White River Township Fire Protection District

Board Meeting Minutes

September 5, 2006

 

District Board Members Present:

Dr. Chuck Shufflebarger

Paul Kite

Jim Dodson

 

White River Twp Fire Department Employees Present:

Chief Cassin

Chief Slauter

Chief Engmark

Crystal Young

 

Others Present:

Tricia Leminger

           


                                                                                                                                

Note:  Motions are italicized and in blue.


 

 

Dr. Chuck Shufflebarger called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m.

 

              I.      Approval of Minutes from the August 1, 2006 Meeting

a.      Jim Dodson moves to accept. Paul Kite seconds.

b.      All in favor and motion carries.                 

            II.      Financial Update

a.      Chief Cassin disbursed a balance sheet and budget report for year to date in the meeting packet.

                                                              i.      Page eight of the meeting packet is the balance sheet as of August 1st.

                                                            ii.      The next three pages are the Budget Report showing the department running under budget year-to-date.  The Building and Vehicle Maintenance are the only funds currently running over budget.

                                                          iii.      Page 12 lists the balance for both General Fund and Cumulative Fund Capital Outlays.

          III.      Old Business

a.      Station 51 update

                                                              i.      Chief Cassin stated that from the last onsite update meeting that everything is on schedule.  Project logistics have changed to accommodate for the small space but to date have not hindered the progress of the construction.

                                                            ii.      The cinder block is currently being laid without the exterior block.  The contractor believes there will be room for scaffolding so the exterior will be placed at a later time.

                                                          iii.      Tricia Leminger has stated that the relationship between all parties involved has been good.  Dan from Kramer has been especially accommodating and has been considerable help.

                                                           iv.      Jim Dodson was curious as to any community comments or feedback?  A-shift Rescue 51 regularly visits the site and to date have had no negative comments.  A few local residents frequently talk to R51 and are pleased about the progress of the station.

                                                             v.      Dan Sulkouwski has been doing a wonderful job keeping up with the project, spotting potential problems and keeping everything running smoothly.

b.      Jim Dodson added old business to the agenda.   He would like to revisit the discussions on new employee hiring, insurance status, and laying out the process for the possible replacement of a new fire chief.

                                                              i.      Chief Cassin informed the board that in a senior staff meeting it was decided that a new list be started and the process for hiring new part-time firefighters has begun.  Mr. Dodson inquired the cost of the process in which Dr. Shufflebarger replied that it is marginal.

c.      Station 52 update

                                                              i.      Construction is 99% complete. 

                                                            ii.      The few exceptions are a new air conditioning unit, the punch out list and the main water line needs to be connected.

                                                          iii.      Mr. Dodson inquired about the process of the current building project to previous building projects?  Chief Cassin was not involved in the construction of Station 53 so was unable to give any comparison.

1.      Ms. Leminger believes that the process has gone great so far, but in her experience problems will always occur.  Having Dan on this project has improved the experience greatly.  If anything, the Station 53 building process taught the department what not to do which led to the hiring of Kramer.

2.      Mr. Dodson was curious how everyone was responding to the process internally?  At this time there are no complaints other than Station 51 wishes they had the new building a year ago.

d.      Land Acquisition Project Update

                                                              i.      There is no new information except for the sale of one of the lots in the ideal location.  This sale is currently in progress and will not be completed until mid October, at that time there will be another update.  More information can be found on page two of the meeting packet.

                                                            ii.      Mr. Dodson inquired about the appraised value of the location of current Station 51.  In terms of divesting, what is the value of the property?  The lot is half an acre that was originally donated to the department surrounded on all sides by single family homes.

e.      Other old business

                                                              i.      Disposal of the Pumper

1.      The department believed the pumper was to be sold to the Needham Fire Department but they were not willing to buy the apparatus for the $50,000 in the agreement.

2.      The previous offer for the pumper has been extended until September 18th.  After that date the value of the apparatus will lower.  A resolution will have to be passed to allow there to be a bid process with a deadline of September 18th.

a.      Jim Dodson moves to accept. Paul Kite seconds.

b.      All in favor and motion carries.

3.      The second resolution gives the department the authority to accept the bid.

a.      Jim Dodson moves to accept. Paul Kite seconds.

b.      All in favor and motion carries.

                                                            ii.      Task Force One

1.      The agreement was authorized, but as of yet has not been received.  Ms. Leminger is waiting for a response from Indianapolis Legal.  On August 31st she e-mailed them for status and updates on the agreement.  There has been no response.  Currently Pike is the only department to have signed the agreement.

2.      Task Force One is a group set up by FEMA for search and rescue during any disaster.  Many of the firefighters would like to sign up for the Task Force to gain valuable experience.  Members who are called to a disaster area are paid by FEMA as well as the department being reimbursed for the replacement of the person.

3.      The main issues with the agreement are the implications of the person being another department’s employee, the reimbursement to the department, workman’s compensation, and training.

                                                          iii.      Insurance

1.      Jeff Smith is currently doing comparison shopping for department insurance.  He surveyed current employees on the current insurance and asked for information on who is on the policy.

2.      Mr. Dodson would like Lt. Smith to contact him with any information he has obtained.

3.      Several insurance agents have contacted the department and should be spoken to in terms of comparison.

4.      Up to 18% increase in insurance costs is possible.

                                                           iv.      Hiring Process for new Fire Chief

1.      Dr. Shufflebarger stated that it is at the discretion of the board.

2.      Ms. Leminger stated that the board could look inside the department or outside.  There could also be an application process.

3.      Mr. Dodson asked what the criteria would be and Dr. Shufflebarger responded that the board would have a discussion and decide what they believed would be proper for a Fire Chief.

4.      Mr. Dodson wanted to know what was involved in the last process and Chief Cassin also stated that there is a Job Description for the Fire Chief position in the Departments Policy Manual.

         IV.      New Business

a.      Capital Outlay Presentation – Powerpoint by Chief Cassin

                                                              i.      A project Summary is listed on slide two.  Each desired project with the estimated cost is listed.

                                                            ii.      The first (slide 3) is the districts portion for Station 51.  This is the difference between the construction cost and the loan amount.  This will most likely become a 2007 issue and will need a resolution to spend the amount.

                                                          iii.      The next (slide 4) is a sewer connection for Station 53.  The estimated cost of $100,000 should be the maximum amount needed to repair the problems.  The public/private shared sewer line was denied so the department is looking for alternative solutions.

                                                           iv.      The difference in construction costs and loan amounts for the expansion of Station 52 (slide 5).

                                                             v.      The department would like to construct a small vehicle garage (slides 6-11) to help house the nine pieces of apparatus that are currently sitting outside and are deteriorating.  The trailers are showing signs of storm and rust damage.  The new HazMat trailer and the safety trailer need to be stored out of the weather along with the back up battalion vehicles in the winter draining batteries and covered in snow making them difficult to use in emergency situations.

                                                           vi.      Next is the 2003 & 2004 Volunteer Corp audit (slide 12)

                                                         vii.      A new mini-barn and the repair of the screen wall (slides 13-15) would help in storage.  The department will be losing a mini-barn when Station 51 moves.  By adding a mini-barn and extending the screen wall the department would be able to store all items utilized during the Strawberry Festival in one place.

                                                       viii.      A Quantitative SCBA Mask Fit Tester (slide16) would benefit the department.  Yearly tests of the equipment cost $5000, for an extra $2000 the department can do the testing when needed and at our own pace without utilizing someone else at the yearly cost.

                                                           ix.      The last is a Station 52 Workshop Retrofit (slide 17).  By adding the workshop to the station, items used would have a place to be staged making them more efficient to use.  This would also be used as the main workshop for the entire department.

                                                             x.      The total estimated cost of all eight projects is $601,225 (slide 18).  Of that just over $350,000 has already been approved.

                                                           xi.      All projects will be reviewed and discussed next month.  Also the board would like to review the minutes on Station 52.  Members would like to know the original amount approved, amended amount and the path that was followed to get were we are now.  What were the external factors, what number the architect gave and what cap was set for the project?

           V.      Adjournment

a.      Meeting adjourned at 8:11 by Dr. Chuck Shufflebarger.

 

 

Next meeting will be October 3, 2006 at 7 p.m.