Garden City Fire District
Board Meeting
June 19, 2014
Board Members in Attendance: Perry Wakefield, Randall Knight, Howard Pope, Brian House
Others in Attendance: Mike Wahlberg, Tiffany Wahlberg, Chris Coray, Anita Weston
Approval of Past Minutes: Motion to accept the May minutes by Brian, 2nd by Howard, vote was unanimous. Motion to accept the April minutes by Howard, 2nd by Brian, vote was unanimous.
Items for Follow-Up:
Previous meeting minutes: see above
Policies and procedures: Perry did get an email from Randall with LeGrand Bitter’s contact information but was not able to get him to return phone calls. Tiffany did receive a return call from Bitter, who stated that there is not an actual law in place, however, some county attorneys have chosen not to represent the local and special and service districts. His recommendation would be that if the district chose to use the county attorney, that they put an MOU in place with the county. However, if the county attorney does not feel that he wants to represent the district, then the district would be better off to look for their own representation. Mike is in contact with a couple of attorneys and will get back to the board when he hears back from them. Perry would like to move the policies and procedures to Google Docs, rather than Microsoft Word, so that the board could review the documents in real time, rather than through emails with different versions floating around.
Legal representation: See above.
Business inspection fees: After the last meeting, Mike feels that anyone having an issue should contact the city and work it out with them. If the city decides they want to make a change, the fire district will work it out with them at that point.
Perry wanted to make sure that Randall received his certificate for the board member training. Howard printed out his test answers and gave them to Tiffany.
Perry asked Mike to add Public Comment to the agendas going forward right before reviewing expenses.
Items for discussion:
Fire Department Community BBQ (Mike): June 25 at 6pm at the city park. The Safety Trailer will be there. There will be hamburgers and hot dogs at no charge. The goal is to provide some information to the community regarding fire safety, while having a lot of fun. The equipment will be on display, with some hands-on use. There will also be a fire hose available for squirting fun.
Fire Boat Control and Use Within County (Mike): Mike has had to do a lot of work on the fire boat, so he went to the county to try to get some reimbursement for those expenses. The county stated that even though it is considered a county boat, the fire district has control and is responsible for the expenses. That being the case, Mike would like to recommend that the boat not be used without one of the firefighters driving the boat. That will ensure that the driver is familiar with the boat and takes care of it. Mike would like to put together a policy stating this. Brian House felt there should be an SOP and a fee charged for use outside the district. Mike felt the use outside the district would most likely fall under the MOU with the other county entities. Brian asked if the district is reimbursed for helping on a fire on the east side of the lake. Mike stated that unless there is a county or state emergency, the MOU states that the entities will help each other when needed without charge. Randall asked when the boat has been used in the past. Mike stated that search and rescue has used it and also the dive team for recovery efforts. In the past, Mike thought that Dan went with them. Randall asked if the damage was caused by improper storage. Mike said that from talking with the repair shop, it was not. Howard felt that if the district is responsible for repairs, there should be a form signed stating that any damage done during use would be covered by the entity using it. Mike still felt that one of the fire fighters should be driving. Mike is encouraging all fire fighters to get used to controlling the boat, as there are some quirks. Randall asked how many fire fighters would be trained. Mike stated that it is not difficult, but would take about an hour for each individual to become familiar with it. His goals is to have all fire fighters trained on it. Mike will put together a certification form, showing that the fire fighters have been trained to use it. Mike will also put together an SOP for the next meeting.
Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests
Fire Boat Repairs: Mike has had a lot of repairs done. The dash board also needs to be rebuilt, as many of the switches have failed and the dash board is falling apart. The board had discussed adding a tower on the boat. Mike stated that since it is a pontoon boat, it would be a custom project, which could run up to $3,000. The idea would be to add lights, so there may be a cheaper solution. Mike will look at some possible solutions and will talk to Delmas and Gomez to see if they have ideas. The fire boat is in service in the meantime.
Purchase Requisitions
Wildland packable pumps: One of the requests during the wildland training on the east side was for portable pumps. Mike purchased 2 pumps that the DNR uses and recommends. They are $450-500 each and can be linked in series. They can be carried miles and weigh only 20 pounds. Chris Coray asked if there would be any CO issues. Mike stated that they would only be used outside and there would not be an issue.
Equipment Status
Everything is up and running including Brush 42. The tender is full and ready to go. The tender has the snap tank mounted and it works great. Brian asked if Mike had put a logo on it. Mike stated he is holding off because he would like to do some paint work first. He is working with Rick Larsen to see if he would be willing to paint it. He is the one who painted the 6×6.
Responses
2 roll overs, a beach fire (ended up being in Idaho, so the call was cancelled), 1 assist with Rich & Cache County Sheriff’s office to pull out a deputy who had gotten stuck during a search and rescue effort, 10 medical assists, 12 short-term rental inspections, 14 fire permits. There was a wildland engine training held May 30 and 31 at Rendezvous beach. There were 5 counties participating and it went very well.
Randall asked if the ambulance goes straight to Logan or if they ever stop at the clinic. The ambulance will only stop at the clinic in order to pick up a patient for transport, but will not stop for treatment.
Brian House asked if the issue with Idaho had been straightened out. Mike stated that no one crosses the border into Idaho, not Fire, EMT, or Sheriff. Mike would like to pursue this further, as other counties in Utah do have MOUs with neighboring Idaho counties. The commissioners state that they have tried and have not gotten anywhere with it.
New or Miscellaneous Business
Randall stated that there is a weekly rodeo in Garden City and there was a concern that there would be no EMTs. The rodeo is taking place, however they had to find EMTs who live in the county during the summer, but are not related to the county EMT association. The rodeo will be held every week. There is no ambulance on scene, but the EMTs could start treatment while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The fire district is not involved in that at all.
Randall stated that there is a water leak at swan creek causing some flooding. It is thought that the canal is the cause. Randall asked if there is an issue that the fire district should be concerned with. Mike stated that the only issue would be if it caused an access issue and there was an incident.
Tiffany stated that she and Mike have been working with Woods Richards on the Agreed Upon Procedures. Ryan from Woods Richards stated that the report should be completed tomorrow, so it would be available prior to the next meeting.
Review and Approval of Current Expense Invoices
Items for follow-up:
Legal Representation-Perry & Mike
Policies and Procedures-Perry
Public Comment (add to agenda before review of expenses)-Mike
SOP on Fire Boat-Mike
Retirement Rates-Tiffany
Agreed Upon Procedures-Tiffany
Transparency Website-Randall
Jul 28 2014
June Fire Board Meeting Minutes
Garden City Fire District
Board Meeting
June 19, 2014
Board Members in Attendance: Perry Wakefield, Randall Knight, Howard Pope, Brian House
Others in Attendance: Mike Wahlberg, Tiffany Wahlberg, Chris Coray, Anita Weston
Approval of Past Minutes: Motion to accept the May minutes by Brian, 2nd by Howard, vote was unanimous. Motion to accept the April minutes by Howard, 2nd by Brian, vote was unanimous.
Items for Follow-Up:
Previous meeting minutes: see above
Policies and procedures: Perry did get an email from Randall with LeGrand Bitter’s contact information but was not able to get him to return phone calls. Tiffany did receive a return call from Bitter, who stated that there is not an actual law in place, however, some county attorneys have chosen not to represent the local and special and service districts. His recommendation would be that if the district chose to use the county attorney, that they put an MOU in place with the county. However, if the county attorney does not feel that he wants to represent the district, then the district would be better off to look for their own representation. Mike is in contact with a couple of attorneys and will get back to the board when he hears back from them. Perry would like to move the policies and procedures to Google Docs, rather than Microsoft Word, so that the board could review the documents in real time, rather than through emails with different versions floating around.
Legal representation: See above.
Business inspection fees: After the last meeting, Mike feels that anyone having an issue should contact the city and work it out with them. If the city decides they want to make a change, the fire district will work it out with them at that point.
Perry wanted to make sure that Randall received his certificate for the board member training. Howard printed out his test answers and gave them to Tiffany.
Perry asked Mike to add Public Comment to the agendas going forward right before reviewing expenses.
Items for discussion:
Fire Department Community BBQ (Mike): June 25 at 6pm at the city park. The Safety Trailer will be there. There will be hamburgers and hot dogs at no charge. The goal is to provide some information to the community regarding fire safety, while having a lot of fun. The equipment will be on display, with some hands-on use. There will also be a fire hose available for squirting fun.
Fire Boat Control and Use Within County (Mike): Mike has had to do a lot of work on the fire boat, so he went to the county to try to get some reimbursement for those expenses. The county stated that even though it is considered a county boat, the fire district has control and is responsible for the expenses. That being the case, Mike would like to recommend that the boat not be used without one of the firefighters driving the boat. That will ensure that the driver is familiar with the boat and takes care of it. Mike would like to put together a policy stating this. Brian House felt there should be an SOP and a fee charged for use outside the district. Mike felt the use outside the district would most likely fall under the MOU with the other county entities. Brian asked if the district is reimbursed for helping on a fire on the east side of the lake. Mike stated that unless there is a county or state emergency, the MOU states that the entities will help each other when needed without charge. Randall asked when the boat has been used in the past. Mike stated that search and rescue has used it and also the dive team for recovery efforts. In the past, Mike thought that Dan went with them. Randall asked if the damage was caused by improper storage. Mike said that from talking with the repair shop, it was not. Howard felt that if the district is responsible for repairs, there should be a form signed stating that any damage done during use would be covered by the entity using it. Mike still felt that one of the fire fighters should be driving. Mike is encouraging all fire fighters to get used to controlling the boat, as there are some quirks. Randall asked how many fire fighters would be trained. Mike stated that it is not difficult, but would take about an hour for each individual to become familiar with it. His goals is to have all fire fighters trained on it. Mike will put together a certification form, showing that the fire fighters have been trained to use it. Mike will also put together an SOP for the next meeting.
Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests
Fire Boat Repairs: Mike has had a lot of repairs done. The dash board also needs to be rebuilt, as many of the switches have failed and the dash board is falling apart. The board had discussed adding a tower on the boat. Mike stated that since it is a pontoon boat, it would be a custom project, which could run up to $3,000. The idea would be to add lights, so there may be a cheaper solution. Mike will look at some possible solutions and will talk to Delmas and Gomez to see if they have ideas. The fire boat is in service in the meantime.
Purchase Requisitions
Wildland packable pumps: One of the requests during the wildland training on the east side was for portable pumps. Mike purchased 2 pumps that the DNR uses and recommends. They are $450-500 each and can be linked in series. They can be carried miles and weigh only 20 pounds. Chris Coray asked if there would be any CO issues. Mike stated that they would only be used outside and there would not be an issue.
Equipment Status
Everything is up and running including Brush 42. The tender is full and ready to go. The tender has the snap tank mounted and it works great. Brian asked if Mike had put a logo on it. Mike stated he is holding off because he would like to do some paint work first. He is working with Rick Larsen to see if he would be willing to paint it. He is the one who painted the 6×6.
Responses
2 roll overs, a beach fire (ended up being in Idaho, so the call was cancelled), 1 assist with Rich & Cache County Sheriff’s office to pull out a deputy who had gotten stuck during a search and rescue effort, 10 medical assists, 12 short-term rental inspections, 14 fire permits. There was a wildland engine training held May 30 and 31 at Rendezvous beach. There were 5 counties participating and it went very well.
Randall asked if the ambulance goes straight to Logan or if they ever stop at the clinic. The ambulance will only stop at the clinic in order to pick up a patient for transport, but will not stop for treatment.
Brian House asked if the issue with Idaho had been straightened out. Mike stated that no one crosses the border into Idaho, not Fire, EMT, or Sheriff. Mike would like to pursue this further, as other counties in Utah do have MOUs with neighboring Idaho counties. The commissioners state that they have tried and have not gotten anywhere with it.
New or Miscellaneous Business
Randall stated that there is a weekly rodeo in Garden City and there was a concern that there would be no EMTs. The rodeo is taking place, however they had to find EMTs who live in the county during the summer, but are not related to the county EMT association. The rodeo will be held every week. There is no ambulance on scene, but the EMTs could start treatment while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The fire district is not involved in that at all.
Randall stated that there is a water leak at swan creek causing some flooding. It is thought that the canal is the cause. Randall asked if there is an issue that the fire district should be concerned with. Mike stated that the only issue would be if it caused an access issue and there was an incident.
Tiffany stated that she and Mike have been working with Woods Richards on the Agreed Upon Procedures. Ryan from Woods Richards stated that the report should be completed tomorrow, so it would be available prior to the next meeting.
Review and Approval of Current Expense Invoices
Items for follow-up:
Legal Representation-Perry & Mike
Policies and Procedures-Perry
Public Comment (add to agenda before review of expenses)-Mike
SOP on Fire Boat-Mike
Retirement Rates-Tiffany
Agreed Upon Procedures-Tiffany
Transparency Website-Randall