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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BFC-1992-03-10 . A BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS MARCH 10, 1992 MINUTES PRESENT: Commissioners Baker, Begg, Cornelius, Mayer, Neigh 1 . Chairman Baker called the meeting to order at 1906 hours. 2 . Additions/deletions to the agenda: Volunteer Coordinator Lynch: Permission sought to transfer funds from donation fund savings to donation fund checking account (item #15A) . 3 . Persons wishing to speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners : - Commissioner Mayer reported that the March meeting of the Company Captains Group (which he chairs) will take place on Tuesday, March 24 at 1900 hours, one week later than usual . He will be out of town on the normal meeting night of March 17 . As Captain of Co. 6, Comm. Mayer also reported on his company' s Open House on February 29 . 4 . Moved by Commissioner Neigh, seconded by Comm. Cornelius that the minutes of the February 1992 meeting be approved as written. Carried unanimously. 5 . Moved by Commissioner Neigh, seconded by Comm. Mayer that the audit dated March 10, 1992 in the amount of $28, 913 . 16 be approved. Carried unanimously. 6 . Moved by Commissioner Mayer, seconded by Comm. Cornelius that the following resignations from Co. 3 be accepted: Laurie Roth, Sue Watrous, John Skawski, Robyn Wishna (dropped, non-resident) . Carried unanimously. Referring to the Watrous resignation, Commissioner Begg urged that follow-up investigation routinely be done for those who resign from the department shortly after the completing New Member Training. Moved by Commissioner Neigh, seconded by Comm. Cornelius that the resignation of Ira Emsig from Co. 9 be accepted. Carried unanimously. 7 . A request for reimbursement from Fire fighter Chris Katz, initially presented at the January meeting, was resubmitted to the board after having been presented to Co. 5. Katz seeks reimbursement in the amount of $621 .95 to cover replacement of items stolen from his car on 1/6/92, the night of the Cayuga Street fire. Commissioner Neigh maintained that the request had not been endorsed by the company, but merely forwarded to the board without recommendation. Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes of 3/10/92 Page 2 After considerable discussion, it was moved by Commissioner Mayer that the request be returned to FF Katz for resubmission to the board with a copy of the police report, documentation of denial by his insurance company, and a letter from the company certifying its position. Though there was no second, discussion continued and it was informally agreed that, at the Chief' s request, Chairman Baker will contact the president or captain of Co. 5 (or the captain's designate) to expedite the matter, and that the matter is tabled until the April meeting while proper documentation is sought. 8 . Deputy Chief Brian Wilbur presented bid tabulations for Work Uniforms and Protective Clothing, as well as an extension of the unit pricing for work uniforms, related to the bid specifications . Moved by Commissioner Mayer, seconded by Comm. Begg that the bid for Work Uniforms and Accessories be awarded to Onondaga Uniform Co. , Inc. Carried unanimously. Moved by Commissioner Mayer, seconded by Comm. Neigh that the bid for Protective Clothing be awarded to LaFrance Equipment Co. Carried unanimously. 9 . Moved by Commissioner Begg, seconded by Comm. Neigh that the board schedule a special meeting on Thursday, March 26 , 1992 , beginning at 1700 hours, to receive a formal presentation from consultant George Proper related to his portion of the department's Space Needs Study. Carried unanimously. 10 . The board reviewed a letter received from county fire coordinator Jack Miller concerning the status of the upgrade of the dispatch computer system. Chief Olmstead provided a synopsis of the background of the situation: the county board essentially approved an allocation for software that is $20,000 short, and Coordinator Miller seeks donations from the county' s emergency services providers to help relieve the shortfall. The Chief noted no department money would be available for this project. Moved by Commissioner Mayer, seconded by Comm. Begg that the board ask the volunteer companies to consider donating money to Tompkins County to support this project, although the board cannot donate toward the cause because funds are unavailable; also, that the board believes this project an appropriate use of company money. Approved 4-1 (Comm. Neigh opposed) . Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes of 3/10/92 Page 3 11 . 1991 annual reports were received from Companies 3, 4 and 6 . Moved by Comm. Cornelius, seconded by Comm. Begg that submissions from Companies 3 and 6 be accepted, and that Co. 4 ' s report be returned for correction. Carried unanimously. Commissioner Cornelius and Captain Crandall have already begun work to resolve the errors in Co. 4 's report. 12 . The board reviewed the latest draft of the new "Application for Relief" form, which it expects to adopt as the new form in April once minor typographical changes are made. It was also moved by Commissioner Cornelius, seconded by Comm. Begg that a similar form be developed for requests from the donation fund, and that Comm. Mayer be directed to submit a draft of that form by the April meeting. Carried unanimously. 13 . Volunteer handbook: Volunteer Coordinator Lynch has received comments on the draft from Commissioner Begg, and will now compile the handbook. There is no word yet regarding the availability of binders under state contract. 14 . Chief ' s Report: - Monthly reports : presented. He noted that these reports reflect the impact of the Cayuga Street fire on 1/6/92 . - The Chief distributed a copy of two articles in the most recent issue of "Size Up, " one he wrote concerning the department' s five sprinklered stations, the other written by Deputy Chief Wilbur on sprinklers saving students ' lives. - Year-end close-out for 1991 has just been received from the Controller' s Office. The Chief recently discovered that work on the close-out prevented the payment of some bills from the January and February audits . There ' s nothing definite yet regarding the impact on the City on the state's anticipated reduction in aid. - Immunization program: We are awaiting copies of federal rules that took effect on 3/6/92 . It appears that the program for career people already in place meets all the requirements . - Space needs study: Records inventory management study of IFD records is underway, as part of the City's overall records management program. Consultant John Teitsch will begin his work shortly. Blueprints of the stations are being sent to him. BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS MARCH 10, 1992 MINUTES PRESENT: Commissioners Baker, Begg, Cornelius, Mayer, Neigh 1. Chairman Baker called the meeting to order at 1906 hours. 2 . Additions/deletions to the agenda: Volunteer Coordinator Lynch: Permission sought to transfer funds from donation fund savings to donation fund checking account (item #15A) . 3 . Persons wishing to speak to the Board of Fire Commissioners : - Commissioner Mayer reported that the March meeting of the Company Captains Group (which he chairs) will take place on Tuesday, March 24 at 1900 hours, one week later than usual. He will be out of town on the normal meeting night of March 17 . As Captain of Co. 6, Comm. Mayer also reported on his company' s Open House on February 29 . 4 . Moved by Commissioner Neigh, seconded by Comm. Cornelius that the minutes of the February 1992 meeting be approved as written. Carried unanimously. 5 . Moved by Commissioner Neigh, seconded by Comm. Mayer that the audit dated March 10, 1992 in the amount of $28, 913 . 16 be approved. Carried unanimously. 6 . Moved by Commissioner Mayer, seconded by Comm. Cornelius that the following resignations from Co. 3 be accepted: Laurie Roth, Sue Watrous, John Skawski, Robyn Wishna (dropped, non-resident) . Carried unanimously. Referring to the Watrous resignation, Commissioner Begg urged that follow-up investigation routinely be done for those who resign from the department shortly after the completing New Member Training. Moved by Commissioner Neigh, seconded by Comm. Cornelius that the resignation of Ira Emsig from Co. 9 be accepted. Carried unanimously. 7 . A request for reimbursement from Fire fighter Chris Katz, initially presented at the January meeting, was resubmitted to the board after having been presented to Co. 5 . Katz seeks reimbursement in the amount of $621. 95 to cover replacement of items stolen from his car on 1/6/92, the night of the Cayuga Street fire. Commissioner Neigh maintained that the request had not been endorsed by the company, but merely forwarded to the board without recommendation. • • Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes of 3/10/92 Page 4 - We continue to press on remaining construction issues . The Chief met recently with Assistant City Attorney Pat Kennedy to discuss and attempt to resolve outstanding requests for counsel from the Attorney' s Office. (No progress . ) There are two legal claims outstanding against the construction project. - The Chief asked the board to clarify its intent concerning the volunteer system proposals he advanced at the December meeting, that it be put on the agenda for the April meeting, and that the committee study of minimum company standards move ahead. (See item #15 . ) - 964 has been out of service since it was damaged in a two-car motor vehicle accident that occurred at Meadow and Buffalo Streets as it was responding to a call . DC Dorman is in the process of obtaining repair estimates . 15 . There was considerable debate and discussion concerning how the board should respond to the Chief ' s proposals still outstanding regarding changes to the volunteer system -- whether they should been examined by the full board (now or later) , evaluation of them added to the charge of the volunteer company standards committee, or whether they should be rejected out of hand. Moved by Commissioner Mayer that all elements of the Chief ' s proposal other than those already acted upon be rejected. Motion failed for lack of a second. Moved by Commissioner Begg that the volunteer company standards committee be directed to evaluate the remaining unresolved items and report back to the full board. Seconded by Comm. Neigh. Commissioner Mayer stated that he vehemently opposes expansion of the committee' s responsibilities in this way, that the committee should not evaluate company finances, and that it is inappropriate to give the committee a laundry list of items . Commissioner Neigh stated the committee' s charge should be clarified and strongly recommended that he be replaced on the committee by a representative from the town. Chairman Baker declined, stating he wishes to keep the committee as initially appointed (Commissioners Neigh, Begg and Cornelius . ) The motion was approved by a 4-1 vote (Comm. Mayer opposed. ) Moved by Commissioner Cornelius that another committee be established to evaluate fire fighter standards (not limited to volunteers) , with the recognition that the board has no jurisdiction over disciplinary proceedings for career people. This proposal results from concerns over f3 • Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes of 3/10/92 Page 5 "freelancing" at the Cayuga Street fire and other fires and failure to follow the accountability system. Seconded by Comm. Begg ( for discussion) . During discussion, it was concluded that the matter might better be dealt with at the staff or committee level, and Comm. Cornelius withdrew his motion, promising to discuss the matter with DC Wilbur. 15A. As clerk of the board, Volunteer Coordinator Lynch asked the board's permission to transfer funds from the donation fund checking to donation fund savings account, in an attempt to avoid service charges . A service charge reflected in the most recent statement was apparently imposed because of a checking balance of less than $1000 . After discussion, it was moved by Commissioner Begg, seconded by Comm. Neigh that $300 be transferred from the donation fund checking to the donation fund savings account. Carried unanimously. Moved by Comm. Neigh, seconded by Comm. Begg that Comm. Cornelius be directed to look into options for alternate types of accounts and report back to the board at the April meeting. Approved by a vote of 4-0, 1 abstention (Comm. Cornelius . ) The meeting was adjourned at 2130 hours . Respectfully submitted, Lyman E. Baker Chairman