HomeFumigators Help City Hall Work the Bugs Out

Fumigators Help City Hall Work the Bugs Out

San Marino City Hall was fumigated during the Thanksgiving holiday period, while upgrades to local Police Department offices that were begun at the same time will continue for about a month, municipal officials said.
The tarps that are a familiar part of the fight against termites — and, in San Marino’s case, other pests as well — were assembled on Wednesday of last week and came down Saturday morning.

Police Chief John Incontro

Members of the city’s police and fire departments were relocated to temporary quarters in the parking lot directly south of City Hall. Due to the around-the-clock nature of their service, firefighters took up residence in three trailers that are used for Federal Emergency Management Agency responses and include furnishings for sleeping and food preparation. Fire trucks and ambulances were likewise staged in the parking lot near the south gate to the facility. Once the tarps were removed, SMFD personnel sanitized the station and moved back into their familiar quarters.
The San Marino Police Department, however, is undergoing a much-needed upgrade to its electrical facilities and will not return to its usual digs for approximately four weeks.
Last month, the City Council heard a report detailing how the SMPD building this year has experienced an especially troublesome insect infestation that involves more than the termites that have returned since a prior fumigation in 2012. Spiders and other bugs, including a gnat that lives in pipes, have taken up residence, with lesser measures proving ineffective against them.

San Marino Fire Capt. Jason Sutliff led a tour of the SMFD’s temporary quarters, which included this outdoor stove.

The council approved upgrading an existing amp panel and adding a panel specifically tied to the station’s computer servers. Besides facilitating a 911 system improvement, the electrical upgrades will help alleviate future problems with the heating and cooling systems.
Aside from issues of comfort, the unreliability of the cooling systems has in the past put computer servers at risk of overheating. Though an enhancement of the server room’s air conditioning was recently completed, a report completed by the city staff concluded that the broader electrical system still had deficiencies that inhibited reliable operation.
The work will upgrade a 225-amp panel to 400 amps and provide a new 100-amp panel for the computer servers. The system has not been upgraded since 1995, when it underwent a major renovation.

San Marino firefighter-paramedic Jeff Tsay atop Engine 91, which was temporarily relocated from the familiar bays on Huntington Drive to the City Hall parking lot.

Police Chief John Incontro said electrical shortcomings have hampered upgrades to the city’s 911 system, while future needs might include additional power for a system of body cameras that would require the almost constant charging of battery packs. The SMPD will temporarily relocate to a series of trailers located in the City Hall parking lot while the upgrades are implemented. Fire engines and ambulances have also been moved while the station’s bays are closed for fumigation.
Fire Chief Mario Rueda said the firefighters and paramedics were “really good sports” during their stay in trailers. During a tour of the facility on Wednesday that was led by Capt. Jason Sutliff, SMFD personnel were seen stocking one of the trailers with food and other provisions while others brought weights from the City Hall gym for temporary use.

Cpl. Kenrick Wu works in a trailer, one of the facilities that will serve as the SMPD’s temporary quarters for a month.

“It was like winter camping,” said Rueda. “Winter camping without the fun stuff.”
He credited police and fire personnel for maintaining a positive attitude and “making the best of it.”
All three shifts of firefighters were on duty during the shutdown, but Rueda was proud that service was not negatively impacted.
“Our number one goal was that we were going to be response-ready throughout this, and that proved to be correct,” said Rueda.
Fumigation for the entire City Hall building and other repairs inside the police station totaled $84,200. The council has earmarked $108,500 for electrical upgrades to the station.

Staff writer Zane Hill contributed to this report.

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