White River Township Fire Protection District

 

Pre-Meeting Report for October 3, 2006

 

Compiled October 2, 2006

 

 

 

 

  1. Because of the proximity of the meeting to the end of September, the September financial reports will not be available until sometime Monday morning (October 2nd).  We will get those out as soon as possible that morning for review before the meeting.

 

  1. The Station 52 project is almost done.  C.F. Jones recently received answers regarding the last 10 RFI’s and should be acting upon them A.S.A.P.  Senefeld and Associates will be on hand for an update at the meeting.

 

  1. The Station 51 project is moving along with some progress that is now very noticeable upon a drive-by.  The bay area is nearly boxed out with block and framing has begun on the living quarters area.  The overall project is slightly less than a week behind schedule due to heavy rainfall a couple of weeks ago, but some items have been moved up to compensate.  Project managers say the lost time should be made up within the next few weeks however.  The roof is still scheduled to be placed by the end of October.  Both Senefeld and Associates and the Kramer Corporation will be on hand at the meeting for an update.

 

  1. The department is continuing to work with a local real estate agent on the northwest district property.  There currently is one sale in progress in the development identified last month as the most ideal location.  As soon as the sale completes, which is expected to be around the middle of October, we will bring that information back to the board.  In the meantime, the following is a list of comparables that have been located so far.  We only looked at properties west of Morgantown due to the differences in markets between SR 37 and SR 135.  The property we are interested in is a 1.5 acre lot listed (for the fire department only) at $266,000 per acre.

 

      1. Lot 4 of Market Place subdivision (same subdivision as our proposed property) is currently being sold to Starbucks for $354,000 per acre.  They are purchasing a 1.2 acre lot.
      2. Southwest corner of Smith Valley and Morgantown Road sold for $239,000 per acre for a fuel station.  That transaction closed earlier this year and consists of 1 acre.
      3. Big O Tires bought a one acre lot at SR 37 and Fairview back in 2000 for $250,000.
      4. The Subway strip mall at Fairview and SR 37 sits on one acre and was sold in 2003 for $239,000.

 

  1. No update on the Station 53 sewer project.

 

  1. We will review and discuss the capital outlay and other unfunded projects list that was presented at last month’s meeting at the upcoming meeting.  As you may recall, as in years past, the department has held back on major capital outlays until the second half of the fiscal year in case of a substantial unexpected expense that would require cancellation of any one project.  This year, in addition to the planned capital outlays, the department is anticipating some additional un-budgeted projects.  These projects vary from ones already approved by the board up to and including wish-list items that have come up since the end of last year.  A recap of these projects is included below that currently totals $601,225.  This list is included here just to make the board aware of these projects.  Per request of the board at the August meeting, a short presentation outlining the following projects will be delivered at the meeting.

 

    1. 2003 and 2004 audit of the former volunteer corporation - $10,000
    2. Additional capital required above the 2003 Fire Loan amount for the Station 52 project - $76,393
    3. Station 52 workshop area cut from the original room addition project - $4,900
    4. Additional mini barn for Strawberry Festival storage and screen wall repair at Station 53 - $8,000
    5. Station 53 sewer connection - $100,000
    6. Additional capital required above the 2005 Fire Loan amount for the Station 51 project - $350,000
    7. Garage structure for small vehicles and trailers at Station 53 - $45,000
    8. Quantitative SCBA mask fit testing unit - $6,932

 

  1. Another issue that has recently come to light involves the towing capacity of our fleet.  Most of the trailers are not a problem and are well within the posted towing capacities.  However, two of the trailers are too heavy to be legally towed, even by the 2000 Ford F350 vehicle that we have been using.  One of the trailers could be towed (the Tactical Support Trailer) by simply upgrading to a larger hitch.  The other trailer (the new HAZ/MAT trailer) is too heavy no matter what is done with the vehicle.  We will have personnel on hand to explain the situation in detail as well as offer some solutions to consider.

 

  1. The Board may want to consider next month’s meeting date as it falls on Election Day.

 

  1. That’s all for this month.  See everyone at the meeting.

 

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 7th, 2006.

 

- Scott