Meeting Minutes

Garden City Fire District

Approval of Past Minutes: Motion by Brian, 2^nd by Howard, vote was unanimous.

Public comment: Chris Coray asked what the plans are for the white truck. Perry spoke with the state guy and was told that now that the district has the new 5 ton, the old truck is no longer ours. It will be towed to Randolph where the state will sell it for parts.

Items for Follow-Up:

None

Items for discussion:

Pump Testing (Mike): Pump test was done on Engine 40, which passed and is working well.

Engine 40 Foam System (Mike): The foam pump system has not been working since Mike has been on the department. The pump system is being looked at and the repair will be a few thousand dollars. Mike will be given a bid and then the decision will be made whether the repair will take place this year or will be held off until the new budget. Randall asked where the budget is sitting currently. Right now we are about 75% of the way through the year, but the expenses are at about 58% of budget, not including the boat. With the boat factored in, we are at about 67% of budget. However, repairs are much higher than were expected this year and there are some large expenses still to come before the end of the year. Tiffany recommended holding a budget hearing in October to amend the current year budget to move expenses between categories and also to add in a transfer from the capital projects fund to cover the boat purchase. If the funds are needed, then the transfer will be made. If other expenses remain lower than budget at the end of the year, the transfer will not be made.

Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests: There is a broken sway bar link on Brush 43 again. Mike will look at doing the repair in-house and will send it out if needed.

Purchase Requisitions: None this time.

Equipment Status: Everything is working well except the items mentioned above.

Responses: 3 dumpster fires, 1 heavy equipment fire, 2 CO Calls, 3 fire alarms 7 medical assists, 1 rescue (1 adult and 2 children on a floatie that got blown away from shore too far), rescue of 2 swimmers, joint training with Idaho and Utah state parks.

Utah state parks received the radio frequencies from Idaho so that the Utah radios will be able to communicate with the Idaho boat radios. The fire district can also program their radios to communicate with Idaho. The cost would be about $2800. Mike is planning to just continue with the back door communication through dispatch for now until the state parks see how well the radios work and then this might be a budgeted item for a future year.

New or Miscellaneous Business: Brett England has resigned has captain and fire fighter due to personal and family issues. Mike has told him that his stuff will be available and if he wants to come back before his certifications expire he is welcome to. Mike has offered the captain position to Brandon Weatherston and if he declines it will be offered to Shane Rasmussen.

The ISO rating has dropped from a 6 to a 7. Mike has called and left a voicemail and sent an email to ISO. The summary letter stated that there is a deficient water supply due to Swan Creek not meeting the standards. Mike initially thought it was due to a lack of communication, but he has found that it may actually be due to the water supply in Swan Creek not actually meeting standards. Mike is going to confirm that with ISO and then ask if Swan Creek can be broken out to receive a separate ISO rating. Sweetwater and the city have invested a lot of money in their systems and it is in unfair to have the whole district lowered by one area. The district has 30 days to send ISO a letter requesting a review of the rating, and then has 60 days to issue a letter stating what changes will be made to the district to bring the ISO rating back up. Not all insurance companies base rates on the ISO rating. Often they call Mike to ask questions about the fire protection capabilities in the area, however, the rating can affect homeowners’ insurance rates. Howard asked Mike to send a registered letter to ISO and to the HOA president to find out what is going on. Brian also felt that the county should be held partially responsible for approving the subdivision and building permits when the water system may not be adequate.

The Budget Hearing/Christmas Party will be scheduled for December 4^th at 6pm.

Randall texted the Swan Creek HOA president who stated he has not received the letter or been notified of the issue. ISO was supposed to send it to all of the HOA presidents. Randall also stated that there is a sign in Swan Creek that states do not use the fireplaces and he asked if Mike had anything to do with it. Mike stated that he did not, but Ideal Beach had been having issues with people burning in ones that shouldn’t be burnt in.

Perry Wakefield’s term ends in December and he will not be resubmitting his name. The position will be posted in October. The second individual whose term would be ending is Jenny England, however, since she was put on just recently, the county stated she would finish out this term and continue through the next term.

Randall brought the extra key for the file cabinet and gave it to Brian House, so the two keys are now held by Randall and Brian.                   

Randall completed the online open and public meetings act.

Review and Approval of Current Expense Invoices

Motion to adjourn by Brian, 2^nd by Howard, vote was unanimous. Meeting was adjourned at 7:08pm.

Garden City Fire District

Board Meeting

August 21, 2014

Board Members in Attendance:  Perry Wakefield, Howard Pope, Brian House, Christina Gracie

Others in Attendance:  Mike Wahlberg, Tiffany Wahlberg, Anita Weston, Nadine Sprouse, Chris Coray, Scott Tolentino

Approval of Past Minutes:  Motion by Christina, 2^nd by Brian, vote was unanimous.

Legal Representation and Policies and Procedures:  Perry was able to get a couple of names to contact for legal questions.  He will have a more definite proposal for next month.

Financial Statements:  Tiffany did not have the financial statements with her and will bring them for next month.

Fire Boat SOPs:  Mike is working with DNR to put together these SOPs, as most of the calls will be dealing with DNR.  He has put together a use log that will be kept in the boat.  Howard asked Mike to add a column for a place to note any service needs and/or condition of the boat.

Storage Shed:  Mike stated that in looking into a storage POD, it doesn’t look like the pricing is a better deal than a shed.  The disadvantage in a POD is that it is limited to an 8’ width.  For a 12×14’ shed the cost would be between $2,500-$3,000 from companies in Salt Lake.  Mike wondered if the board wanted to put it out for local bid or look at other alternatives.  Brian would like to look at local bids.  He would like to have it moveable.  Mike will make sure it is under the size that a building permit would be required.  He will also make sure that it is moveable.  Brian also stated that the city limit is 160 sq ft and he thinks the fire district may be exempt as a government entity.  Christina would also like to see it bid locally.  There is a tree behind the station that wouldn’t be in the way of the actual shed, but would cause issues for construction.  The board would like Mike to get bids and look at removing the tree.  If there is a waiver on the building permit fees, then Mike will look at a larger size.

24^th of July (Past and Future):  Mike stated that the 24^th went smooth.  There were no issues reported outside of the city limits, where fireworks were restricted.  There was a good turnout at the city park for fireworks.  The city had sent out a text letting everyone know that is where it could be done.  Some individuals thought the city was putting on a show.  There were some people from out of town who had brought fireworks that they were not allowed to light.  Mike quickly got a permit and set up to safely light off those fireworks and put on a little show.  Mike would like to move the fire department summer BBQ to the 24^th of July.  The fire district would still do the fire safety and will try to get donations toward doing a firework show as part of the BBQ.  Some of the fire fighters have volunteered to form a committee with the city and chamber to try to get donations for that event.  The goal would be to promote fire safety, provide a fun event, and bring the fireworks to a safe area, rather than having individuals light fireworks in dangerous areas on their own.  Howard stated he would like to see people donate to a large show rather than spending a lot on the cheap, small ones they could do on their own.  This would be a replacement to Heritage Days.

Scott Tolentino stated it is a great idea as long as Raspberry Days and the 24^th are not too close together.  It really puts a lot of stress on businesses and volunteers to have two large events two weekends in a row.  Mike stated that he feels he has enough volunteers to get the help even if those involved in Raspberry Days do not want to help.  Brian said he likes the idea of selling burgers for $1 to help recoup the cost of the event.

Raspberry Days Breakfast:  The breakfast went smooth.  The numbers were down from the year before, probably due to the wreck in Logan canyon, therefore the revenue was down a little from the year before.  The net was about $2,700, which was roughly $700 less than the year before.  There is a check prepared to give the donations to Tara Wride.  The firefighters and ward members involved were all in agreement that the funds should be donated to her to help with medical bills.

Current Fire Restrictions:  Although conditions have changed, there are no changes to the fire restrictions, so no fires are allowed in National Parks, in the unincorporated county areas fires are allowed only in approved campgrounds.

Garden City Emergency Services Grant:  Mike would like to see as many fire fighters as possible become EMTs.  He understands that with the past issues, the fire board would most likely not be willing to pay for the cost of the training.  Mike has asked the city to provide the grant money for tuition.  There is $3,000 available for fire fighters and other members of the public.  This should almost cover tuition and gas for 3 individuals if they ride together.  Christina asked is this would cover the cost to do intermediate.  Mike stated that it would, however, the EMT association will cover that cost if the EMT has been on the service for one year.  The city has agreed to provide the funds provided an MOU is put in place that the EMT association will reimburse the cost if the EMT stays with the association for at least one year.  This would allow the program to be ongoing.  Mike will work with the ambulance association to put together that agreement.  Chris asked what would happen if the EMT will say they will only do half.  Mike said the city will only agree if the EMTs will reimburse in full.  One other option Mike is looking into is getting someone from Cache Valley to come over to teach the classes.  The downside to that would be that there is a requirement for ride-along and it may be difficult to set that up if not going through Bridgerland.

Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests:  Driver’s side mirror needs tightening-done.

There are enough new fire fighters to do a Fire I class.  Travis Hobbs stepped down as captain and Andy Stokes took his place.  There will be a need for 4 new helmets.   There is also a need for 8 lights for the helmets.  The lights would be given to those who are Fire I certified.  The others will just get the standard light.  Perry asked about the lights that attach on the chest.  Mike stated that he had ordered a couple to demo and they did not work out.  There will also be a need for more t-shirts, especially in larger sizes.

Tiffany stated that the funds from last year’s breakfast funds were set aside to use for equipment and the suggestion had been to use it for helmet lights.  The guys were just deciding what to purchase.  Motion by Christina to purchase the helmets and helmet lights, 2^nd by Brian, vote was unanimous.

Equipment Status:  Everything is in good condition.

Responses:  One boat fire that the district was able to provide assistance with the fire boat, hazmat incident on vehicle rollover in Laketown, 2 auto accidents, walk-in medical assists, 21 medical assists, search and rescue assist, small fire started by floating lanterns

New or Miscellaneous Business:  Utah Retirement Systems did an audit of the fire district.  The result was a favorable report.

Chris Coray asked how the Agreed Upon Procedures went last month. Tiffany reported that it went well with only one noted issues, which was discussed fully last meeting.

Motion to dismiss by Howard, 2^nd by Brain, vote was unanimous.

Items for follow-up:

• Legal representation & policies and procedures
• Financial statements
• Fire boat SOPs

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, 2^nd by Howard, vote was unanimous.  Motion to accept the April minutes by Howard, 2^nd 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

Garden City Fire District

Board Meeting

May 15, 2014

Board Members in Attendance:  Perry Wakefield, Randall Knight, Howard Pope, Brian House

Others in Attendance:  Mike Wahlberg, Tiffany Wahlberg, Anita Weston, Chris Coray

 Meeting was opened for public comment.  Chris Coray asked if the pipes in Sweetwater caused cavitation in the pumps when fighting the fire in Sweetwater.  Mike stated that it did.  The pipe is a 4” pipe.  A 6-8” pipe is recommended.  Mike said that it did affect the flow, however, it would not have affected the outcome.

Approval of Past Minutes:  Motion to approve the March minutes.  Second by Randall, vote was unanimous.  Tiffany asked about the April minutes.  The meeting was held, however, everything was tabled for this meeting.  Tiffany will ask Christina for the brief minutes.

 Items for Follow-Up:

Policies and procedures: Leave, Per diem, and Holidays (Randall):  Randall sent out a draft copy of amended policies and procedures.  Brian had sent him comments.  Howard said that he felt that the sick leave being included could be an issue for a future chief.  Perry stated that the vote held in March was very close.  The board at that time felt that for tracking purposes this would be easier.  If the policy is being abused in the future, then it could be revisited at that time.  In the original policy, sick leave accrued with no limit.  The board felt that a limit should be set that would be reasonable.  Perry stated that he had read the manual, however it is a long read and there is a lot of redundancy.  He feels that it would be best to have someone who has experience writing manuals such as this look at it.  There are many policies the board should look at.  Mike should also look at some of the policies for the volunteers.  There was a case where a county sued a fire district and it became a conflict for the county attorney to represent both entities.  The state has now regulated that the county attorney cannot represent the local and special service districts.  Randall would like to see the fee for inspections be clarified.  Brian would like to see the board contact BRAG to see if they have anyone who would be able to assist.  They may also be able to refer the district to an attorney.  Randall said that he could contact LeGrand Bitter with Local and Special and Service District or Ryan with the state auditor’s office.  Mike and Randall will follow up with looking for an attorney who is familiar with special service districts.  Brian House suggested that once an attorney is retained, the communication should go through the fire chief and/or chairman rather than individual board members.

Items for discussion:

Ride for Riley Benefit Lunch.  August 16th, 2014  (Mike):  There will be roughly 400 bikers riding from Riverdale to Preston and then back to Riverdale for this fundraiser.  They will be stopping in Garden City for lunch and would like some assistance from the fire district.  Mike offered the use of the grills and possibly some firefighters to assist.  There should be minimal to no cost to the district.  Howard requested that Mike ask the association to be in charge as much as possible. There may be some issues with food handling permits, etc.  Chris Coray asked Mike to get him the information so that he could put it in the paper.  Brian suggested that they contact the local restaurants to see if they would be willing to help out.  Randall asked why the parking lot and/or city offices were being considered over the park.  Mike said that the park was already reserved.

Additional Acceptances to the NFA in Emmetsburg, MA (Mike):  Mike Wahlberg and Andrew Stokes have been accepted from the alternate list.  The cost is $160/person for meals only.  The training is covered by FEMA.  Tom, Brandon, Travis, Andy and Mike will all be going.  Randall stated that the per diem in the manual are pretty limited so that should be revisited.  Mike said that in this case the flight and hotels are covered.  The meals are the $160 fee.  The district will rent a vehicle, so it should not be an issue for this trip.  This will be Sep 7-14.

Non-short term rental business inspection fees (Mike):  The businesses do not pay a fee for inspections currently, however short-term rentals do.  Brian stated that this is because commercial buildings are built to commercial standards, whereas the short-term rentals are built to residential standards.  The city only collects a fee on the residential.  The city would not be willing to start charging the fee for the businesses, so it would be the responsibility of the district to charge.  Mike stated that the house that was just recently converted to a business had a very similar inspection to the short-term rentals, but did not pay a fee.  The city does require the inspection, but does not charge a fee.  Howard said that $30 is not much to complain about.  The district should be more concerned about whether it is safe.  Mike does both inspections, regardless of whether there is a fee.  Mike said the only difference in the two inspections is that commercial requires ADA, and sprinklers, whereas rentals do not.  The board told Mike to let them know that the board has discussed it and they felt that commercial buildings are built to commercial standards and the rentals are built to residential standards.  The board will revisit next month.

 Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests:  No requests.  Mike has replaced several batteries, filled fluids, etc.  Howard suggested purchasing a simple battery tester.  Mike stated that the station does have one.  The ones that have had problems were ones that had been driven recently and suddenly stopped.

Purchase Requisitions:  None this month.  Mike has been working on the building remodel.  He also purchased a GPS unit that will interface with the sheriff’s office equipment.  After testing this one, Mike will purchase one more high-end one and a few cheaper ones.  Brian asked if the missing rescue equipment had been replaced.  Mike said it showed up back at the station, so he did not end up having to purchase a new one.

 Equipment Status:  All equipment is stocked and running well except Brush 42.  Perry asked what the timeline is on the communication equipment.  Mike is waiting to hear back on the AFG grant before purchasing.  Brian asked about the Hazmat Technician training.  Mike stated that he was unable to get any volunteers.  However, the tech rescue team is coming together and includes fire fighters and search and rescue.

Responses:  1 structure fire, 2 brush fires, 1 propane leak, 1 CO, 1 school small fire.  Brian asked if any of the responses were to short-term rentals.  Mike stated that the CO call was, however it was not renters using the property at the time.

 New or Miscellaneous Business:  Randall asked who had attended training and asked for copies of the certificates.  Randall had done it online.  Perry said he is doing the training online.  Brian had done the training, but could not get his certificate to print.  Randall recommended emailing the test answers to Ryan Roberts, as that is what he had to do.

The Bear Lake Shake by the DNR has asked the fire district to do a fire boat demonstration on May 31.  There will be a wild land engine academy training on the east side as well.  Mike will pull a few firefighters off the training at lunch to handle the fire boat.  Mike is going to put the boat in on Saturday.  He will encourage the fire fighters to play around with the equipment on the boat for the next two weeks to become familiar with it.

Andy Stokes has been added as a Lieutenant.  The Lieutenants will act as captains if one is absent.  Last night there was an officer’s meeting.  The officers would like to do a BBQ/Fire Awareness Night for all the area residents on the 4^th Wednesday in June.  They will have a fire safety trailer and a few other activities.

Randall asked how many fire fighters there are now.  Mike said there are right around 26.  Brian asked if there were turnouts for everyone.  Mike said yes, however the new firefighters are in older turnouts for now.  There will be a Fire I class in 2015.  There will also possibly be a Fire II class in the fall.  Mike will try to get a couple instructors from Bridgerland to help out with that.

Chris asked if Mike had a proactive plan to keep people from being stupid this summer.  Mike stated that there have been a couple stupid accidents lately.  Mike said awareness is the biggest issue.  Mike is trying to recommend that if homeowner’s have items to burn that they do it now while the burn index is good.  Chris Coray asked that Mike remember that the upper part of Sweetwater does not allow burning.  Mike stated that he will inspect, but reminds them of the HOA rules.  Mike would ask that Sweetwater revisit the issue and suggest that the HOA allow some of these burns early in the year.  There are several homes that would be written off if a fire started due to items located around them.  Allowing residents to burn under limited situations could actually be safer than eliminating fires all the way.  Mike has been asked many times why the house in Sweetwater burned so quickly.  He is trying to educate individuals at that time.  Mike stated that part of the reason was that the doors were all open.  There was also scrap material at the ignition site.  By closing things up and moving away construction materials, homeowners can help the fire fighters quite a bit.  Randall said the homeowners need to be made aware they should close all interior doors when they leave.

 Items for follow-up: 

• April Meeting Minutes
• Policies and Procedures
• Legal Representation
• Business inspection fees

Motion to adjourn by Brian, 2^nd by Howard, vote was unanimous.