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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] February Minutes February 4, 2015 Page 1 of 3 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, February 4, 2015 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph Fire Hall. Members Present: Fire Chief Jeff Taufen, City of St. Joseph Representative Bob Loso, St. Joseph Township Representative Jeff Janssen, St. Wendel Township Representative Greg Salk. City Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Assistant Fire Chief Justin Honer. Loso made a motion to approve the minutes from August 13, 2014 as presented; Minutes: seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. th Financial Report: Weyrens presented the 4 Quarter Financial Summary: Revenues $ 278,439.57 Expenditures $ ( 210,792.84) Fund Balance $ 561,213.11 Weyrens stated that the report as presented represents the year end unaudited balances, with final balances anticipated in March. The year-end revenue represents 99% of the budgeted revenue and the expenditures represent 71% of the budgeted expenditures. Weyrens stated that the Fire fund will not reflect a donation from the College/Monastery of St. Benedict as the City did not receive a contribution. In contacting CSB, the Chief of Staff indicated that they did make a donation for 2014 as they sent a check in January 2014. Weyrens tried to tell her that the contribution was for 2013, but she did not see that and stated that how the City applies the donation is up to the City. Regardless of what year it is applied, 2013 or 2014, the Fire Fund will have a deficit from the lack of donation. Weyrens stated this is the first time since at least 1986 the City has not received a contribution. Taufen questioned if they are not obligated as he thought there was an agreement that they had executed. He will see if he has a copy and forward th Loso made a motion to accept the 4 Quarter Financial Report as presented; to Weyrens. seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS State Fire Convention: Taufen requested authorization to reimburse two firefighters expenses for attending the annual State Fire Convention. The convention will be held in St. Cloud, June 11 – June 13. The Fire Relief Association has already agreed to send two members as well. Taufen stated that conference is a great opportunity for members to see new or different training/fire methods as well as networking with other departments. As the conference is in St. Cloud, the expense to the City is the Salk made a motion to authorize the conference cost, per diem and any meals that are not included. expenditure to send to fire fighters to the Annual State Conference, reimbursing the per diem, mileage and meals not included in the conference fee. The motion was seconded by Janssen and passed unanimously. Fire Boots: Taufen presented the Fire Board with a request to purchase and three (3) new sets of boots. He stated that in 2013 the Board agreed to incrementally replace the fire boots and as of this date, 12 sets were purchased in 2013 and 10 in 2014. After purchasing the three sets in 2015, five additional sets will be needed and they will be coordinated with equipping new firefighters. Each set of boots is $ 325.00 Janssen made a motion authorizing the purchase and will be expended from the equipment reserve. of three (3) sets of boots at a cost of $ 325.00 per set. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. Rescue Saw: Taufen requested authorization to replace the rescue saws that are approximately 12 years old. The current saws are from a company on the East Coast and it would be difficult to have the saws serviced if they need repair. As an alternative, Assistant Chief Justin Honer, has contacted other February 4, 2015 Page 2 of 3 departments and vendors and it appears as the best saw for the needs of the Department is a Stihl Rescue Chain Saw, at a price of $ 1,529.95 each. In working with the vendor (Lee’s Ace Hardware) and Stihl, and allowing for a trade in, the cost of the saw would be $825.98. Taufen clarified that the purchase of the saw would include a six month warranty. Loso questioned the number of equipment requests at this meeting and if the funds are budgeted. Taufen acknowledged that it seems like numerous requests, and he is not recommending based on a new funding year; rather it is needed equipment. He further clarified that the funds will be expended from a combination of the current budget and equipment reserves. Loso clarified that he does not want to see a situation arise where late in the year equipment is needed and funds will not be available. Taufen Loso made a motion to authorize the purchase of a Stihl assured Loso that would not be the case. Rescue Chain Saw, trading in the current saw, accepting a 20% reduction in price from both Lee’s Ace Hardware and Stihl. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. Fire Helmets: Taufen reported that 29 of the 30 fire helmets were manufactured in 1995 and the current NFPA standards regulating helmets suggests that they be replaced every ten years. The Fire Department has looked at different options and are recommending the department replace the existing helmets with the Invader 664 at a cost of $ 224.29 or $ 6,728.70. The St. Joseph Relief Association has agreed to donate $ 2,000 towards the expenditure reducing the Fire Board contribution to $ 4,728.70. Salk made a motion to authorize purchase of 30 new fire helmets at a total cost of $ 6,728.70 and to accept the $ 2,000 donation from the Relief Association to place towards the fire helmets. The motion was seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. I Am Responding Software: Taufen stated that previously the Fire Board authorized the trial of software entitled I Am Responding. The software would allow fire fighters to respond when they are paged if they are coming. The cities of Sauk Rapids, Sartell and Cold Spring already use the software. After trying the software for 70 days, the fire department is requesting to implement. The software is hosted in the cloud and the annual subscription rate starts at $ 800 per years and is reduced if a three or five year contract is purchased. When asked how it works, Taufen stated that once the fire fighters are paged they can use any phone to respond if they are coming. The fire fighter in command can quickly identify if enough responders will be coming and allow for mutual aid sooner. The software can also be used to send out messages to the members, remind them of training times or just for delivering department information. Janssen questioned if the system is tied to the Stearns County CAD system, to which Taufen stated it is not yet, Loso made a motion authorizing but if enough departments subscribe it could become reality. implementation of the I Am Responding Software, entering into a three year contract at an annual expenditure of $ 725.00. The motion was seconded by Salk and passed unanimously. Fire Gear: Taufen reminded the Board that each year the department has been working on updating the fire gear so that the expenditure is spread out over time and not all 30 gear sets need to be replaced at one time. This year the three sets that need to be replaced are those worn by Dan Muyres, Paul Phillipp and David Salzer. In addition, once the three new members on probation meet the minimum requirements, new gear will have to be purchased for these three as well, but he will bring that matter Janssen made a motion to back to the Fire Board. The cost for each set is approximately $ 1,575.00. authorize the purchase of three new gear sets as requested; seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Donations: Taufen reported that the Department was unsuccessful in securing a DNR grant to purchase five new back pack pump cans. Since funding was not received, the Department contacted the St. Joseph Jaycees who agreed to donate $ 500 towards the purchase of the back pack pumps, $ 825 for a Rescue Chain saw with the Fire Relief Association donating the balance of the back pack pumps and Loso made a motion donating $ 1,000 to place chevrons on the trucks that are not equipped with such. to accept the donations of the Jaycess and St. Joseph Fire Relief Association for the stated purposes. The motion was seconded by Janssen and passed unanimously. February 4, 2015 Page 3 of 3 Surplus Property: Taufen requested the Fire Board declare the 3500 gallon drop tank as surplus property allowing the same to be sold on GovDeals.com. Taufen reminded the Board that the drop tank is the one that was removed from the existing tanker due to leaking issues. The tank on its own does not lead, it had to do with the mechanics on the truck. He does not know how much the tank will sell for, but it Salk made a motion to declare the 3500 gallon drop tank as removes the tank from the inventory. surplus, allowing the same to be sold. The motion was seconded by Janssen and passed unanimously. Membership: Taufen reported that the City has received six applications have been received for the two open fire fighter positions. The Fire Departments investigating committee will be setting up interviews and agility testing in the next month and will bring a recommendation to the Fire Board in May. Taufen stated that he hopes that the interview committee will have positive recommendations and include a waiting list for future openings. Salk made a motion to adjourn at 6:37 PM; seconded by Janssen and passed Adjourn: unanimously. Judy Weyrens Administrator This page intentionally left blank