in the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, Woodside firefighters have not seen their labor negotiations roil out into public and make news. Why? For one thing, the district is relatively small, which allows it to be “nimble,” he said. But the key, he added, is being open and transparent with firefighters because “it sets them up for change.” Everyone sees the financials and he said he e-mails the entire staff on how other fire — Sacramento-based Peckham & McKenney Executive Search and Consulting — offered a guarantee: if the new manager leaves within two years, the company will find a replacement at no cost other than expenses. The council’s decision was unanimous, with Councilwoman Sue Boynton absent. To be fair, such guarantees came from most of the 10 recruiting firms that responded to Woodside’s request for proposals. The council was acting in response to Town Manager Susan George’s Jan. 25 announcement that she’ll be retiring in January
Among his accomplishments, Chief Muela noted the fire district’s improved and improving relations with the towns of Portola Valley and Woodside. Asked to comment, Portola Valley Town Manager Angie Howard said in an e-mail that the relationship with the district “has evolved and is very good. Armando is†good to work with, is proactive, he†is responsive, and keeps Susan and I informed when something important happens in town.” Woodside Town Manager Susan George struck the same note. “The townís relationship with the fire district has been very positive since Armando was named as chief,” she said. “He is very open and collaborative and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him. ... I’ll really miss Armando.” “Working in Woodside is such a unique feeling,” Chief Muela said. His daily commute is not interrupted by even one traffic light and visiting fire chiefs regularly comment on the serene settings of the fire stations and the lower tensions of working in such an environment, he said. A
2012 after 18 years heading the Town Hall staff. The search for Ms. George’s replacement will cost the town $16,000, plus expenses not to exceed $6,500, according to Peckham’s proposal, which is posted on the town’s website under the link Current Issues & Events. Peckham & McKenney has found managers or assistant managers for several Bay Area cities, including Belmont, Mill Valley, Palo Alto and Redwood City. In its proposal, the recruiter said it specializes in finding “hidden” candidates, including those who may not be considering a new position.