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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] MinutesAugust 6, 2008 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Fire Board for the City of St. Joseph and Townships of St. Joseph and St. Wendel met in regular session on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Fire Chief Randy Torborg, City of St. Joseph Representative Rick Schultz, St. Joseph Township Representative Jeff Janssen, St. Wendel Township Representative Greg Salk. City Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Taufen, Terry Loso. Minutes: Schultz made a motion to approve the minutes of August 6, 2008 with corrections; seconded by Janssen and passed unanimously. Financial Report: Weyrens presented the following 2"d Quarter Fire Fund Financial Summary: Revenues $ 44,889.87 Expenditures (55,065.16) Fund Balance $ 478,907:23 Janssen made a motion to approve the 2nd Quarter Financial Report as presented; seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Opticoms for Signal Lights: The Fire Board discussed the installation of the opticoms at the signal lights on CR 75. Currently two of the five lights in the fire district are equipped with the opticoms allowing emergency services to change the signal lights from red to green. As discussed at a previous meeting, the City would be responsible for paying a portion of the equipment and installation cost on the light and the entire cost of equipping the trucks and purchasing the required devices. The Board discussed the safety concerns if only some of the lights are equipped with the opticoms as responders during a call might anticipate the light change only to have it not available. Therefore, Janssen made a motion to recommend the City request that opticom devices are installed on all the signal lights in the Fire District. Further, the cost of the lights should be borne equally between the Fire Fund and City Fund. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. Membership: Toborg reported that the department currently has two openings and requested the Fire Board recommend hire of the top two candidates on the eligibility list. When questioned about equipping new fire fighters and the costs associated with, Torborg stated that typically the new hires are not equipped until they have completed the required training. Generally the department has been able to use existing equipment until they are. ready. Torborg reminded the Fire Board that the City established an eligibility list for hiring when applications were received. Therefore he is recommending the Board accept the top two candidates as Fire Fighters. Torborg made a motion to recommend the City Council hire Keith Louwagie and Steven Luigens as Firefighers. The motion was seconded by Janssen and passed unanimously. Torborg reported that Ben Loso has requested a three (3) month leave of absence to complete school training out of State. The Fire Relief By-Laws include a provision whereby Firefighters can request a leave of absence. The Relief Association did consider the request and granted a three month leave of absence. Building Maintenance/Painting/Seal Coating:Torborg reported that he has continued to seek commercial painters and is recommending hiring Mark's Wallcoating at a contract price of $ 4,800. The price quoted is the same price as the last time he painted the building. Torborg stated that the price is at a discount and the City has been satisfied with the work in the past. Weyrens suggested that since the price has been reduced as a donation, a donation acknowledgement form should be sent to the business. Torborg August 6, 2008 Page 2 of 4 made a motion to request the Council accept the quote of Mark's Wallcoating in the amount of $ 4800 for painting the fire facility. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. FEMA Grant: Torborg reported that the Fire Department has not received a rejection notice for the FEMA Training Grant submitted. Grants are continuing to be awarded and he will keep the Fire Board posted. Fire Fighter Compensation: Torborg expressed frustration that the Firefighters have not received full compensation for the past six month period. Weyrens stated that during the processing of the payroll it was brought to her attention that the fire compensation schedule does not include payment for meetings attended by firefighters for the various committees they serve. Weyrens stated that it is not that they should not be paid, but the Fire Board needs to establish a policy. Torborg stated that the Firefighters have always been compensated for meetings for the committees. Fire Board Members requested information on the established committees and the number of members on each committee. Torborg listed the committee and membership as follows: Training (limited to 6 members), Medical (2); Data Entry (2); Air Pac (2); Communication-(2); Truck (2). The Board established the aforementioned committee list as eligible for compensation and limited the amount of compensation to 20 hours of drill time per member per committee with the exception of the data entry committee. The data entry committee will be compensated for the actual time entering data. The Fire Chief shall have the authority to compensate for miscellaneous meeting at his/her discretion. Additionally, the Fire Chief shall be paid for attending meetings on behalf of the Fire Department such as Fire Board, EMS Task Force, 800 Mhz Radio and City/Township Council/Board meetings. Tl~e Fire Board agreed that compensation for such meetings should be at the established City rate, $ 35.00 per meeting. Salk made a motion to establish the following firefighter compensation: Firefighters serving on the committees stated above shall be compensated a total of 20 hours of drill time annually with the exception of the data entry committee which will be paid for actual time worked at the drill rate. Membership is limited to that listed above. The Fire Chief will be compensated at the City meeting rate for meetings attended on behalf of the City. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Equipment Request: Torborg reported that the JAWS of Life is in need of an equipment upgrade, a foam nozzle and fittings. The estimated cost of the foam nozzle is $ 1,000 and the fitting is $ 2,000. Janssen made a motion to upgrade the JAWS of Life equipment, purchasing a foam Houle and fittings at a total estimated cost of $ 3,000. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. Fire Chiefs Conference: Torborg requested authorization for the Chief and Assistant Chief to attend the Fire Chiefs conference as in the past, reimbursing the per diem and registration fees. The conference is being held in St. Cloud. Salk made a motion to authorize the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief to attend the annua{ Fire Chiefs conference, reimbursing the registration fee and per diem as per City policy. The motion was seconded Janssen and passed unanimously. Miller Depot-St. Joseph Township Permits: Torborg expressed concern that building projects are being approved and constructed without notice to the Fire Department for review of plans. Recently he was requested to complete a fire inspection and did not have the information that was needed as the Frie Department is not contacted for review. In the City the Building Inspector will contact him and ask for input. Janssen stated that the Township would make an effort to have the plans reviewed by the Fire Department prior to the issuance of a building permit. Weyrens stated that she would forward to the Township, the routing form used by the City. DAMA Boxes: Torborg stated that the St. Joseph Police Chief has requested access to the lock boxes used by residents and businesses. The Chief has stated that they are typically the first person on the scene and as they don't have access they have to use alternatives ways to access the property if the facility is locked. Torborg stated that he is not comfortable giving access to anyone other than the Fire August 6, 2008 Page 3 of 4 Department as when the boxes were installed the businesses and residents were informed that it was access for the Fire Department only. He is concerned that some businesses or residents may stop using the lock box if access to the Police Department is granted. Torborg further stated that in events such as fire, there is a potential for additional damage if they are not trained how to handle certain situations. Janssen stated that as an officer in St. Cloud they do not have access to the lock boxes and there may be a time when damage to a door occurs if the officers need to access the location. This is not uncommon and most agencies cover any damage. Janssen made a motion reaffirming the position of the St. Joseph Fire Board that the lock boxes installed in the St. Joseph Fire District were installed at the request of the Fire Department for Fire Department use only. Therefore, key access to lock boxes shall remain limited to the St. Joseph Fire Department. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Replacement Fire Department Officers; Torborg reported that the recent retirement of Terry Loso has created an opening for a captain and the Fire Department is recommending appointing Justin Honer as captain. The recommendation to appoint Honer is based on his experience on the department and knowledge and skills at equipment operation. Janssen made a motion to recommend the Council appoint Justin Honer to Captain as recommended by the Fire Department. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. Torborg announced that he is considering stepping down as Chief. He stated that he has been an Officer for 10 years of his 18 to 20 years on the department. The position has become extremely time consuming and he indicated that it was time to turn the position to another member. Torborg stated that the Assistant Chief, Jeff Taufen, has expressed interest in the position. Torborg further stated that while he may be stepping down as Fire Chief he will continue to be an active member of the St. Joseph Fire Department. 2009 Budget: Torborg and Weyrens presented the proposed 2009 budget for the St. Joseph Fire Department. While the expenditure budget represents an increase of approximately 5.5%, the impact of the proposed budget is actually around 19%. The reason for the difference is that in 2008 the Fire Board agreed to not fund for the entire expenditure budget. The revenue was budgeted $ 30,000 less than the expenditures with the understanding that if the revenues did not cover the expenditures, the deficit would be covered through the reserve balance. Torborg stated that the budget has not changed significantly with the biggest increase being the salaries. This change is in part to the revised compensation schedule. The budget also includes an increase in training. After considerable discussion, Board members agreed that white they are not opposed to an increase in the fire budget, they are concerned with the financial impact to each jurisdiction. The following is a summary of the budget as presented by Torborg: Fre ~.dministrataon Fire Fighting :Fire Tram='ng Fire Gommunicatan 2008 2©~9 Adopter! Proposed 25,65 2~,65d3 2t)6,,94C 212,12 7,501; 13,25 9_.200 15,05 2,700 3,250 ,F're Repair Service ''tvtedicai Servtes F`re Stag.on,Bldg Comrnun=ty Raom 26,600.00 20,600.0 5,000.00 ' 5,000.00 291,290.00 300,615: August 6, 2008 Page 4 of 4 The Fire Board acknowledged that the budget for 2008 was supplemented with revenue, but the budget for 2009 must be amended to reflect a minimal increase, no larger than 5.5% in jurisdiction revenue. As the budgets are only preliminary at this time, the Fire Board requested that Torborg revise the budget and bring the final budget to the November meeting. Therefore, Salk made a motion requiring Torborg to revise the budget to reflect a maximum jurisdiction increase of no more than 5.5%. The Board will review the budget before final adoption. The motion was seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Adfourn: The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 9:.15 PM. Judy Weyrens Administrator