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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-2013-09-10CITY OF ITHACA BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES September 10, 2013 Present: Chair Gilligan Commissioners: Hoard, Ellsworth, Sparks, McGonigal Others Present: Fire Chief — Parsons Information Management Specialist - Myers Excused: Alderperson Fleming Call To Order: Chair Gilligan called to meeting to order at 1631 hours. II. Approval of Minutes: Approval of the August 13, 2013 Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes — Resolution By Commissioner Hoard: Seconded by Commissioner Ellsworth RESOLVED, That the minutes of the August 13, 2013 Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting be approved as published. Carried Unanimously III. Additions to /Deletions from the agenda: There were no additions to or deletions from the agenda. IV. Persons Wishing to Speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners: Lyman Baker addressed the Board on the following topics: A. Work hours in the Ithaca Citv Cemetery (Firemen's section): Raymond Wheaton and Lyman Baker 4 hours each, mowing and trimming. August 20, August 30 and September 9, 2013. B. Workina in the Firemen's Section of the Citv Cemetery and Possible Elimination of Service hours? Raymond Wheaton and Lyman Baker, active members of Company Nines, mow, trim. plant flowers and carry water for the plants each time mowing is done. They weed the pathway, patrol the site to make sure no vandalism has occurred, and report any incidents to the Ithaca Police Department if there has been vandalism (historically there are approximately 10 to 12 calls per year to IPD for vandalism). They also replace and /or repair, if needed, any items relating to the firemen's section. They also make sure the American flag, and the Fire Fighters flags are still flying. Boa rdlbf[ Firel :ommissionerUMeeting14inute ptember[10,[20131 In the autumn season, they rake leaves and tidy up the grave sites. In the winter season, they patrol the area, again for vandalism and /or fallen limbs making sure none have fallen onto grave headstones. They also organize and conduct an annual Remembrance Service on December 6th for the three Volunteer Firemen who were killed December 6, 1906 at the Chi Psi Cornell fire. They also organize and conduct a Remembrance Service for the 343 Firemen killed September 11, 2001, as well as all other fire fighters who died in the line of duty. With the proposed change in the Volunteer Handbook active classes, how will the above work get done? If a volunteer gets injured while performing work at the Firemen's section in the Ithaca City cemetery, Ithaca, New York will there still be coverage under the fire department's insurance? Thank You, Lyman Baker, IFD Badge #3258 Chair Gilligan noted that the Board would add the item regarding volunteer classifications to the Board's discussion later in the agenda under New Business. He thought the Board may want to refer it to volunteer handbook committee who is reviewing and discussing those issues. No Board Member objected. V. Correspondence: Chair Gilligan reported to the Board on the following correspondence: A. The bank statement from the Tompkins Trust Company Rescue Squad donation fund dated August 31, 2013 had a balance of $1,842.76. B. The bank statement from the Tompkins Trust Company for the donation fund dated August 31, 2013 had a beginning balance of $1,058.51, and an ending balance of $1,058.51 - reflecting no activity. C. Company #6 distributed their 2% money directly to the Veteran Volunteer Fire Company, and to Company #9. Their report is now on file in the Fire Chief's office with the other company reports. VI. Membership Changes: Chair Gilligan reported that two applications were received for membership into the volunteer company. They will be referred to the membership committee for review, back - ground checks, and then interviews will be set up. He reported that there were no other changes in the membership status at this time. VII. Miscellaneous Reports: A. Town of Ithaca — No Report B. City of Ithaca — No Report C. Audit - The audit was reviewed and completed by Comm. Ellsworth 7 Boa rdlbf[ Firel :ommissionerUMeeting14inutes eptember110,1201K VIII. Department Reports: Chief Parsons reported to the Board on the following items: Two retirements were formally announced — Assistant Fire Chief Sheldon — effective September 30, 2013, and Fire Fighter Foote — effective November 17, 2013. The decision as to whether the department will submit to fill the vacancies will depend upon what the Mayor's 2014 proposed budget includes. The Mayor's proposed 2014 budget will be released on October 1, 2013. Overtime costs are running high related to the cost of required attendance at various trainings. In addition, there were more calls this year for off -duty personnel to come in to cover calls due to the increased number of calls, and staffing shortages caused by the required trainings for fire fighters. Capital Project Work - the roof replacement at Central IFD is nearly complete. It should be done by mid - October. The installation of the solar panels was pushed back because of delays in the roof work. He is waiting for figures to come back regarding the cost to repair Station 9's roof, which may not get done as time may run out for when the work can be completed because of the weather. The County 9 -1 -1 program manager position is still vacant; there is an interview scheduled on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 with a candidate. The County's 9 -1 -1 Center is working with the department on response plans - particularly the ability to alter the department's response to certain types of lower level emergencies. He met with Tim Bangs, from Bangs Ambulance, to see what it would take to make the adjustments. The staff at the County 9 -1 -1 Center is making adjustments on the CAD system, and he needs to provide them with a modified response plan. IFD responds to a lot of calls for drug /alcohol overdose which are not high risk, and can be handled by Bangs Ambulance staff, so they are looking to see whether or not IFD could cease responding to those types of calls in an effort to save on costs. This will be an ongoing project with a lot of review and time involved in making recommendations for adjustments to the type and number of calls that IFD responds to in the future. He reported that the department responded to 456 calls in August and that at this point they have responded to between 50 -100 more calls this year than in 2012. He submitted a grant application to FEMA on August 30, 2013 for the possible funding of a fire fighter volunteer coordinator position, as well as funds to pay for a bunker /volunteer training class, and equipment for volunteers. He requested $590,000.00 which would be distributed over a 4 year period. It would include the salary and benefits for the volunteer coordinator, and estimated cost of staff overtime to run a volunteer bunker program for 4 years. At this point the application will be evaluated, and if considered, it will proceed to next level of grant review. This is all money that is not currently in the fire department's budget. If the grant application is successful, it will actually be putting money back into their budget that was there in the 1990's for a volunteer coordinator, which was removed because of the city's financial situation at the time. He noted it was the easiest model to put together for the application and have it be 7 Boa rdlbf[ Firel :ommissionerUMeeting14inutes eptember[10,[20131 viable in the competition for the grant from different municipalities. He stated that one of the goals of the program is to recruit 50 new members. He reported that the department's Code Enforcement division has been very busy with all the new construction taking place in both the City and Town of Ithaca. Everyone wants their building open and operational when the students return, and they were able to accommodate a lot of those schedules which made people very happy. In the last week, three more development projects have been started, another hotel in the City, a housing project in the Cornell Heights area, and an apartment building in the City. It looks like 2014 will be another very busy year for development. The Holiday Inn construction will start this Fall and will be a significant project; Harold's Square construction will begin in early Spring 2014. The underground utility work started this week with the Commons reconstruction project. This week, he received a revised proposal for cable hung lighting (centenary) over Commons which is significantly different from what was proposed. He is concerned about access for the fire department because they may not be able to get the ladder truck to some of the larger buildings in some areas of the Commons with the proposed lighting plan. He has made his concerns known to the Project Manager. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding what resources /information is available to the public for review regarding the proposed redesign of the Commons, and the process for communication between the public and the City about the project. It was noted that a lot of coordination has to occur with vendors for all the different utilities involved with the project (i.e. gas/ water / sewer /utilities /communications). Commissioner McGonigal questioned how the closing of the Forest Home Drive bridge would affect the response to calls by the fire department. Chief Parsons responded that the bridge is located in the area covered by Cayuga Heights Fire Department. He is not sure what they will do in response to the bridge closure. The bridge is being replaced because it is in very poor and rough condition. Fire /Police Report: Mr. David Cornelius provided the following report from the fire /police volunteer unit: Training was held on August 20, 2013. The subject was fire extinguishers and a quick tour of the new quint. They also discussed what happened on Rt. 13 the morning of 8/18/13. A detailed report on this incident was submitted to Chief Parsons. Based on this close call our fire police unit is planning on conducting some scenarios to determine if all the flashing lights are making it hard for drivers to see the fire /police volunteers. The fire police unit was also called out at least twice more during August and early September for accidents and trees down. The group also assisted with the Finger Lakes Runners Clubs race on September 8, 2013. 7 4 Boa rdlbf[ FireMommissionerUMeetingM4inute IX. Old Business: ptember110,1201K A. Update on Funds requested by City Chamberlain from former Volunteer Companies: Chair Gilligan reported that Company #5 was the only company that paid the requested funds directly to the City Chamberlain; which was then distributed to the Veteran Volunteer Fire Company and Company #9. Companies #1, #2, and #6 made checks directly payable to those two organizations and submitted their report to the City Chamberlain. He has received no repot from companies #3, #4, and #7, and will double check with them. B. Volunteer Recruitment /Membership Categories Class I, II, III - Volunteer Handbook Update: Commissioner Hoard reported that the sub - committee met this afternoon to review proposed updates to the handbook; there will be another meeting on September 17, 2013. The committee is making steady process in updating the information. A brief discussion followed on the floor regarding insurance coverage for volunteers in the performance of their service and emergency response work. Chief Parsons confirmed that the Veteran Volunteer Firemen's benefit insurance would cover injuries in the performance of these duties as volunteers — similar to how Workers Compensation insurance covers active duty fire fighters. Chief Parsons stated that he would provide information to the Board at their next meeting regarding the insurance policy for volunteer fire /police which is regulated by the New York State Labor Law. He agreed that there should be written information available to volunteers about the policy and the specifics in it; as well as the fact that volunteers need to be physically fit in order to handle the stress and physical requirements of the job. He further noted that with the grant application he just submitted that the annual physical requirements for volunteers are pretty comprehensive and the City must comply with them in order to receive the grant funding. C. Resolution - Town of Ithaca Foreign Fire Insurance Funds By Commissioner McGonigal: Seconded by Commissioner Hoard WHEREAS, the Ithaca City Chamberlain has received $8,945.63 Foreign Fire Insurance (2 %) funds from the Town of Ithaca related to the provision of Fire Service to the Town under the Fire Service Contract between the City of Ithaca and the Town of Ithaca, and WHEREAS, these funds are to be proportionately distributed based on membership, to the Ithaca Paid Fire Fighters Association ( IPFFA) and IFD Volunteer Company #9 as detailed in the calculation provided to the Board of Fire Commissioners which is based on 62 members in the IPFFA and 14 members of Company 9, now therefore be it, RESOLVED, That the Board of Fire Commissioners authorizes the City Chamberlain to distribute $7,297.75 to the Ithaca Paid Fire Fighters Association and $1,647.88 to Volunteer Company #9 of the Foreign Fire Insurance (2 %) Funds received from the Town of Ithaca. This distribution is based on applicable State and Local laws, regulations, and policies. Carried Unanimously 7 Boa rdlbf[ Firel :ommissionerUMeeting14inute ptember[10,[20131 D. IFD 2014 City Budget Update /Report: Chief Parsons reported that he met with the Mayor and City Controller at the end of August to go over the 2014 proposed budget for the Ithaca Fire Department. They probably won't meet again, unless either of them have questions or need additional information. The Mayor's Proposed 2014 Budget will be released on October 1St He stated that he forewarned them that because of current staffing levels in the fire department, they are not prepared for the significant number of retirements expected in next few years. So, when staffing levels drop and stations need to be kept open the department will need to pay overtime or temporarily close stations for certain periods of time to relieve overtime costs. He will meet with Chief's tomorrow to solicit different strategies on ways to do that with the least impact on the organization. Chair Gilligan asked whether the City had communicated to the Town of Ithaca the proposal for dynamic staffing at stations through temporary closures of particular stations. Chief Parsons responded that it will depend upon what the Mayor releases in his budget, whether those options will need to be brought up for discussion with the Town of Ithaca. He noted that whatever happens, the Town will experience impacts if the fire department is down positions and stations need to temporarily close. He reiterated that retaining the Fire Prevention Division will assist with staffing during the daytime which will help reduce overtime costs. X. New Business: Discussion followed on the floor regarding Mr. Bakers' questions /request regarding materials about volunteer companies that is stored in the archives at the Ithaca Fire Department. The Board questioned whether it is a large body of materials, and whether it is still in the Central Fire Station or in storage at Town of Ithaca? Chief Parsons responded that most of the information is at Central Fire Station; although he is not sure what is being stored at the Town of Ithaca. He did have a conversation with City Attorney Lavine about the request. City Attorney Lavine stated that the City cannot "gift" anything it owns; but it can loan or lease it temporarily. With all that is going in the City at this time, this request is not top on his list. The Fire Department cannot just turn over the information to the Veteran's as requested because it belongs to the City and is City property. He did try to locate the bell that Company 3 had, but has not been able to locate that particular bell. At this point he doesn't know where the Company #3 bell is. He does know that the American Lafrance one located at Central IFD is not it. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the information noted in the request, which includes minutes from this Board, as well as company history, and IFD information about individual volunteer fire companies. At this point in time, the Board really doesn't know exactly what information is stored in the archives. It would be good to access the information to do some sort of inventory or cataloging of the records. A question was raised as to whether or not someone could come in to access the information and do that work at Central IFD. 7 6 Boa rdlbf[ Fire C:ommissionerWeetingWinutes eptember110,12013M Chief Parsons responded that someone should access the information at Central IFD because the information should not leave the building. He would be interested in cataloging high value items that may be found, and in protecting and preserving the information for the future. It was suggested that someone from Cornell University, the History Center, or Historic Ithaca might be contacted to come in and review the records. They might be able to advise the best way to preserve and catalog the records. The Board discussed what the next steps should be in determining what information is in the archives and the best way to preserve it and make it available to the public for some of its historical information. It was noted that the City also has a City Historian that might be a resource to utilize in the inventory of the records. The City Clerk's office is another resource to seek assistance from as well. A meeting will be scheduled before the next Board meeting, October 8t", at 3:00 p.m. with staff from the City Clerk's Office, Chief Parsons, Commissioners McGonigal and Sparks, and Mr. Lyman Baker to review some of the information and determine the best way to inventory /catalog /prioritize preservation of the records, and submit a proposal for the Board to consider as to the best way to proceed with the project. XI. Adiournment: On a motion, the meeting adjourned at 1730 hours. Sarah L. Myers William Gilligan Information Management Specialist Chair 7 CITY OF ITHACA 310 West Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 -5497 OFFICE OF THE FIRE CHIEF Telephone: 607/272 -1234 Fax: 607/272 -2793 MEMORANDUM To: Board of Fire Commissioners From: Tom Parsons, Fire Chief Date: September 10th, 2013 Re: Fire Chief's Monthly Report to the Board of Fire Commissioners ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION Administration 1) Career Personnel Report PERSONNEL STAFFING LEVELS 1 Chief 1 Deputy Chief (per diem) 5 Assistant Chiefs 9 Lieutenants 48 Fire Fighters 64 Uniform Personnel 1 Administrative Coordinator Total employees as of August 31th, 2013 — 65 a) Hiring /Recruitment Committee • No Report b) Retirements: • Assistant Fire Chief Willis Sheldon has submitted his letter of intent to retire on September 30th, 2013. • Firefighter Albert Foote submitted his letter of intent to retire on November 17th, 2013. c) Promotions: • No Report Page 2 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report e) Vacancies: • None 2) Budget Status September 10th, 2013 a) 2013 Budget: Attached to the Board Report is an update on the department budget through August 31 ' 2013. b) Capital Budget — The roof replacement for Central Station is nearly complete. The roofs for the 3 other stations have been evaluated and the consultant is still developing a work plan and a budget for repairs. The goal is to extend the useful life of those roof systems. The HVAC work at Central Station is progressing, and we anticipate completion by the middle of October. The Solar Panel installation has been pushed back to the end of September due to the delays on completing the roof work C) 2014 Budget: I submitted the Fire Chief's budget proposal to the Mayor and City Controller on August 1st. I met with the Mayor and City Controller in August to go over the information that I provided in my proposal. The Mayor will be sending his proposed budget on to Common Council in October. 3) County Communications and 911 Programs: a) The County has interviewed candidates for the 911 Center Manager's Position. At this time no appointment has been made, and there is another interview scheduled tomorrow with another candidate. 4) Grants and Donations a) On August 30th, I submitted a grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In the application I requested funding for a volunteer coordinator, funding to pay for a volunteer/bunker training class, and funds to pay for protective equipment for new volunteer firefighters. The funding requested was for $590,000 that would be distributed over a 4 year period. 5) Resource Recovery Legislation a) No Report 6) City Charter Update a) No Report Page 3 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report Operations 1) Mutual Aid Calls: Fire Prevention Bureau Quarterly Report LIFE SAFETY DIVISION September 10th, 2013 1) Code Enforcement Division: The following is a list of August activities - Complaints Received: 22 Referred to the City Building Division 15 Referred to the Town of Ithaca 3 Inspections: 108 City Fire Safety & Property Maintenance 34 Town Fire Safety & Property Maintenance 36 City - Sprinkler Inspections 16 City — Alternative Fire Protection 0 City - Fire Alarm Inspections 20 City - Standpipe Flow Test 2 Permits or Certificates: 47 Operating Permit — Assembly Occupancy 16 Operating Permit — Hazardous Occupancy 2 Operating Permit — Lumber Yard 0 Operating Permit — Elevator 4 Operating Permit — Fireworks 0 Certificate of Compliance - Occupancy 5 Certificate of Compliance - Fire Alarm 16 Certificate of Compliance - Fire Sprinkler 3 Certificate of Compliance — Fire Standpipe 1 Certificate of Compliance - Alternative Suppression 0 2) Fire Investigation Unit: There was one fire investigation on August 14th for a building fire at 615 Cascadilla Street in the City of Ithaca. The cause was determined to be electrical, and accidental. 3) Public Education and Special Events: Public Education Events: 6 Page 4 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report September 10th, 2013 Child Safety Seat Inspections: 4 4) Town of Ithaca: No Report 5) City of Ithaca: The Commons Project is moving along. They have begun the underground utility work later this week, with an anticipated completion of this phase of the project by November of this year. I also have been provided with a revised plan for the cable -hung (centenary) lighting over the Commons. The new plan calls for lighting poles in front of the buildings that will be about 33 feet tall with cables hanging across the commons at different angles. I have been in contact with the project manager to express my concerns with the change and how they will affect our ability to use a ladder truck to control or extinguish a fire. This is a significant change from the original design. Page 5 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report OPERATIONS DIVISION Response 1) August 2013 Responses City of Ithaca: Incidents (69.96 %) Fires: 6 Overpressure /Rupture 0 EMS/Rescue: 131 Hazardous Conditions: 16 Service Calls: 23 Good Intent: 46 Alarms/No Fires: 94 Severe Weather: 3 Town of Ithaca: 103 Incidents (29.17 %) Fires: 3 Overpressure/Rupture 0 EMS/Rescue: 72 Hazardous Conditions: 3 Service Calls: 4 Good Intent: 18 Alarms/No Fires: 28 Severe Weather: 5 Mutual Aid: 7 Incidents (0.88 %) Fires: 1 Overpressure /Rupture 0 EMS/Rescue: 1 Hazardous Conditions: 0 Service Calls: 0 Good Intent: 1 Alarms/No Fires: 1 Severe Weather: 0 2) Emergency Management: No Report. Support 1) Training Center Quarterly Report September 10th, 2013 Page 6 of 6 - Fire Chief's Monthly Report 2) Apparatus and Facilities No Report Training Quarterly Report Volunteer Recruitment and Retention 1) Summaries of Service Hours: Quarterly Report September 10th, 2013 2) There are currently 14 Active Volunteer Firefighters and Fire Police 3) Requests from Company Members to become active: No Requests Received 4) The department has received two applications for new membership. There are also two more applications that have been handed out and we're expecting those to be returned soon.