White River Township Fire Protection District

Board Meeting Minutes

November 7, 2006

 

District Board Members Present:

Dr. Chuck Shufflebarger

Paul Kite

Jim Dodson

Butch Sutton

 

White River Twp Fire Department Employees Present:

Chief Tibbetts

Chief Slauter

Captain Skipper

Captain Hart

Captain Settles

Lt. Hurrle

Lt. Alford

Kyle Brooks

Bryan Arkins

Scott Wiegle

Chad Witham

Crystal Young

 

Others Present:

Tricia Leminger

Dan Sulkouwski       

Dudley Senefeld

Scott Senefeld

Jeanie Salin

Mike Gaunce

Jeff Coy

                                                                                                                                

Note:  Motions are italicized and in blue.


 

 

Dr. Chuck Shufflebarger called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

 

                 

              I.      Health Insurance

a.      Jim Dodson has been in discussions with Jeff Smith about a new health insurance policy.

                                                              i.      The current policy renewal rate of increase is approximately 41%.

                                                            ii.      Mr. Dodson wanted to take this opportunity to discuss other options and the amount of increase the board is willing to absorb.

                                                          iii.      Mr. Dodson, along with Jeff Smith, has contacted the current insurance agent, Jeanie Salin, and Mike Gaunce to come up with alternative plans to discuss and review.

b.      Jeanie Salin began with a handout briefly discussing the history of medical premiums from December 2004 to the current renewal.  Her second handout covered the current plan along with three optional plans.

                                                              i.      Last year’s increase for the Starmark plan was 20.4%.  The department has carried this policy for 20 ½ months, during that period claims totaled $237,864.52, total premiums paid was $265,394.18 leaving a difference of $27,529.66.  With such a low difference scarcely covering administrative costs, a large increase was expected.

                                                            ii.      The current insurance premiums will increase to $22,725.30 ($22,471.42 in addition to the employee contribution) from $16,060.76 an increase of 41%.  The comparative policies were quoted through Principal Financial and are still included in the Sagamore Network.  All the specifics were discussed on the hand out, pointing out that the main differences among the policies are the total deductibles, while all plans include a $500 wellness benefit to encourage the use of preventative services such as mammograms and colonoscopies.  Currently the maximum contribution into an HSA is $5500.

                                                          iii.      Ms. Salin has had a difficult time finding short-term disability because of the occupation of the workforce; most insurance companies do not want to quote the policy.  Starmark does have the short-term disability listed separate at a renewal rate of $825.92 a month.

                                                           iv.      Mr. Dodson stated that he appreciated the work Ms. Salin has put into finding the department alternative options and the department in being cooperative in filling out the paperwork and getting that to her in a timely fashion.

                                                             v.      Dental and Vision plans were also quoted for the department on the second page of the handout.  These policies are completely paid for by the employee

c.      Mike Gaunce then presented the plans he discovered for the department.  First he wanted to thank the board and Jeff Smith in getting the needed information to him.  Three plans were introduced two from Anthem and one from Advantage.

                                                              i.      All three plans are similar but have small differences.  All Premiums are based on the types of policies carried by the employees of the department.  Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is the largest group in the state and is comparable to the Sagamore Network.  The plan with Advantage is an HMO and is a smaller network in which the policy holder must choose a provider who then sends you to any specialists you may need.  This policy is more restrictive.  The Anthem policies are not as restrictive.

                                                            ii.      The Anthem plans pay 100% after the deductible is met while the Advantage plan is an 80/20 plan.

                                                          iii.      The first proposed Anthem plan mirrors coverage of current Starmark plan.  The second Anthem plan has an embedded deductible which one member covered can reach the deductible but the deductible is slightly larger.  The Anthem plans have full coverage on wellness services.  All three plans have a vision plan included in the policy.

                                                           iv.      The disability coverage found is comparable to the existing plan with an 88/26 benefit, maximum of $700 per week.  The rate is $653 based upon the total payroll given; this rate is guaranteed for three years and is a stand alone policy.  It is non-occupational coverage.

d.      Mr. Dodson, in starting the discussion of health plan with the board, suggests the board commit to % of increase they are comfortable with then allow the department employees decide which policy they prefer and how much expense they wish to absorb.

e.      Butch Sutton asked what the current contribution and policy premium is.  Currently the monthly premium is $16,080; HSA funding is $2000 for individual and $4000 for family with the employee contributing $30 per pay period. 

f.        Dr. Shufflebarger asked if the board should discuss the appropriate amount of increase them turn the decision over to the department to decide the amount of expense to them.  Mr. Dodson believes the topic should be discussed tonight and a percent of increase be determined.  Dr. Shufflebarger believes that the board should discuss the increase being a salary as opposed to a benefit increase.

g.      Mr. Dodson discussed the changes made at his church in which the policy renewal time coordinates with the budget renewal so the increase could be included.  Making a change such as this would be difficult because as Ms. Salin commented, the deductible is run through the calendar year.

h.      A question came up as to what the increase of insurance was included in the new budget.  Capt. Settles responded that Chief Cassin had told him that it was 16%.

i.        Mr. Sutton believes that the decision be turned over to the department first for the employees to decide which plan they prefer.  At this time, many people are not getting raises because their raise is coming in their benefits.

j.         Dr. Shufflebarger stated that the employees knew Starmark was not the best premium but the department decided to keep the policy and absorb the cost.

k.      Mr. Dodson agrees to turn it over to the department to decide on which policy to go with by the next board meeting which leaves less than 30 days to decide on the increase and where it will be absorbed.

l.         Dr. Shufflebarger agrees to let the department decide.  He told them to work within the 5% range.  Someone will be in contact with Jeff Smith.

 

            II.      Building Project Updates (Station 51)

a.      Scott Senefeld introduced Jeff Coy from Steelcorp to the board.

b.      Mr. Senefeld then reviewed the projects that have started on site.

                                                              i.      Mason walls are up

                                                            ii.      Framing and decking have been started

                                                          iii.      Metal studs are starting to go up

                                                           iv.      The brick veneer is going up

                                                             v.      The project status is progressing

c.      Mr. Senefeld then revisited the issues that were discussed during the last board meeting.

                                                              i.      Bargersville Utilities has been contacted and Bill Reynolds has been reviewing the problem.  The plans call for a 2” meter, it can be changed to two 1” meters but there would be some cost appreciation.  The main topic of the change in the ordinance and if the project could be grandfathered is still being discussed with Mr. Reynolds.

                                                            ii.      Limestone coins were approved during the last meeting.  The project was given a schedule incentive bringing a net added of $4000 to the project.  The change can be seen on the East, North, and West sides of the building.

                                                          iii.      Some issues of correspondence have some up and have been easily taken care of.

1.      The bollard had to be moved.

2.      Some plumbing rough-in was re-routed

3.      Running some bond block

                                                           iv.      Things are progressing well and Indy Walls is beginning to get involved with the project.  There have been coordination discussions with various trades on the project during the bi-weekly meetings.

                                                             v.      Tricia Leminger questioned the double checks of the payouts.  This is not a leasing project so she is not receiving a copy of the payouts to review and asked Dan if he would double check the payouts and okay them for the department to pay.  He stated that he would be happy to do that but to this point he has been reviewing the rough draft during the meetings.

                                                           vi.      Steelcorp has put a temporary drive through the bays and parking is on the North side of the building if anyone is looking at the construction. 

                                                         vii.      Senefeld has been working with Johnson County about the draining of the lot.  There is a swale located on our neighbor’s property in which we asked if the drainage of Station 51 could also be drained into.  The county said no.  So a small swale must be put into the 10’ of land that is left.  At this time there is a meeting scheduled on sight with the neighbor to discuss the grade.

d.      Mr. Sulkouwski stated that currently there is $12,000 of issues under discussion for change.  $12,000 for meters, stone, excavation etc stated on the last page of the packet.  These things are waiting on issue decisions that are slowing down progress.  The stone decision has been okayed and has progressed but other issues are still left unresolved.

e.      Ms. Leminger brought up the discussion about having the tap fee waived.  Mr. Senefeld is in the process of discussing that with Mr. Reynolds but he does not currently want to waive the fee.  All parties involved are still determining on whether this is a seen or unseen cost.  The determination depends on when the ordinance change went into affect and where the project was in its progression.

f.        Mr. Sulkouwski disbursed the updated construction schedule.  The schedule is the second revision by the contractors; it is used to pin down the start date of each portion of the project, what was committed to and when it was actually started.  The project is currently one to two weeks behind however there is float in the schedule and the completion date is still on schedule.

g.      Jeff Coy of Steelcorp requested the board make a decision on which direction they wish to go on the utilities.  This issue is holding up excavation and electrical work.  He knows that there is still a question as to when the ordinance went into affect but some projects are falling behind while waiting on the decision.  Currently the project is behind in some areas but ahead in others.  Indy Walls has started their part of the project early.  Mr. Coy also did some research on the amount of rain we have had during this project.  Of the 120 days of construction 77 of them have had some precipitation.  With that news he is optimistic about the progress of the project.  Also many of the jobs on the schedule have two weeks to complete but will not take the entire time, the completion date is the one to pay close attention to.

h.      The goal is to get the project into dry and the utility issue resolved.  Once the project is in dry there will be more accuracy with the schedule.

i.        Mr. Dodson inquired about any action that may need to come from the board.  The response was that the utility issue is on hold until more information is accumulated.  All other issues will be reviewed and the best courses of action will be recommended to the board to discuss at the next board meeting.

j.         There will be a progress meeting at the building site at 10:30 November 8th.

 

          III.      Approval of Minutes from October 3rd Meeting

a.      Butch Sutton motions that the minutes be approved.  Jim Dodson seconds.

b.      All in favor and motion carries.

 

         IV.      Financial Update

a.      Chief Tibbetts relayed to the board that everything is the same.  The only current change is the General Fund is currently showing in the hole but it truly isn’t.  A cagit check was deposited today and will show in the bank tomorrow.

           V.      Old Business

a.      Land Acquisition Project Update

                                                              i.      The land in the NW corner being purchased by Starbucks has not closed; it should be some time around Christmas.  Once that information is available it will be brought to the boards’ attention.

b.      Capital Projects Update

                                                              i.      SCBA replacement is currently on hold because the department prefers to wait two to three months for the new standards to come out.

                                                            ii.      Workshop at Station 52 needs approval from the board.  Mr. Sutton states for the handy man shop to be where the handy man works.

                                                          iii.      Vehicle Garage with extra storage.  Dr. Shufflebarger has a problem with the garage.  The anticipation of loosing the current property seems to deem this project unnecessary.

1.      Paul Kite inquired as to why the department owns so many trailers.  Can none of the functions be duplicated?  Chief Tibbetts reply is that each trailer has its own function.  The HazMat and Trench trailers are for two different purposes and are response vehicles.  The small events trailer houses the golf cart and the Safety trailer is used by Prevention during school functions, day care facilities and any other requests for the program.  There is no way to combine any of the functions.

2.      Mr. Dodson questioned where the funds come from for these projects.

3.      Mr. Sutton responded, from the capital left over, conservative numbers were placed on different projects allowing for some money to be extra.

                                                           iv.      Butch Sutton motions on building the workshop in Station 52.  Paul Kite seconds.

                                                             v.      All in favor and motion carries.

                                                           vi.      Mr. Kite also has issue with the garage.  Chief Tibbetts replies that this property may be here for 5-10-15 years.  It is hard to tell exactly when the I69 project will come through this area.  And these vehicles (the trailers along with two utility trucks and two pool cars) are assets the department has and leaving them out in the weather to rust and be subject to hail and other weather events may not be the best thing for them.

1.      Dr. Shufflebarger does not like the inexpensive look of the building.  He understands the needs he just is not sure this is the way to fill those needs.  Chief Tibbetts asked if it is the concept of the building or the look that he is not comfortable with.  Dr. Shufflebarger responds by saying both.

2.      Mr. Dodson asks if the new Station 51 is going to have any room to house any of these vehicles.  Also in respect to the old Station 51, are there any ideas as to what the department would like to do with the station and could it be used for storage for any of the vehicles.  Chief Slauter replied by stating that the trench trailer would fit but the safety trailer would not.  The problem with storing the trench trailer there would be that it would not be available for immediate response.  Mr. Dodson would like to know strategically what the department plans on doing with the old station.  More thinking on the topic is needed.

                                                         vii.      Trailer Towing

1.      The department started with the idea of replacing the 2000 dually because it could not legally tow the HazMat or Trench trailers.  The department believes that with only 17,000 miles, getting rid of the dually would not be the responsible decision.  The dually is also used for the snow plow during the winter months if it is traded in a new plow would need to be purchased to replace the current one.

2.      The department now believes that the 1990 flat bed truck that was originally set to be replaced in 2004 would be the better vehicle for trade-in.

3.      Several models of truck were researched:

a.      Dodge – Freightliner; big and bulky; $64,850

b.      Chevy; also big and bulky; $45,077

c.      GMC; same as Chevy; $45,791

d.      Ford F550; cab is more manageable; $42,220

4.      The Ford F550 is the choice of the department with an estimated cost of $49,000 with lights and graphics added.  The estimated trade-in is $3,000 leaving the total cost to be $46,000.

5.      Mr. Dodson and Mr. Sutton wanted to know where the money for the new vehicle would be coming from.  The response from the department was that the flat bed was to be traded in 2004; since it was delayed the money would come from the CumFund under the replacement for that vehicle along with the vehicle rotation being shuffled to off set the adjustment.

6.      Mr. Kite wanted an update on the situation with the HazMat trailer.  Chief Slauter has been working with Tug Sutton to have a new trailer quoted in which the weight would be re-arranged to minimize the tongue weight of the trailer.  After a price was quoted, Mr. Sutton and the department sent a proposal to the manufacturer for a $10,000 credit. The credit is for the department to keep the current trailer instead of the manufacturer having to build a new trailer to replace it.  No response to the proposal has been given.  Tug Sutton works with approximately $17,000 in grant money so he is unable to absorb any cost.

7.      Mr. Dodson asked if the new truck would accommodate any future use the department may need.  The department’s response is that the F550 could tow anything the department has or could receive in the future.

8.      Mr. Sutton asked if all money for vehicle purchases has been used for the current year and it has.  His suggestion then would be for the department to use the money earmarked for next year’s vehicle replacement to purchase this vehicle and push the rotation back from there, possibly keeping some vehicles in service for another year.

9.      The board asked if the vehicle purchase could be pushed off.  The departments reply is that the sooner the vehicle could be purchased and put into service the sooner the HazMat and trench trailers could be put into service.  They then asked how soon the vehicle could be taken into possession.  The truck is currently available.

10. Mr. Sutton motions to purchase the vehicle as long as the money come from next years vehicle purchase.  Paul Kite seconds.

11. All in favor and motion carries.

         VI.      New Business

a.      The board has received notification of disciplinary action.  Dr. Shufflebarger creates a sub-committee to review department disciplinary issues.  He appoints Jon Raker and Jim Dodson volunteers to also be on the sub-committee.

       VII.      Adjournment

a.      Meeting adjourned at 8:36 by Dr. Chuck Shufflebarger.

 

 

Next meeting will be December 5, 2006 at 7 p.m.