White River Township Fire Protection District

 

Pre-Meeting Report for December 6, 2005

 

Compiled November 30, 2005

 

 

 

 

  1. The Station 51 building team has met several times over the past month with Senefeld and Associates Architects.  Some major revisions to the lower level were made to cut back on costs.  Several hundred square feet were trimmed and much of the lower level re-designed.  Other than that, the rest of the structure remains the same, outside of a few door swings, etc.  The Architects will make a presentation at the District Board meeting to go over what has been done to date.  It is also a possibility they will have a detailed cost estimate available as well.

 

As you may recall from the e-mail sent earlier in the month, the DLGF officially approved the request for funding on the project for the total amount requested.  Tricia Leminger was working on the next steps and will report on these at the meeting.

 

  1. Senefeld and Associates Architects had the pre-bid meeting regarding the room addition at Station 52.  Everything went well and the project is still on track.  They will have a report at the meeting regarding the latest status and bid information.

 

  1. Our health insurance rates for 2006 just came in last week and are going up almost 21%.  This is primarily due to a near 100% expense-to-revenue ratio, increased family coverage (more babies and spouses added), and overall aging of the group.  I have asked our health insurance representative to be at the meeting to help discuss the reasons for the increase as well as outline a strategy for keeping costs down in the future.

 

  1. Chief Brown has received feedback from the State regarding the proposed Fire Protection Ordinance.  He is working directly with one of their representatives and is making the necessary revisions to be in compliance.  There is no anticipated discussion at the meeting as the final product is not yet ready.

 

  1. The two benefit issues are still outstanding (merging PA & PL days into vacation days and adding a bereavement day).  I have asked Mark Hart to again be in attendance at the meeting in case anyone would have any questions, but he cannot attend due to a teaching obligation.  (Mark is the one who authored the project and received feedback from all employees on the matter).  So, Chief Thacker, who is also familiar with the issue, will be able to answer any questions.

 

  1. According to last month’s minutes, Tricia Leminger will have a presentation regarding the grant-funded purchase of radio equipment off of the state’s QPA list.

 

  1. We have received official confirmation from P.E.R.F. that Don Young is now receiving his disability pension.  His last official day at the fire department was November 12th as the pension picked up from there.  This now (officially) creates a vacancy in the Fire Prevention Division.  Because there is strong internal interest in the position, it is our full intent to fill from within.  If this is the case, then this will more than likely have a trickle-down effect opening up other positions, depending on who moves.  Fortunately, provided the applicant is a Captain or less in rank, we have lists at all levels to draw candidates from (Captain, Lieutenant, and Engineer).  So, with approval, our intent is to have all positions filled and in place by January 1st.  Chief Thacker will have a full presentation at the meeting followed by discussion.

 

  1. Chief Slauter, Chief Thacker, and Captain Arkins have completed the Performance Appraisals for both myself and Chief Tibbetts.  The process went very well and a lot of constructive feedback and dialog took place.  Chief Thacker will present an update at the meeting.

 

  1. Chief Thacker would also like to make a short presentation on purchasing tables and chairs for the classroom.  The current tables and chairs are now almost seven years old and have been repaired on several occasions and (as you know) are not very comfortable for long sessions.  Because the room and its facilities are used almost every weekday (sometimes twice per day and on many weekends), the department would like to upgrade the facilities to more comfortable chairs and better tables.  This project would be completely funded by the training budget (which is well-under budget for the year).

 

  1. Because of the potential length of the above topics and in the interest of time, we will put off to next month the first Strategic Plan presentation, the Apparatus Rotation Schedule.

 

  1. That’s it for this month.  See you at the meeting…… Scott