February 8, 2018 Minutes

Fire District Commissioner Meeting

Opening prayer was offered by Nic White. Those present were: Commissioners Jim Deuel, Mike Miller, Gordon Ball, and Dallin Gambles; Fire Chief Bill Pope and Assistant Fire Chief Carl Anderson; Battalion Chiefs Blaine Ker, Jim Kelly, Nic White, and Mitch Bingham. There were several patrons present. Melanie Sullivan recorded the minutes.

Agenda Approval: Jim moved to accept the agenda as presented. Gordon seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, and Gordon was unanimous.

Minutes: The minutes were reviewed previously by the commissioners. Dallin moved to accept the minutes. Jim seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, and Gordon was unanimous.

Budget Review: Melanie reviewed the budget. So far this fiscal year we are under budget from where we would expect to be four months into the year.

Approval of Expenditures: Dallin reviewed the expenditures. He moved to approve of $151,084.14. Jim seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, Roger, and Gordon was unanimous.

Patron Input (3 minute time limit):There was no patron input.

OLD BUSINESS:

  1. Menan station progress – Dustin Stibal reviewed the progress of the station. By Monday, they will be able to shut off the air and the structure will be self supporting. The overall schedule is about 8 working days behind schedule, due in part to the holidays, a couple days of cold weather, and three days for installation of an electrical conduit. The Tuesday meetings have been changed from 1:30 to 3:30.
  2. 4-way gas monitors: Carl reported that they did purchase 2 gas monitors. As soon as they get calibrated, they will go out to the stations 1 and 2.

NEW BUSINESS:

  1. Surplus property: Carl said that CFD has some hose reels purchased on surplus in 2014 and CFD does not need them. They were purchased for $35. Shoshone Fire has offered to buy them and Carl is asking to sell them for cost plus transportation. The commissioners agreed that that would be a good idea.

Carl also said that CFD has Hurst combi tool that the station no longer uses. It is old enough that it has no value, but Hamer Fire would like it. The commissioners are okay with giving it to Hamer.

  1. TIC’s for all stations: Carl reported that the station received Idahoan donation for $16,500 and would like to purchase Thermal Imaging Cameras for each station with that money. The donation wouldn’t cover the full cost but it is something that each the stations should have. Each unit would cost $5,500 to $8,000 each, so the district would need to cover the rest of the expense.

Chief Pope explained that the reason they would like to purchase them at once is to standardize the stations by being able to train on the same equipment and deploy them at one time.

Carl and Bill will find the ones they feel would best suit their needs and bring their findings for next month’s meeting so that the commissioners know exactly how much money will be needed. Jim moved to table it until next month. Mike seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, and Gordon was unanimous.

  1. Training program proposal – Chief Pope emailed the training proposal for the commissioners to look at ahead of time. The software would cost around $4,200 per year. This training software allows the lecture part of the training to be done online for certification and continuing education. Chief Pope has interviewed some of the volunteers and one of the concerns they have is they would like more robust training and certification. This software will eliminate the need for the volunteers to go to Idaho Falls, Ammon, or even Chubbuck for the lecture portion of training, allowing them to go at their own pace as time allows. Chief Pope has used this program before and knows the system. The BC’s agree this would be a good thing. This would standardize the training in all stations and would allow the District to possibly get more grant money by achieving certain certifications. The commissioners thought this sounded like a good idea. Jim moved to purchase the system. Mike seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, and Gordon was unanimous.

FIRE CHIEF REPORT: Chief Pope is getting to know the volunteers and the stations. He’s been meeting with the mutual aid chiefs and the State Fire Chief. He feels he has been well received.

ASST. CHIEF REPORT: Carl reported on last year’s Deer Park Fire. He has been working with the BLM for reimbursement of the second day of the fire, as the first day is part of a mutual aid agreement.

He also reported that Garn Harrick has done some computer work for the district station. The station is getting a donated server installed.

Physio AED: The company found a solution for the batteries corroding by replacing the contacts where the battery connects to the mother board.

B.C. REPORTS:

Station 1. Jim Kelly: 68 EMS calls, 6 fire calls, which are both down from last month. They have one volunteer taking the EMT course and one who might be starting soon. They are trying to implement a couple new programs at the station.

Station 2. Blaine Ker: 21 EMS calls and 5 fire calls. Lana Killingsworth retired after 22 years and they have two more volunteers joining the station.

Station 3. Nic White: 7 EMS calls. 1 traffic call that require extrication. Allen Morris retired after 36 years.

Station 4. Mitch Bingham: 6 EMS and 1 Fire calls. They are getting a lot of questions about when the fire station will be finished. There’s a lot of excitement about it.

COMMISSIONER REPORT:

Mike went to Menan city council meeting and they are happy with what they see on the new station. The radio tower is taller than the ordinances allow but the council told Mike that a taller tower is necessary and to bring it to the planning and zoning board for an ordinance change to accommodate the tower. Mike will work on this.

Mike moved to adjourn. Gordon seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin and Gordon was unanimous.

Roger-EMS & Training/Gordon-Equipment /Dallin-Facilities/Jim-Budget/Mike-PR