HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-2015-01-13 1
CITY OF ITHACA BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS MEETING MINUTES
January 13, 2015
Present:
Chair Gilligan
Commissioners: Ellsworth, Hoard, Sparks
Chief Parsons
Excused:
Alderperson Fleming
Call to Order:
Chair Gilligan called the meeting to order at 1605 hours.
Chair Gilligan welcomed Andrew Adams to the meeting and indicated to the Board that
Company 9 had designated Jack Gould, Andy Adams, and Dave Cornelius as
representatives to the Board from Company 9.
Approval of Minutes:
Approval of the December 9, 2014 Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes
Resolution
By Commissioner Sparks, seconded by Commissioner Hoard
RESOLVED, That the minutes of the December 9, 2014 Board of Fire Commissioners
meeting be approved.
Carried Unanimously
Additions to or Deletions from the Agenda: None
Persons Wishing to Speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners:
Mr. Lyman Baker reported to the Board that he and Raymond Wheaton had patrolled
the entire section of the Firemen’s section of the Ithaca City Cemetery in December
2014 and January 2015 for a total of 4 hours each.
Raymond Wheaton read the following resolution that had been passed by the Ithaca
Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association.
WHEREAS, the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association according to its Mission
Statement “is the home of over 200 years of pictures and archival material” and the
Veteran Firemen’s Association has been the sole protector of these items for over 95
years.
WHEREAS, it was the intent of the Charter of the Veteran Firemen’s Association that
they would be the stewards of any and all archival materials, such as pictures,
paintings, hardware, but not necessarily limited to such material.
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Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes January 13, 2015
RESOLVED, That the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association will not sell or give
away any material within this resolution so described or that is in the possession of the
Veteran Firemen’s Association.
RESOLVED, That if the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association finds itself to be
insolvent or the membership want to dissolve the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s
Association, that any and all archival material held by the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s
Association, be returned to the Ithaca Fire Department from whence it came.
RESOLVED, That this resolution is non-revocable and final in its intent.
RESOLVED, This Monday on the 17th day of November 2014.
This resolution was adopted by a majority of the Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s
Association at its regular monthly meeting of November 17, 2014.
Robert Travis, President Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s Association
Attested to by Raymond B. Wheaton, Secretary, Veteran Volunteer Firemen’s
Association.
Correspondence:
Chair Gilligan reported on the bank statements from Tompkins Trust Company. The
December 31, 2014 balance of the Rescue Fund was $1,844.67 including interest
earned of .$0.12 in December. The December 31, 2014 balance of the Donation Fund
was $2,977.92.
Membership Changes:
Chair Gilligan reported that Anthony Hayton’s application to become a volunteer in the
Ithaca Fire Department as a member of Company 9 was reviewed by the volunteer
member review group (Chief Parsons, Assistant Chief Tracy, Ray Wheaton, and Bill
Gilligan). An interview with Mr. Hayton was conducted on December 22, 2014. The
review group recommended approval of his membership.
Mr. Hayton met with company 9 members and his application to join the company was
approved by the Company at its January 7, 2014 meeting pending the results of his
background check. The company has requested that the Board approve his
membership provisionally.
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Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes January 13, 2015
Resolution to approve the request from Company #9 to accept Anthony Hayton
as a member of Company #9 and a Volunteer member of the Ithaca Fire
Department.
By Commissioner Sparks: Seconded by Commissioner Hoard
RESOLVED, That the Board of Fire Commissioners approves the appointment of
Anthony Hayton as a volunteer firefighter in the Ithaca Fire Department as a member of
Company #9., and be it further
RESOLVED, That this approval is provisional pending the positive results of his
background check.
Carried Unanimously
Miscellaneous Reports:
The City and Town of Ithaca quarterly reports are due in February 2015. No report in
January.
Audit:
The audit materials were not available from the City Controller’s office, due to 2014 year
end financial activity still being processed.
Department Reports:
Fire Chief’s Report
Chief Parsons reported to the Board on the following items ( a copy of his full report is
attached to these minutes):
Staffing as of December 31, 2014 included 61 uniform personnel plus 1 Administrative
Coordinator position. Firefighter Gary Farwell was promoted to Lt. on January 4, 2015.
Two new recruits have been hired and will join the department on January 20, 2015.
Assistant Chief Labuff will be retiring on February 22, 2015 after 40 years of service in
the department.
Budget Status: A summary of the 2014 program budget with YTD Revenues and
expenses was distributed with the Chief’s report. Expenditures for 2014 are
approximately $107,000 less than the department’s approved operating budget.
The 2015 operating budget approved by the City and Town is approximately $20,000
lower than the 2014 budget
2015 Capital Budget: The Department has approval from the City for the replacement
of a Fire Pumper in the 2015 Capital budget. The town has not yet approved this
purchase.
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Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes January 13, 2015
A federal grant application was submitted under the Assistance to Firefighters program
for replacement of all of the department’s 15 year old Self Contained Breathing
Apparatus. The total cost of the new SCBA equipment will be nearly $500,000 with up
to 80% of the cost funded by the grant.
Communications Tompkins County 9-1-1 Center is utilizing updated software and
hopes to be able to make the necessary modifications to the dispatch process to avoid
automatically dispatching IFD apparatus to certain types of low risk EMS calls.
Activity Reports The Activity reports for 2014 were distributed and are attached to
these minutes. The Chief noted that the total responses were 5,164 up over recent
years and that slightly less than 30% of the calls were within the town of Ithaca service
area.
Fire/Police Report:
Mr. David Cornelius provided the following report for the Board:
Fire Police Monthly Report
January 7, 2015
Fire Police training was held on December 16, 2014. The topic was gear inspection.
The Fire Police Unit provided traffic control for the fire on Hector Street on December 31, 2014.
Our next training is scheduled for Tuesday January 20, 2015. The topic has not yet been
determined.
Respectfully submitted,
Dave Cornelius
Old Business:
Volunteer Recruitment: Chair Gilligan – reported that there is a new background
check form issued by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services that in
addition to a checking on arson convictions also requires checking on any sex offender
convictions requiring registration as a sex offender.
New Business:
None.
Adjournment:
On a motion the meeting adjourned at 1643 hours.
______________________________
William Gilligan, Chair