White River Township Fire Protection District

 

Pre-Meeting Report for July 6, 2004

 

Compiled July 1, 2004

 

 

  

  1. The new Engine 51 has had all of its equipment installed, has been striped and has been in service for almost two weeks with no problems reported.  The engine that it is replacing, Engine 54, has been moved to station 53 and is serving as a “back up” engine.  It is currently in the shop getting a general tune up and fixing of minor issues.

 

  1. The career hiring process is still on schedule, with the oral interviews having been conducted the week of June 21st.  Background checks are currently under way.  We still anticipate presenting a list of names for conditional offers of employment at the August 3rd FPDB meeting.

 

  1. Building construction updates. 
    1. Station 51 (new building)
      1. The team has met about a half-dozen times since its inception by the Chief last month.  The team has been working closely with the architect and has done extensive research regarding the overall project.  The team members have also been visiting various other fire stations taking photos and interviewing firefighters on what they like and don’t like about their buildings.
      2. If you have not been receiving the meeting minutes, send me an e-mail and I will send you some copies.  They are also available on the web site.
      3. I have received some questions regarding the number of bays on the building and why it has changed.  When the team began the project, it was of overwhelming consensus that the new building be designed in accordance with our long-term strategy, nothing more and nothing less.  According to the architects, the building is being designed and built as a 75-year structure.  Therefore, the building must not only be able to accommodate the fire department of today, but also 50-75 years from now.  Although it is impossible to tell what the future will hold, with the expertise of the individuals on the team, we can make a pretty good educated guess.  So, with that in mind, the most personnel that are likely to ever be assigned at that fire station is 12.  Therefore, the building is being built to accommodate up to 12 on-duty personnel as well as taking into consideration apparatus needs.  Using this model, two drive-through bays (4 spaces) would be more than adequate.  The group then proceeded with this model.  However, during a recent meeting, Chief Tibbetts advised the group that the building needed to be 3 drive-through bays (6 spaces).  There was no further discussion and the model was changed to reflect this modification.  When the architect took this into consideration, it was no longer possible to accomplish the goals set forth by the team.  Because of this, a compromise was struck and the building now has 2 ½ drive-through bays (5 spaces).  The building still fits on the lot and is able to accommodate the 12 on-duty personnel.
      4. After working with Tricia Leminger, Eric Brown, the architects, and the Johnson County Planning & Zoning Department, we have addressed nearly all of the potential hurdles ahead of time (easements, curb cuts, drainage, green space requirements, etc).  Tricia will have more on these issues at the meeting.
      5. Senefeld Architects will have the first set of rough drawings and an elevation schematic for everyone to see at next week’s meeting.  He will also have a rough cost breakdown on the overall project as well.
    2. Station 52 (addition)
      1. No new news on this project.  The team is still awaiting final drawings from the architect and a cost breakdown that fits within our budget.
    3. Station 53 (minor improvements)
      1. Work is already under (and almost completed) on the new windows and exterior upstairs doorway.
      2. Work will be beginning soon on installation of gear lockers in the bay.
      3. Work will also be beginning soon on installing the Plymovent vehicle exhaust removal system.

 

  1. The project regarding the planned hiring of the part-time personnel from the volunteer corporation is on hold until the August 3rd meeting.  With all of the other projects going on, nor us or the attorney’s office has had adequate time to devote to this issue.

 

  1. Large capital outlays to be presented in July:
    1. Turnout gear proposal.  As per our Capital Outlay budget, we are planning to replace nearly half of the turnout gear worn on-duty with a newer, safer system (the other half gets replaced at the first of the year with a 5-year rotation after that).  The committee has been working over the last several months developing a set of specifications and also field testing various manufacturers’ gear.  The specification was then turned into the Senior Staff for input and final review.  After this approval, the committee solicited invitations to quote from 4 manufacturers.  As of today, we have received two quotes back.  These will be opened at next week’s meeting.
    2. In keeping with our long-term budget strategy and now that we have reached mid-year, we would like to move forward on replacing the two older Tahoes with Expeditions.  The procedure would likely be the same as last year with using the state QPA and having them ordered.  This process will take a couple of months.  Once the new vehicles arrive and are in-service, the two older ones will be sold outright or traded in, whichever yields the best price.

 

  1. As hopefully you already know, our building (Headquarters) was struck by lightning (radio tower) causing about $30,000 in damage total.  All of the damage has since been repaired and everything is running normally.  The issue whether to turn the case into insurance or pay outright is now the topic of debate.  Chief Tibbetts will have an update on this at the meeting.

 

  1. The radio tower upgrade project remains on hold.

 

  1. Tricia asked me a few weeks ago if I knew of any unbudgeted projects that were foreseen for this year.  The only two that I knew of were the radio tower project ($25,000) and the potential retro-fit of the crew area at Station 53 to allow more capacity for the additional crew at year’s end ($20K-$30K).  Depending on the decision, the lightning strike damage could be added to this group as well.  Other than that, nothing else has been projected.

 

  1. The minutes from the June 1st District meeting are available for viewing on our website, or by following this link: http://www.wrtfd.org/downloads/minutes/fpdb/2004/0601.htm

 

  1. The agenda for the July 6th District meeting is available for viewing on our website, or by following this link:  http://www.wrtfd.org/downloads/agendas/fpdb/2004/0706.htm

 

  1. This agenda will be updated as needed.  Copies will be available the night of the meeting.  The July newsletter is available for viewing on our website, or by following this link:  http://www.wrtfd.org/downloads/newsletters/2004/July04news.doc