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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-2015-09-08 City of Ithaca Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes September 8, 2015 Present: Chair Gilligan Commissioner Sparks Fire Chief Parsons Information Management Specialist - Myers Excused: Commissioners Hoard and Ellsworth Alderperson Fleming Call to Order: Chair Gilligan called the meeting to order at 1607 hours. Approval of Minutes: Approval of the August 11, 2015 Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Resolution The minutes will be voted upon at the October 13, 2015 Board of Fire Commissioners meeting because there was no quorum today. Additions to or Deletions From the Agenda: There were no additions to or deletions from the agenda. Persons Wishing to Speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners: Mr. Lyman Baker provided the following report for the Board: “RE: Work Hours Ithaca City Cemetery – Firemen’s Section Dear Board, Raymond B. Wheaton and Lyman E. Baker have worked 8 hours each in the Firemen’s Section. Mowing, trimming, cutting fallen branches, and dragging them to the road side for the City of Ithaca to grind and take away. Respectably Submitted, Lyman E. Baker IFD Badge #3258” Correspondence: None Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes September 8, 2015 2 Membership Changes: None Miscellaneous Reports: A. Town of Ithaca: No Report B. City of Ithaca: No Report C. Audit: The audit was reviewed and approved by Chair Gilligan Department Reports: Fire Chief Parsons highlighted the following items from his monthly report, which will be attached to the minutes: Fire Fighter Joseph Bargher retired on August 9th, and Fire Fighter Martin Gessini will retire on September 21st. Their replacements have been hired and are currently going through training; they should be back in October to begin shift training/work for the department. He met with the Mayor and City Controller regarding the fire department’s 2016 budget and a few adjustments were made. The Mayor’s Proposed 2016 budget is due out on October 1st with budget meetings set up through October for Common Council to meet and discuss it. No updates at this time on grants/donations The bids for the self-contained breathing apparatus should be going out soon; with an expected delivery date later in the year. The Triad Foundation grant money in the amount of $24,000.00 will be used to replace the department’s firefighting skid unit that is used for wildland firefighting, and for fighting fires in remote areas which are hard to reach with a fire department pumper. A purchase order has been issued for the equipment. Collegetown Fire Station – the architects conducting the study expect to have a draft of their report ready by the end of this week. The final report should be done by the end of September, at which time the City will meet with the architects to review the report/study together. The month of August was a fairly calm month, with the call volume less than in 2014. There were no major incidents. There were two fires, one of Bostwick Road and the other on South Titus Avenue, both caused minimal damage and no one was injured. They were both ruled accidental. He contacted the Town of Ithaca Supervisor to request the Town’s support for the fire department to purchase a new fire truck; their support is required because the truck will cost more than $250,000.00. He doesn’t have any updates on the Town/City contract but he believes it is pretty close to being finalized. Board of Fire Commissioners Meeting Minutes September 8, 2015 3 Chair Gilligan questioned whether or not the specifications for the new fire truck need to be developed once the Town gives its support for the request. Chief Parsons responded that the specifications are all set and ready to go to bid once support is given by the Town. He stated that he considered carefully the types of trucks with an eye towards the long term cost of maintenance for it. A lot of the new trucks are very technical and not as easily repaired by local mechanics as current and older trucks. He is trying to make sure that maintenance costs in the future will not prevent the repair and life expectancy of the new fire truck. Chair Gilligan asked about a proposed organizational study of the fire department that was to be conducted by Cornell University students. He wondered whether that had happened, and if so what there results were. Chief Parsons responded that the Tompkins County Firemen's Association was hoping for the study to result in a comprehensive plan that fire departments can improve the hiring and retention of volunteer firefighters. He was unable to attend the last meeting of the County Chief’s so will provide an update for the Board when he has that information. Fire/Police Report: Mr. David Cornelius provided the following report for the Board: “Fire Police training was held on August 18, 2015. The topic was OSHA required “Confined Space Rescue Awareness”. Fire Police were called out for wires down on South Titus Avenue, I believe Jack Bordoni was the only responder. NYSEG crews were on the scene approximately 5 minutes after fire police were called. There is a request for fire police assistance at a 5 & 10 K run Sunday 9/13/15 starting at 0830. The next training is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2015; topic to be announced. Respectfully submitted, Dave Cornelius” Old Business: None Volunteer Recruitment Items/Issues: No updates. Adjournment: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 1617 hours. _______________________________________ _____________________________ Sarah L. Myers, William Gilligan, Chair Information Management Specialist MEMORANDUM To: Board of Fire Commissioners From: Tom Parsons, Fire Chief Date: September 8th, 2015 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) 6 Assistant Chiefs 8 Lieutenants 48 Fire Fighters 64 Uniform Personnel 1 Administrative Coordinator Total employees as of August 31st, 2015 – 65 a) Vacancies  None b) Retirements:  No Update: Firefighter Joseph Bargher retired on August 9th, 2015. Firefighter Martin Gessini has given notice of his intent to retire on September 21st, 2015 c) Hiring/Promotions Page 2 of 5 - Fire Chief’s Monthly Report September 8th, 2015  No Update: I was approved to fill two firefighter positions in anticipation of Firefighter Bargher, and Firefighter Gessini Retirements. Griselda Velado was hired on July 20th, 2015, and Richard Cacciotti was hired on July 25th, 2015. They both began recruit firefighter training at the NYS Academy of Fire Science on July 25 th, 2015. 2) Budget Report a) 2015 Budget: Budget Summary – see accompanying report b) No Update: 2016 Budget Preparations: On June 30 th, 2015; the Mayor distributed his annual memo to department heads with guidelines in the development of each department’s 2016 budget. The budget information supplied by department heads is used by the Mayor with developing their budget that is submitted to Common Council in October. In his memo, Mayor Myrick requested department heads submit a budget that reflects a zero percent change in operating costs which include personnel, equipment, administrative and program costs. The reason for the zero percent change is because the tax cap for the City of Ithaca in 2016 will be 0.7% above the 2015 budget. I have provided the Mayor a budget proposal that meets his request for a budget, which also keeps staffing at the current levels. The administrative and program costs have been adjusted keep the department’s budget the same as 2015. 3) County Communications and 911 Programs: a) No Report 4) Grants and Donations a) No Updates: On April 23rd, 2015, I was notified that the City of Ithaca is receiving a grant to fund the replacement of our 15-year-old Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. The grant award was for $413,000, with the City required to provide a 10% match. We expect to be going out to bid for the equipment in August or September, with anticipated delivery later in the year. b) No Updates: On Thursday, May 7th, 2015, I was notified by the Triad Foundation that we will be receiving a grant for $24,000. The money will be used to replace the department’s firefighting skid unit that is used for wildland firefighting, and for fighting fires in remote areas which are hard to reach with a fire department pumper. A purchase order has been issued for the equipment. Page 3 of 5 - Fire Chief’s Monthly Report September 8th, 2015 5) Collegetown Fire Station a) No Updates: The City of Ithaca finalized a contract with Kingsbury Architects for them to provide a study on relocating the Collegetown Fire Station to another location on East Hill. The study will look into the costs for site development and construction of a new fire station. The study will also include a facilities assessment of the Collegetown Fire Station, which will identify repairs that will be needed over the next 20 years if the City decides to keep the current building. The results of the st udy are expected to be returned to the City by the end of September. LIFE SAFETY DIVISION Fire Prevention Bureau 1) Code Enforcement Division: The following is a list of March Activities - Complaints Received: 10 Referred to the City Building Division 3 Referred to the Town of Ithaca 1 Investigated by the Fire Prevention Bureau 6 Inspections: 60 City Fire Safety & Property Maintenance 25 Town Fire Safety & Property Maintenance 2 City - Sprinkler Inspections 5 City - Alternative Fire Protection Systems 2 City - Fire Alarm Inspection 25 City - Standpipe Flow Test 1 City – Fire Pump Flow Test 0 Permits or Certificates: 36 Operating Permit – Assembly Occupancy 8 Operating Permit – Hazardous Occupancy 0 Operating Permit – Lumber Yard 0 Operating Permit – Elevator 0 Operating Permit – Fireworks 0 Certificate of Compliance - Occupancy 9 Certificate of Compliance - Fire Alarm 13 Certificate of Compliance - Fire Sprinkler 3 Certificate of Compliance - Fire Pump 0 Page 4 of 5 - Fire Chief’s Monthly Report September 8th, 2015 Certificate of Compliance – Fire Standpipe 1 Certificate of Compliance - Alternative Suppression 2 2) Fire Investigation Unit: There were no fire investigations performed by the Fire Investigation Unit in August. 3) Public Education and Special Events Public Education Events: 0 Fire Drills Witnessed: 0 Child Safety Seat Inspections: 3 OPERATIONS DIVISION Response 1) August 2015 Responses - 423 Incidents (see attached charts) City of Ithaca: 292 Incidents (69.03%) Fires: 8 Overpressure/Rupture 1 EMS/Rescue: 110 Hazardous Conditions: 22 Service Calls: 23 Good Intent: 45 Alarms/No Fires: 83 Severe Weather: 0 Town of Ithaca: 129 Incidents (30.5%) Fires: 3 Overpressure/Rupture 0 EMS/Rescue: 68 Hazardous Conditions: 5 Service Calls: 6 Good Intent: 25 Alarms/No Fires: 22 Severe Weather: 0 Mutual Aid: 2 Incidents (0.47%) Fires: 2 Overpressure/Rupture 0 EMS/Rescue: 0 Hazardous Conditions: 0 Page 5 of 5 - Fire Chief’s Monthly Report September 8th, 2015 Service Calls: 0 Good Intent: 0 Alarms/No Fires: 0 Severe Weather: 0 Simultaneous Incidents: 75 Incidents (18%) 2) Emergency Management : No Report 3) Mutual Aid Calls: Quarterly Report Support 1) Training Quarterly Report 2) Training Center Quarterly Report 3) Apparatus and Facilities No Report Volunteer Recruitment and Retention 1) Summaries of Service Hours: Quarterly Report 2) There are currently 17 Active Volunteer Firefighters and Fire Police 3) Requests from Company Members to become active: None