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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-2011-03-29r � ITHACA BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS MARCH 29, 2011 MINUTES Present: Commissioners Gilligan, Hoard and Kelly I. Chair Gilligan called the meeting to order at 1805 hrs. II. Approval of Minutes: Comm. Kelly moved to approve Minutes with one minor spelling error. Seconded by Comm. Hoard. Voted unanimously. III. Addition/Deletions to the Agenda: Added under Old Business IV. Persons wishing to speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners: None V. Correspondence: Bank statement from Tompkins Trust Donation Fund showed a balance of $537.82. There was no activity on the account. Annual Report from Company 1 $500 check donation for the Rescue Fund from Lecesse Construction on behalf of Davis Ulmer and Lecesse Construction. VI. Membership Changes: None VII. Miscellaneous Reports: Town — None City — In packet Audit — There is no audit for this meeting. There will be one available at the next meeting. VIII. Department Reports: A. Acting Chief /Deputy Chief Report: (see complete written report in the Minute book). Acting Chief tom Dorman offered highlights of his report and answered questions as follows: Staffing: One fire fighter was granted leave of absence. He will officially be off the payroll on the 26'h Budget: There are account reports in the packets. Acting Chief Dorman is positive that the Department came in under budget for 2010. Chair Gilligan asked if the list is back for the Chief's exam that was given in January. Acting Chief Dorman responded that the list has not come back yet, but that results from a test given in February have come in. County Communications and 911 Programs: There has been some progress on the CAD (Computer Automated Dispatch) system. Retired Fire Chief Brian Wilbur has been appointed the interim Manager. Grants and Donations: DC Tom Parsons is still working on ordering equipment. The Department needed $10,000 from the City and the Controller wrote an encumbrance out of last years budget. This makes Acting Chief Dorman fairly certain that the Department came in under budget last year. Training Center: Still on DPW's agenda. Keyless Entry: All hardware is in place. We are waiting on training. We are also still waiting on a price quote for the camera. B. Fire Prevention Bureau: (see complete written report in the Minute Book). Deputy Chief Tom Parsons offered highlights of his report and answered questions as follows: There was one small fire investigation performed in February for a fire that occurred at 301 S. Geneva Street in the City of Ithaca. The fire investigation determined that the cause was accidental related to a cooking fire. There are still five owners on the municipal fire alarm system. It appears that Verizon is the hold up. At this time, Liaison J.R. Clairborne arrived at the meeting. DC Parsons handed out charts at this time. Comm. Kelly asked what a "good intent" call is. Both Acting Chief Dorman and DC Parsons responded that it is a "false alarm" — ie: smoke coming from the dry cleaners. Chair Gilligan asked what the degree of difficulty was to put the graphs together. CD Parsons responded that they were a lot of work. Liaison Clairborne asked what is in District 14. DC Parsons stated that district 15 consists of Linderman Creek, Ecovillage, Longview, etc. Acting Chief Dorman stated that were there will be elderly or low income tenants, the call volume will go up. The Fire Alarm Superintendent will be attending Codes training next week and will go back to dismantling the fire boxes when he gets back. C. Fire Police: Dave Cornelius offered highlights of his report and answered questions as follows: Training Meetings were held on February 15th and March 15th. The training in February was based on the University of Kentucky's Department of Transportation guidelines for setting up and managing highway safety zones at accident scenes. The Department does not have adequate equipment to tally follow their guidelines. The Fire Police would need to get signage and traffic cones to cover a much greater distance on either side of an emergency scene. The March training was an OSHA refresher on Blood Bourne Pathogens. The next training session is scheduled for April 19, 2011. The topic is to be determined by Training Officer AC Willis Sheldon. Liaison Claireborne stated that during a recent black out he noticed Fire Police assisting. He wanted to know if that was normal or if the IPD would typically show up. Dave Cornelius explained that the Fire Police would assist. Acting Chief Dorman also explained that there are only 6 police officers on a shift and additional help will sometimes be needed. Liaison Claiborne asked how many Fire Police came out to assist at the recent black out and Dave Cornelius responded that 5 — 6 Fire Police assisted. IX. Old Business: Traffic Calming: A request was presented to DPW. Some people were not in favor of removing them and have asked for a further study. It will most likely be late summer /early fall before a decision will be made. Acting Chief Dorman added that the neighborhood was in favor of removing it. Liaison Clairborne stated that he was at a meeting and can recall it being suggested to remove the ones at Titus Towers. Resolution on Trust Company Bank Accounts. Chair Gilligan read the draft version of the Resolution. Liaison asked how the Resolution would change things. Chair Gilligan responded that the BOFC can write checks, but Debbie Parson would have to sign them. A motion was made to approve the Resolution. All were in favor and voted unanimously. Volunteer Membership: An application has been made by Ray Canzler. He has been temporarily accepted to Company 3. A background check is in progress and an interview will be held. Hopefully by the next BOFC meeting, he will be accepted as a volunteer. Charter Review: 1) Target for schedule 2) Would like to target email — ie: Survey Monkey 3) Can use documents on the website. Can use a link on the BOFC section 4) Perhaps have a history summary on the Department, the BOFC and the transitions. 5) Maybe a public hearing at the May meeting on what the role of the BOFC is 6) Look at June to finalize and decide legally the wording would be. Any changes would have to be voted on. Chair Gilligan feels that the role of the BOFC is: 1) Operation of Fire Department 2) Operation of the Volunteer companies 3) Need to address those 2 sections of the Charter. There appears to be some work that can be done via email in the meantime. Comm. Kelly stated that she feels it is smart to move forward especially with the pending changes on Common Council. Chair Gilligan would like to use an email questionnaire Comm. Hoard suggested an adhoc committee. Liaison Clairborne said to consider the feed back that you are looking to receive back. Dave Cornelius pointed out that this Department was unique in the fact that it was a combination Department. He feels that the City has taken the power from the BOFC and he would like to see the BOFC take back their power. Acting Chief Dorman stated that there isn't much to relinquish because the power is gone. The only control now is over the volunteers. He also added that the state is seriously looking at the 2% funds. The funds are distributed and the State has not control over it and they can't get their hands on it. If the 2% goes away, a number of issues will arise. Chair Gilligan asked if it would lower the base. Acting Chief Dorman responded that it could go either way. Ray Wheaton stated that the Vets have possibly one million dollars in artifacts. X. New Business: None Hearing no further business, the meeting adjourned at 0922 hrs. Respectfully submitted, Randy L. Flynn, Clerk Board of Fire Commissioners (Minutes will be reviewed at the April 12, 2011 meeting) DRAFT 1- Resolution regarding Board of Fire Commissioners checking accounts held at the Tompkins Trust Company. / WhereasAhe Ithaca Board of Fire Commissioners maintains two checking accounts at' the Tompkirs Trust Company, one of which is entitled the Donation Fund (Accounti U l - 161- 124627) and the other is named the Rescue Squad Donation Fund LAccount 14-"J"6 1 L! u_ 0012261), and Whereas, both of these accounts currently utilize the City of Ithaca's Federal Tax 11 Identification Number, and? Whereas, the City Chamb r ain has notified the Board that the auditors for the y of Ithaca have indicated th as an audit compliance issue, the City Chamberlain f t have sole signature authorit34 on these accounts in, order to continue to list them under the City's Federal Tax ID number, and Whereas, the Ithaca Board of Fire Commissioners will retain all authority to approve expenditures issued against these two designated Trust Company checking accounts, now be it therefore, Resolved: The Ithaca Board of Fire Commissioners authorizes the removal of the current signature authority on these two accounts*vhich is currently held by Board Chair William Gilligan and Vice Chair Thomas Hoar4and that the sole signature authority on these accounts be designated to the individual holding the position of City Chamberlain. Currently this is Debra Parsor�s�� t��®rity her�esolved, that the Board of Fire Commissioners will retain sole control and for making and approving decisions on distribution of payments from both the Donation Fund and the Rescue Equipment Fund. A signed copy of this resolution will be provided to the appropriate officials of the Tompkins Trust Company so that they may enact the changes as stipulated, herein. Action by Board of Fire Commissioners William D. Gilligan, Chair BOFC Date