Garden City Fire District
Board Meeting
August 15, 2013
Board Members in Attendance: Ben Negus, Terry Allen, Randall Knight
Board Members Excused: Christina Gracey, Travis Hobbs
Others in Attendance: Dan Kurek, Tiffany Wahlberg, Chris Coray, Kathy Anderson, Anita Weston, Nadine Sprouse, Tom Wahlberg, DeWayne Gifford
Approval of Past Minutes: Randall emailed some changes. Dan also had a few changes after listening to the recording. Motion was made by Randall to approve the minutes with the changes, 2nd by Ben, vote was unanimous.
Items for Follow-Up:
Brush 40: Is done and back in service.
GRAMA Training: Ben has completed his GRAMA training. Ben has stated it will be difficult for him to be at the board meetings due to his driving semi, so he emailed a resignation letter to Terry. It will be in effect once a replacement has been found. The position will be advertised and the board will discuss the applicants. Randall asked whether this was required by others. It is only required for the secretary, but anyone else is welcome to take the training.
Wildland Grant: UFDAG Grant was awarded for $14,900, of which $6,480 is for wildland PPE and $8,420 is for structural PPE. Dan spoke with the state today. He was told that all of the hours for Fire I training will be counted as matching funds, so there will not be any additional out of pocket funds. The district will have until the first part of November to order everything, but Dan will begin working on it now.
Wheel Chocks (IC 40 and Tender): Dan has them all on the vehicles now.
Pump for tender: This has been purchased and installed. Terry mentioned that Travis and Riley spent a lot of time working to get this truck ready. The board would like to compensate them for their time. Riley is on the payroll already, but Travis, as a board member would need to be approved for the compensation and a rate would need to be set. Randall felt that if individuals were willing to volunteer their time, the district would accept it and he does not think that they were expecting to be paid for their time. Terry stated that neither one of them would have volunteered if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Terry stated that neither of them cared. Tom Wahlberg stated that even they weren’t compensated the hours should be documented because there is a value. Dan asked about getting a gift certificate. The board was all in agreement to give $50 gift cards to Travis, Riley, and Joe. Ben also stated that the board needs to make it known that they are willing to pay, especially for the type of hours that Joe has been putting in. Tiffany mentioned that donation income should be tracked. The reason why this is necessary is because if that person did not volunteer their time, someone would need to be paid to do that work. It could cause major budgeting issues if the person left and suddenly the board was faced with paying someone, when it had not been documented and budgeted for.
Tender paint and stickers: It would be about $1000 for stickers or it can be painted on. The tank would need to be sandblasted and it would be 4-6 hours and a pallet of sand. Then there would also be the costs of painting. Dan asked if anyone knew about walnut shell blasting. Tom stated that it would not be very effective. Dan estimated the total cost would be about $1500. Motion was made by Ben to proceed with sandblasting, painting and stickers. 2nd by Randall, vote was unanimous. Dan will plan on
Pay for Joe Sharkey: See above under pump for tender
District Cell Phone: Dan got a phone that will stay with whoever is in charge. The cost is $50/month. Christina was going to price this out, but she was not at the meeting. Dan asked the board to remember that he needs to have signal at his home as well. The board decided to stick with this for now. Dan’s reimbursement was lowered from $75 to $25. Ben asked why this was done, since the board had discussed this and Dan has declined to carry a separate phone at that time. Dan stated that he just got to the point he was getting a lot of phone calls when he was on vacation, so he decided to get one. Motion was made to lower the reimbursement from $75 to $25 and to pay the prepaid
Reminder to note on checks when the expense was approved: This is to help with the review. Anytime an expense is approved in a board meeting
Limit on Credit Card Expenses: Terry stated that on the credit card and other expenses, the board will just sign off on expenses, and not pay close attention to what was being approved, especially on the credit card where there are a lot of expenses with one signature. Randall asked why the limit is set at $1500. He feels that is very low. He wondered if the board should revisit this. Dan mentioned that there is an allowance for an emergency. Randall just asked if that limit could be raised. Tiffany mentioned that it could be, but the limits are pretty close to inline with the state recommendations. The board can revisit this, but it would require rewriting the policies and procedures. They will look at this at the budget meeting at the end of the year.
Snap Tank For Tender (Action Item): The bids came in from $1331.50 up to $2334. This is for a 3,000 gallon tank. There will need to be rack built. There is a 1,000 gallon tank on the truck, but the firefighters felt that it was not large enough. Dan stated it would not be. The lowest bid was from The Supply Cache. It included shipping and handling. Motion was made to purchase the tank from The Supply Cache and build a rack to hold it by Randall, 2nd by Ben, vote was unanimous.
Propane Tanker Funds (Action Item): Invoice was for $20,335.26. Dan spoke to the insurance company today and we should have a check within 10 days. Out of those funds, Dan feels that $157 for food, $536 for fuel, and $3390 for a hazmat kit should go back into the general fund to reimburse the expenses. He also feels that the snap tank purchase could come from these funds. The funds used to stock the tender should also come these funds. Terry asked if there were other equipment needs for the firefighters. Dan would like to allow each firefighter to purchase boots and the department will reimburse up to $250 per pair. That way they can each purchase what works for them. Dan also stated that 3 sections of hose have holes in them. He is taking them to EVCO to have them fixed. Each section is $100-150. Dan would like to purchase some extra hose to have available. Motion to use the $20,335.26 to pay for the expenses for the propane tanker rollover and commit the remain funds for equipment purchase. 2nd by Ben, vote was unanimous.
Electronic Meetings (Action Item): Terry has researched the issue. The board has allowed electronic meetings, however the way it was done was incorrect. The district has a resolution, however the resolution is stated so that it is vague as to whether the person calling in can count toward a quorum. Also, the person calling in has not always stayed on the phone through the entire meeting. The resolution either needs to be changed, or there needs to be a quorum in place prior to the phone call. Terry feels that there needs to be a quorum in the building. It is too difficult to hear on the phone. Ben stated that it is difficult to understand the meeting without being in the building. He agrees that there should be a quorum in the building. If a quorum is not present in the building, than the meeting should be rescheduled. Randall agreed. Sometimes an individual’s needs change. If they cannot attend regularly they should step down, unless it is an unforeseen circumstance. However, there should be the ability to call in for the special meetings, and if there is a specific issue that an individual wants to discuss. Terry feels that the resolution can be left in place, but there should be a quorum in the building. He also feels that the person calling in should not be counted as attending. Ben feels the topic should be tabled. He will most likely will not vote, because he will be leaving the board. The board tabled this for next meeting.
Firefighter Drug Testing (Action Item): Dan is putting together the policy using Logan’s for an example. The district can have the sheriff’s office test or send the individual’s to a location. Once the individuals have been tested, the district will go with random testing, but the policy also states that the district can test if the individual acts odd, or there is another reason to be concerned. Ben stated the reason he asked for it to be tabled was because he wanted to make sure that individuals do not have to take time off their full-time jobs to be tested. The district had also asked Dan to write up a policy on DMV records. Dan stated this policy took a while to research, and he felt this was the more important of the two. He will work on both policies for next meeting. The board felt that the district could use the sheriff’s office tests. The board will read the policy at the next meeting, then vote at the October meeting.
Asphalt around station (Action Item): Steve Watterson bid just repaving would be $30,000.00. If the ground under the asphalt would need to be prepared, it would be higher. Dan has been working with Mark, because the sewer district wants to do their portion as well. Dan will also work with the city to see if they will do their portion. Dan’s question is how the cost would be split between the city, sewer, and fire. DeWayne stated the sewer district is planning to do around their building and one side in from the street. The fire district felt that if the sewer did one side and the fire did the other side, that would be fair. They would also ask the city to do a portion in the back. Dan will draw out a map and get the city and sewer to sign off on it. Then he will get bids based on the drawings and bring it to the board meeting. Randall stated that when Swan Creek paved their entrance, the state did make them dig down 36″ and prep on the state owned portion. Dan will work with the state to see what the requirements would be for the section they own.
Raspberry Day Breakfast (report): Went very well. The separate table for condiments helped a lot, however, some people asked if there could be another table, because it was difficult to set your plate down to put the condiments on. The profit was roughly $4,000. Dan has been discussing the use of funds with the firefighters. Some of the firefighters would like to replace their helmets with lighter helmets. Dan and Tom felt the helmets were fine, and they are the only ones that have a built in light without snag points. The firefighters would like to do a chest light and go with a different helmet. Tom felt a string light would be better than the chest light. Tom did say that the light in the helmet does not point the right direction. The firefighters would also like to have a cooler and ice available at the station. Ben stated he felt that the district can’t go out and purchase new equipment every time that someone does not like it. However, the breakfast funds should be spent on the items that the firefighters want. The firefighters did feel that those who helped at the breakfast should have more input than those who did not. The board asked Dan to discuss with those who were there and bring back a plan to the next meeting. Dan also asked that Christina let him know what tent the young women would like so that he can purchase it.
Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests:
Mirror needs to be replaced on Brush 40: Tom tightened the bolt and it is good now.
Purchase Requisitions:
Battery backup on all bay doors. The doors won’t go up if the power is out. Dan stated that if they push both buttons at once, it overloads them. Dan tested them when he got back. Dan looked at the battery backup (EPC or XPC). The cost would $150-175 each door. Batteries could be replaced when they go bad. Tom stated that there is a pin to release the door, so just manually opening it is not a good option. Currently the ladder and brush truck can’t be accessed when the power is out. There would need to be 3 additional battery backups. The board also felt that the ring to allow the doors to be manually opened would be a good idea. The board felt the rings should be installed, and 3 additional battery backups should be purchased.
Wildland Boots: The board discussed this above. The district will reimburse up to $250 per firefighters for boots. Dan asked if he could do checks during the month when receipts were turned in so the firefighters don’t have to wait for the reimbursement.
Equipment Status: Brush 43 has some damage to the steering and shock dampener from a Box Elder County Fire. Dan stated that the truck also came back very dirty. Dan feels that the repair should be reimbursed and the equipment should come back in good repair. Dan also stated that the firefighters were packing hose packs for all of their training last night. This means that Riley took more hose packs than what the truck held and left the district short on hose packs. The board felt that the damage should be taken care of by the state. The board also felt that it was Dan’s responsibility to make sure that the person taking the truck brings it back in good order. Dan stated he told Riley he could not take another truck to the fire this weekend if he did not clean up the first one. The board also did not want another truck to go on a fire until the state approved repairing the vehicle.
Everything else is up and running well. Dan stated that he really appreciated the help with the tender and the pump and it looked good.
Responses: 18 fire pit, 3 short term rental inspections, 1 business inspection, 1 field fire, 1 possible church fire, 1 semi rollover. The semi rollover was called out as a hazmat incident, so it is a billable incident. Dan has spoke with the insurance company. The invoice will be for $2898.84. Tom asked Dan to make sure he billed for the lost hook as well unless it was found.
New or Miscellaneous Business:
Zions Bank wants to renew the line of credit. The cost is roughly $250/year. If it is cancelled, the district would need to reapply, but Zions would likely approve it. Tiffany felt that the district has built up
Ben stated that he noticed that on Dan’s time cards, he had 2 hours for the church fire, but he was in California. Dan stated that he was taking a lot of phone calls, prior to the page going out. Randall asked why it mattered if Dan is now an exempt employee. Ben stated he was just curious and he told Dan to enjoy his vacation and send the phone calls to the new fire phone.
Dan brought up the discussion from last month regarding following SOPs. He wanted to explain why he cancelled the engine. The reason the SOPs state that the engine needs to go is so that an engine is on scene if there is a fire. Dan stated that he called and was told that Laketown engine was going. That is why he cancelled. Dan has also stated that the SOPs are for our district, and this was out of the district. Tom stated that he felt it should still apply because Rescue does not carry all of the equipment needed. Terry also felt that our district has the equipment and Laketown did not. Also, Garden City was working the scene and they were familiar with our truck not Laketown’s. Dan stated there is a lot of extrication equipment on the engine. Dan stated he added more cribbing to Rescue. Tom stated that he felt that Rescue could not hold all of the cribbing needed. The board felt that the SOPs should be followed. Dan stated that Cache County would call for help and ask for only certain vehicles. The board stated that if that is the case, Dan needed to get it in writing from Cache County and then the SOPs should be changed to allow for that and explain the specifics of when it would be allowed and what vehicles would go.
Review and Approval of Current Expense Invoices
Items for follow-up:
Wildland Grant
Tender Funds
Electronic Meetings
Tender Snap Tank, Paint, etc.
Drug Testing (actually policy written so it can be read)
DMV Records
Asphalt around station (have drawings approved by sewer and city, get 3 bids before meeting), may need budget hearing
Breakfast Funds
Budget Hearing (for compensation for fires, breakfast funds, and asphalt) (agenda at least 7 days prior)
Motion to adjourn by Randall, 2nd by Ben, vote was unanimous.
Nov 26 2013
October Fire Board minutes
Garden City Fire District
Board Meeting
October 17, 2013
Board members in Attendance: Terry Allen, Randall Knight, Perry Wakefield, Christina Gracey, Travis Hobbs
Others in Attendance: See roll
Approval of Past Minutes: Motion to approve September 23 special meeting minutes by Christina, 2nd by Randall, vote was unanimous. Motion to approve September 19 board meeting minutes with Randall’s changes by Perry, 2nd by Christina, vote was unanimous. Motion to approve the September 30 special meeting minutes with Randall’s changes by Randall, 2nd by Perry. Motion to approve the September 23 closed session minutes by Travis, 2nd by Randall, vote was unanimous.
Items for Follow-Up:
Wildland Grant: There will be four sets of turnouts ordered, 2 of them will be generic sizes. There will also be 6 shelters, 6 sets of Wildland gear ordered.
Funds from Propane Tanker, Car Hauler, Breakfast: The fire fighters are still deciding what they want to purchase with these funds. This will be discussed again at a future meeting.
Electronic Meetings: There was some confusion on the electronic meetings as to whether they would count as attendance at a meeting. The decision has been made that there need to be at least 3 board members in the building in order to have the meeting. The policy will be re-written to make this clear and attendance will only be counted if the board member is physically in attendance. Special meetings will not count toward attendance.
DMV Records: Dan was under the impression that the district could get the records, however research has revealed that the fire fighters would need to get it personally and bring it back to the district. The district will then reimburse any cost with a receipt. Dan asked how the district can make it happen. He has stated that there are requirements and the fire fighters don’t always keep up on that. Mike mentioned that it is important and they should monitor it and then give the fire fighters 30 days to get the report turned in. Travis asked what the regulations would be. Mike stated that the regulations will be in the drug testing policy. Travis stated that he is opposed to requiring it until the board has seen the actually policies. Mike stated that the policies are still a work in progress. Terry stated that the board had already voted previously to make this part of the policy. Dan stated that the substance abuse policy has been written up. He gave a draft copy to the members of the board. The motor vehicle one will be written up next. The records won’t be required until the policy is actually in force. Terry asked the board members to read the draft drug testing policy and then the board will discuss it in November. He also asked Mike to have a draft of the DMV policy emailed to the board before the next meeting.
Drug Testing: See DMV Records
Budget Hearing and Amendment: Put off for next meeting
Website Update: Joey has been working on the new website. Dan stated the pictures aren’t coming up clearly. The new website address is www.gardencityfire.us.
Fire Chief Employment: Has been posted in 3 newspapers, the post office, city office and website, and the fire district office and website. It will be posted for 30 days and then the board will proceed with the decision. Dan’s last day is Friday and Mike will take over as interim chief at that time.
Christmas Party (Action Item): The opportunity to bid was given to Coopers, Jim McLaughlin, Paris Cafe, and Bear Trapper. The budget hearing will be held at 5 pm on December 4, and the party will be held at 7pm. Perry stated that the Bear Trapper was the cheapest and the only complaint he heard was that the booths would not work very well. He would like to go there. In the past the dinner was actually held in the pizza building to make room for tables. Christina stated that the board had discussed alternating to be fair. Even though they are a little cheaper, it might be better to alternate. Randall stated that he would have a hard time justifying going anywhere else when the price was much lower at the Bear Trapper. Last year the cheapest bid was not taken. Rather, they tried to move it around. However, there is a large difference in prices this year. Terry stated that they have not been to the Paris Grill before, and their price was about mid-range, comparable to the others. They also have plenty of room for everyone. Travis stated he does feel it should move around, provided the bids are close. Unfortunately Coopers is quite a bit more. Travis wanted to make sure they were bidding similar menus. Terry stated that he did ask them to bid the same and even told them about what was paid last year. Motion to have the Christmas Party at the Paris Grill by Christina, 2nd by Travis, vote was unanimous. Terry will contact them.
Homeland Security (discussion): Terry had a short meeting with Bryce Nielsen. He wants to make sure that with the changes in Fire Chief that the district continues to have a good relationship with the Homeland Security. He also wanted to make sure that the building arrangements would remain the same. Bryce does bring a lot of money into the county, so the board would like to continue working with him. The board was all in agreement.
Secretarial Duties (Action Item): Randall is the new secretary and wanted to make sure his duties were clear. He has taken the GRAMA certification training and has received the certification. The board had asked previously whether the secretarial duties that Dan has been handling should be moved back to the secretary. Randall stated that he had been working with Dan and Mike already. Randall will check with the board members to see if they need to add anything to the agenda and then work with the chief to get the agenda typed up and posted.
Lockable Secretary File Cabinet (Action Item): This was discussed at a previous meeting and the board all felt it was necessary. Chris Coray mentioned that the University has surplus sales all the time and this could be purchased by public entities. Randall will be going to Logan tomorrow and will stop by to look.
Draft Budget (Review): Dan, Mike, Tiffany, and Christina met and put together a draft budget based on the 2013 actual and recommendations by Dan and Mike as to items they would like to see accomplished.
Building Repairs-budgeted for carpet, windows and a little paint
Communications-this has been the same for the last several years
Retirement Expense-bumped up a little for the increase rates
Equipment Repairs-has been at this cost each of the last 3 years
Equipment replacement-
Fire Chief Salary-matches the posting
Insurance-bumped up a little for increased rates
Miscellanous-plug figure to balance the budget
PPE-planned to purchase 2 SCBAs each year, will need at least 4 to outfit a team, there are 10 that will eventually need to be replaced
Winter Fire School-budgeted for 6 guys, with each one having a fuel card
Training-bumped up a little to allow sending guys to Bridgerland if there are only 1 or 2 who want the training
CPA fees-same as 2013
Utilities-bumped a little based on the 2013 actual
Vehicle Fuel-lowered based on 2013 actual, Randall asked why this would be lower when prices have gone up. The 2013 was only $4200 and the budget was $8000. There is still a cushion.
Randall asked about budgeting for the grants and compensation for fires. Travis asked about putting money into the vehicle funds. There is $27,000 budgeted for equipment replacement and if this was not spent, then the remaining amount could be put into that PTIF. Also,
Web site (Input): Joe Stocking asked if the board would like to get their own hosting, which would cost about $5 per month, or he could handle the hosting for about $6 per month. Also, Joe has built the website. If they want him to maintain it would be $24 per month, which would give about 2 hours. Any additional would be at $30/hour. He would also do it on an as needed basis for the $30 per hour instead. Joe can create login credentials for others to add photos, etc. Mike and Dan mentioned that the photos would need to be approved prior, and then they could be emailed to Joe to add it. Motion by Perry to have Joe do the hosting and continue the monthly maintenance for $30 per month. The total bill so far was $650. He will send an invoice over. Joe will work with Mike and will train on how to add minutes and do some general updating.
Grama Cert. Status: Randall has done the certification.
Department Operational Data Transfer: Randall wanted to know how the transition is going and whether Dan has given the important information. He has also changed the password.
Fireman of the Year: Perry wanted to know what the qualifications were. The fire chief, assistant chief, and captains make this decision based on attendance, commitment, attitude, etc. They will receive a
Vehicle/Equipment/Station Service Requests: Clutch fluid was low on Ladder 40. It has been filled. Engine is down in Salt Lake getting the transmission fixed. It keeps popping out of gear. Freightliner fixed a few items, but it continued to do it. It is now at a specialist, who has done some major repairs and will be test driving it tomorrow. Laketown has been bringing their engine on calls lately. The backup has worked well.
Purchase Requisitions: None this time. Reimbursements for wildland boots were paid to 2 fire fighters.
Equipment Status: See above. Also, ladder 40 battery was dead. Mike found a faulty switch on the battery bank and he was able to fix it.
Responses: 2 structure fires, 1 false alarm, 1 CO call, burn permits-3 received and 1 denied, 1 fire pit inspection, 6 medical assists
New or Miscellaneous Business: Randall has received 1 application for Fire Chief. The board asked Randall to hold onto all of them until they have all been received.
Terry stated that his term is up in January. He wondered if the board wanted to post it in November so that the decision can be made in December. Randall, Travis and Terry would all be up in December. Randall asked if he would need to reapply. The position would still be posted, he would apply and go through the same application. Randall asked Tom if they would be too busy to make a decision in December. Tom stated that they would like to get all the letters and a recommendation. Travis stated that the city had approached him about whether they would be able to appoint someone. Dan and Tiffany stated that their understanding is that any municipality lying within the district has the right to appoint one member. Tom Weston stated that his understanding is that the county appoints it. Tom Weston will contact the county attorney for clarification. The city was given the chance a few years ago and they refused. Travis would like to assign that appointment to a specific board member, whose term would be 4 years. They would not have the choice every time a position opens up. They were given the chance to appoint when Christina was appointed and they deferred to the county. Tom Weston will look into it. The board will post it on November 1.
Review and Approval of Current Expense Invoices
Motion to close the meeting by Perry, 2nd by Randall, vote was unanimous
Items for follow-up:
Wildland Grant
Funds from Propane Tanker, Car Hauler, Breakfast
Electronic Meeting (Policy rewritten and voted on)
Drug Testing
DMV Records
2013 Budget Amendment (Needs to be posted 7 days in advance)
Fire Chief Employment
2014 Draft Budget Approval
Board Member Positions (3 openings)