Dear It's Illegal,
Red Phone contacted Planning Division Manager Bill Faus, who said the area where the vehicles are parked has been approved by the planning commission and the city council for the development of a new multi-million dollar dealership by Gilroy Toyota.

"Full construction plans are almost completed, so the project will start shortly," he said. "The applicant asked the city if they could temporarily park new vehicles on their site until the project begins. Since the project has been reviewed and approved, and construction will start in the near future, staff agreed."

So good caller, soon the vehicles parked in the dirt will be replaced by vehicles parked in a brand new dealership. And, congratulations to Gilroy Toyota, which last week celebrated their 20th anniversary in Gilroy.

Is the fire department too big?
"How big of a fire department do we have? We have seven fire captains. Must be about 15 engine companies. Seems a little ridiculous."

Dear Fired Up,
Red Phone contacted Fire Chief Dale Foster, who outlined the department's personnel.

They have three engine companies in the city that are staffed 24/7. Chestnut has four personnel on each day (fire captain, a fire engineer, a fire paramedic and a firefighter); Las Animas has four each day (fire captain, a fire engineer, a fire paramedic and a firefighter) and Sunrise has three each day (fire captain, a fire engineer and a fire paramedic). There are also three battalion chiefs (one for each of the three shifts) that are responsible for the emergency operations of the department and handle major alarms.

So there are three BCs; 10 captains (one on each shift and at each station and one in administration); nine fire engineers (one on each shift and at each station); 19 firefighters/paramedics (up to seven on each shift and up to two at each station.

"We respond to approximately 3,500 calls a year … about 70 percent of the calls are emergency medical," he said. "This fire department is comparable to other fire departments in similar size cities with similar emergency call activity."

So good caller, Chief Foster also welcomed you and others to visit fire administration to ask more questions or go on a ride-along to get a better understanding of the daily activities in the fire department. The address is 7070 Chestnut Street, or call 946-0390.

Neighbor has too many dogs
"I have a neighbor that has eight dogs in her house. The constant barking and howling has made it impossible to live a peaceful life. I bought the house over four years ago and I paid over $500,000 for that house. If I had known that an old lady lived there with all those animals I would not have bought the house.

"So my question to you is how many animals can she have?"

Dear Fed Up,
Red Phone contacted Maria Cabatingan with animal control. She provided the ordinance, and it appears your neighbor has too many dogs.

Sec. 4.33. (a) No person shall keep or maintain more than five dogs over four months of age, or more than five cats over four months of age, or any combination totaling five dogs and cats, including no more than one unspayed female dog or one unspayed female cat, on any premise except a premise maintained by a veterinarian licensed by the state for the practice of veterinary medicine, without a valid permit procured from the administrator pursuant to this chapter for a private kennel, commercial kennel, pet shop, animal menagerie or animal shelter.

So good caller, if you have questions or want to report your neighbor, call the police department's non-emergency number at 846-0350. And, if things are not taken care of to your satisfaction, give Red Phone another call.