City Council introduces new K9, renews Chief and City Manager employment contracts and more
By Brooklynn Wong
The Buena Park Police Department has a new four-legged employee who has already demonstrated his worth.
Adam, a Belgian Malinois, and his handler, Officer Cameron Boyer, were officially introduced at the July 10 meeting of the Buena Park City Council.
Adam was bred in Slovakia, then trained at Von Liche Kennels in Indiana. Officer Boyer, who served in the Navy before joining Buena Park PD a few years ago, trained with Adam for months before the two began serving together in Buena Park the last week of June.
Boyer and Adam join Officer Devin Boyington and his K9 Kondor to make up BPPD’s K9 unit.
Boyer mentioned that Adam understands commands in German and Czech, and that he gets along well with his small children at home.
Adam is a drug detection dog, which means that he is trained to passively respond when he detects the scent of certain substances, by sitting, or displaying subtle behavioral changes that Boyer is able to pick up on.
And the training has paid off. In Adam and Officer Boyer’s first week of service, Adam located 24 pounds of methamphetamine in a vehicle during a traffic stop.
Summer concerts about to change location
In other business, City Manager Jim Vanderpool issued the reminder that there will be one more concert in the park for the summer, before the series moves to Buena Park Downtown for six more weeks. All concerts take place from 7-9 p.m. The next one will be at Boisseranc Park (7520 Dale St.), before moving to the outdoor area outside of the Krikorian Theater at Buena Park Downtown (8308 On The Mall). More details can be seen at buenapark.com.
Albertsons concerns
During oral communications, a resident named Michael Mahoney raised concerns about the Albertsons at Lincoln & Valley View, saying that it “needs more love from the police,” and that there is a large homeless population, including many who stay there all day and “harass people for money.”
Mayor Virginia Vaughn had Mahoney immediately step out and speak with Captain Gary Worrall about the issue.
Chief and City Manager contract renewals
The employment agreements for both Vanderpool and Police Chief Corey Sianez were up for renewal.
Both were approved unanimously for three more years, with the Council singing the praises of both employees. Both also made some brief remarks.
Sianez reflected on his 39 years at BPPD, and the last seven as Chief, and expressed his gratitude that his fellow City employees “do nothing but figure out a way to make this place better.”
Vanderpool similarly stated that “Buena Park has been my second family for 23 years….I’m incredibly blessed.”
Ambulance services discussed
CARE Ambulance, Inc. has been the company that the City has contracted with for its ambulance services since 1999, and it was again time to consider whether to continue the partnership. It was mentioned that the North Orange County Chamber of Commerce had sent a letter commending the company, and Councilmembers had nothing but positive reviews for the company, with two sharing personal testimonies.
Mayor Pro Tem Art Brown said last December he and his wife were struck by a drunk driver and worked with CARE, and he had “no complaints.”
Councilwoman Beth Swift called an ambulance for her husband in February of this year, and appreciated how caring the workers were, and how they were careful going through intersections, scanning for oncoming vehicles that might be unaware there was an emergency vehicle coming through.
All Councilmembers approved the agreement to continue partnering with CARE.
New fire station now operational
Vanderpool reported on the opening of the new Orange County Fire Authority Buena Park Division station “on La Palma, around the corner” from its previous location. The station started providing service on July 9, and a brief ribbon cutting was held on July 11, in the midst of moving and settling in, and “growing pains,” as Vanderpool stated.
In October, a bigger all-day event will be held, where people can see the station in its entirety.
Translation equipment discussed
As a study session item, City Clerk Adria Jimenez introduced the idea of utilizing rented technology for translation during City Council meetings. If there are those that require for what the Council says to be translated into another language, and they give the City ample notification, a headset would be provided for them, but a translator who speaks their language would also be required.
Some members of the Council questioned whether a system like this is really necessary, and if the cost would be worth it.
They did, however, express that there are City staff members who speak four or five different languages who could potentially act as translators.
But Buena Park is a diverse city, and there is the possibility that a different language would be required, in which case someone who does speak that language would need to be found and hired.
The gear itself costs less than $2,000.
All members of the Council voted to receive more information about this possibility.
The next meeting of the Council will be Tuesday, July 24 at 5 p.m. at City Hall (6650 Beach Blvd.).
