White River Township Fire Protection District
	Board Meeting Minutes
	December 12, 2000  ~  7:00 p.m.
=================================================================================

District Board Members Present: Paul Kite, Bill Patterson, Butch Sutton and Jon Raker.

District Board Members Absent: Chuck Shufflebarger.

District Employees Present: Mike Dutton, Eric Brown, Mike Tibbetts, Joel Thacker and Kim Clawson.

Corporation Board Members Present:  none.

Others Present: Eric Reedy, Brian Bosma, and Steve Alexander.

______________________________________________________________________________________

1.        Meeting called to order at 7:10 p.m.  Minutes from November 15th board meeting were reviewed.  Motion by Bill and 2^nd by Butch to accept minutes as written.  All in favor and motion passes. 

2.        Eric Reedy gave financial update:

2000 Capital Outlay                              1,009,841

1998 Fire Loan                                           21,652

1997 Capital Fund                                     21,163

Cumulative Fund                                     214,738

Debt Fund                                                129,873

General Fund                                             21,610

TOTAL                                                  1,418,877

3.        Station 53 Project.

Ø      Steve Alexander from Prince Alexander Architects provided those present with a status report on Station 53.

-          Two additional contractors have been brought in to supplement the work forces  (R&M Construction and Campbell’s Excavating). 

-          Milestone is extending their hours of operation this year in order to give us as much time as possible to put the drives in.  They will be 5” higher than original drawings indicated due to drainage problems.

-          Walker Construction is starting on the roof tomorrow and should take no longer than six (6) days to complete.

-          Painting package is not ready to be awarded at this time.

-          Bay door quotes were received in August.  Steve Alexander stated that A1 Garage Door are the only ones that met the bid specification of an insulated steel door.  Motion by Jon and 2^nd by Butch to award bid to A1 Garage Door.  3 for – 0 against.  Bill Patterson abstained from voting due to personal involvement with the owners of A1 Garage Door.

-          Paul Kite requested that a full budget update be presented, in writing, at the January meeting.

Ø    Eric Brown discussed some concerns that the department has regarding this project.

-          Speedway gas station has still not made a corporate decision on the sewer.  They are not sure if they can recoup their losses in the remaining 5 years on their contract so they are currently trying to extend their lease past 2005.  They are currently in litigation in another matter which may be having adverse affects on their making a decision regarding this project.

-          Eric expressed some concerns with Prince Alexander not wishing to show a -$25,000 in the construction contingency budget.  Therefore, they decided to move money out of the equipment budget and into the contingency budget. 

-          An additional $35,000 to $50,000 has been needed, that was not originally budgeted, for additional swail work, etc.

-          The building has sat for at least seven weeks without a roof.  Water has been 2” deep in places.  Wood floors throughout the structure are soaked completely.  The floor drains are full and have frozen (no tape covering the openings).  The trench drains are full and have frozen (again, no covering).  Steve Alexander stated that they would inspect the trench drains and if they are cracking, they will be replaced at no cost to the fire department.

-          The department is extremely displeased with Walker Construction. 

-          Coordination of the project is lacking.  All other building trades are waiting for the roof to be completed before they can begin their work.  It was stated at the beginning that the fire department wanted the wood structure roofed first; instead the bay was roofed first. 

-          Project has lost at least five weeks to date. 

-          Eric Brown specifically requested that once the roof is completed, that the inside of the building be thoroughly dried out before any other trades are began.

Ø    Steve Alexander agreed that almost all of the problems so far are a direct result of Walker Construction.  He will send them a letter addressing the delays and the direct impact of those delays.  Brian Bosma requested a copy be sent to him as well

Ø    Steve Alexander stated that he doesn’t believe that the structure has been compromised.  However, once it is closed up, they will dehumidify it and determine for certain if any damage has been done.  Brian stated that if the building is damaged as a result of sitting for several weeks without a roof, then it will be Walker’s responsibility to get it fixed. 

4.        Chief Dutton gave an update on the sewer project for station 51.  Only one bid came back yesterday.  He has faxed it to Kevin Kelly for his review and will follow up with a phone call tomorrow.  The bid came in at just under $8,200.  This seems to be a very reasonable contract. 

5.        Chief Dutton also gave an update on station 52

Ø    The last of 12 piers was installed today.  However, they found while they were digging beside the station, that water from the bay drains is draining straight into the ground under and beside the station, evidently from a cracked line in the bay floor.  Chief Dutton will be contacting someone with a camera so that the amount of damage to the drain pipes can be determined accurately.

Ø    Insurance adjustors have determined that it will cost approximately $22,000 to fix the front of the station.  They, along with various building engineers, have decided that the best fix will be to remove all bricks from the front of the station and rebuild the wall, tying the bricks into the wall as they build up. 

6.        Chief Dutton updated that District on the status of the computer purchases.  Half of the computers approved were ordered and have been received.  The other half will be ordered once station 53 is occupied. 

7.        Chief Dutton announced that, with Bill Patterson’s approval, the district employees have signed on with a new health insurance plan.  The plan that they were on for 2000 increased almost 66%.  A normal premium increase is approximately 15-20%.   Chief Dutton pointed out that the budget only allows for a 3% increase in benefits to each employee and asked that this be re-evaluated for the 2002 budget. 

8.        Brian Bosma stated that he was finally able to contact the Cafeteria Plan coordinator at Charles Lindig and Associates.  An amendment was created to allow the district to administer their cafeteria plan, as they currently are.  Brian also distributed a list of eligible reimbursable expenses, as defined by the federal code.  Chief Dutton stated that this is the same list we are have been following since the plan was set in place originally.  Motion by Bill and 2^nd by Jon to add the amendment to the cafeteria plan, as well as the list of eligible reimbursable expenses.  All in favor and motion carries.

9.        Lieutenant Thacker stated that the 2000 hiring process has been completed and applicants scored as follows:

1.        Jeff Wilson

2.        Charles Linville

3.        Joseph Settles (paramedic)

4.        Mark Andrews (paramedic)

5.        James Engmark

6.        Nick Alford

7.        Kevin Skipper

8.        Casey Arkins

9.        Jim Burgess

10.     Jim Taulman

11.     Tony Napier

Of the original thirteen applicants, one was disqualified because he could not meet the PERF age requirement and one was disqualified because he could not be present during the interview.  The hiring process consisted of the written exam and the oral interview.  The written exam was validated by PSTI and was based on Fire Officer I criteria.  The oral interview was exactly the same as the interview for the last career hiring process and was performed by three career chief officers from other agencies.

Brian Bosma asked to see a copy of the application packet to make sure everything was in order.  After reviewing it, he stated that it was exactly the same as the last process.

Motion made by Jon and 2^nd by Butch to accept the list as presented with the above 11 candidates.  All in favor and motion carries.

Motion made by Bill and 2^nd by Jon to offer employment to Joseph Settles, conditional on successful completion of PERF requirements and the physical ability test.  All in favor and motion carries.  Decision to hire Joseph first was based on the fact that he is was the highest qualifying Paramedic and the department needs Paramedics. 

10.     Eric Reedy stated that the members of the district board are allowed $20 per day for work they do pertaining to the district.  The annual amount in the budget is $3030.  Motion made by Butch and 2^nd by Jon to allot $1030 to the chairman of the board and the remaining four members receiving $500 each.  All in favor and motion carries. 

11.     Eric Reedy stated that money can be transferred within major categories by the head of the department.  Money can only be transferred BETWEEN major categories with board approval.  Eric presented and discussed the transfer resolution.  Motion by Bill and 2^nd by Butch to approve and sign resolution.  All in favor and motion carries. 

12.     Motion by Butch and 2^nd by Bill to grant the Chairman of the District Board signing authority for the public utility easement for Bargersville Utilities.  All in favor and motion carries. 

13.     Paul stated that annual elections will be conducted at the January meeting. 

14.     No further business and meeting adjourned.