FIRE DISRICT 38
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
April 1, 2008
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners was called to order by Commissioner Parsons at 1009 hrs on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at the North Bend Depot.
In attendance were: Commissioner Ron Pedee
Commissioner Steve Parsons
EFR Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Griffin
Secretary Trina Parsons
Absent: Chairman Chris Dahline (excused)
Commissioner Pedee made a motion to accept the minutes from the March 4, 2008 meeting. Commissioner Parsons seconded. Motion carried. The Treasurer’s Report was read. Commissioner Parsons made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report and the Blanket Vouchers from March 11, 2008 with voucher 5488 in the amount of $780.90 and the April 2008 Blanket Voucher with vouchers 5489- 5502 totaling $18,695.52. Commissioner Pedee seconded. Commissioner Parsons asked why there were two vouchers for AAA Printing. The Secretary explained the first was for postage prior to the newsletter being sent out. The second was for the actual printing of the newsletter. Motion carried.
EASTSIDE FIRE & RESCUE
Commissioner Pedee explained the Financial Operations meetings have been rescheduled and renamed. They will now be called the Board Study Sessions and they will be held on the third Thursday of each month from 1800 hrs until 2030 hrs. There was a meeting yesterday to discuss the VSET program and the consensus is the program is successful but there is still room for additional improvement. The number of volunteers is smaller but the actual number of volunteer hours worked has tripled. The greatest asset of a volunteer program is the connection to the community and there will be further reviews done to determine what is best for the communities and the volunteers that serve them. Chief Griffin will be gathering information for review over the next several months. The Battalion Chief Collective Bargaining Agreement has still not been resolved. Commissioner Parsons asked if EF&R was getting reimbursed for tax on fuel. Chief Griffin was not sure and will look into it.
CHIEF’S REPORT
Chief Griffin reported there have been several fire events in the Battalion recently. There was a restaurant fire in downtown North Bend, a house/chimney fire in Wilderness Rim, another house/pellet stove fire on the South Fork and a double-wide mobile home furnace fire. All fires were extinguished with minor damage and no injuries. There is now an Assistant Fire Marshall at EF&R in addition to a firefighter that will be transferring to Fire Prevention later this month. Commissioner Parsons asked the duties of the firefighter that is being transferred. He will primarily be responsible for follow-up inspections and any other tasks that are needed done. EF&R will also soon be looking for a Data Analyst to assist with data, a position funded by the AMR contract. There is also an Emergency Management Position that will soon be opened. In addition, with Rona Harris being on extended medical leave, a temporary clerk has been filling in. District 10 is looking at making that position permanent as they have no clerical help at EF&R. If that happens, there will be a temporary position open at EF&R again for a clerk. A preliminary date has been selected for a Regional Fire Authority conference. The momentum is building as EF&R continues to field questions from other agencies. The preliminary designs are completed for Station 72. There were some concerned citizens that contacted EF&R regarding the proposed Station 78 in May Valley. Most concerns were due to a possible sewer extension that the citizens feared would open the way for a school to be built in the area. Chief Griffin was able to explain the situation to the citizens and alleviate their fears. There have been talks between EF&R and Woodinville but both entities have decided to wait on further discussions until after the RFA Conference. Talks with Fall City and EF&R will continue as there is a meeting scheduled with the Fire District Board and with the personnel in the department
CITIZEN INPUT
Pat Young pointed out that some people, if they can afford it, will fight very hard to avoid having things, like a new fire station or a school, come to their area if they don’t want it there.Chief Griffin acknowledged the Department has run into that problem before.
OLD BUSINESS
New Station- Commissioner Pedee reported he met with Council Members Williamson and Cook to discuss the new station. Commissioner Pedee explained there were issues between the entities that needed to be resolved before we could move forward including, but not limited to, the ILA that North Bend had presented. The question remains can the two entities work together to build a station. North Bend would like the issue on the ballet before the November election, and Commissioner Pedee agreed there was wisdom in that date as long as the proper steps had been completed prior to that as we don’t want to do this more than once. North Bend asked for a counter-proposal to their ILA and Commissioner Pedee provided that. There are still adjustments to be made (ie: number of beds) but some progress was made at a second meeting. Two concerns of District 38 were the location of the proposed station and the desire to place Council Chambers in the station. District 38 was not opposed to the location as long as research proved it to be a good location. However District 38 is unified in the thought that the Council Chambers does not belong in a fire station. Ultimately the Council representatives agreed. Commissioner Pedee also stated he had thought the Medic Program may be able to donate in some way but due to some issues in other areas of the County, that may not be a possibility. Commissioner Parsons asked if they should be required to pay some rent or something like they do in Kent. Pedee did not want to do anything to harm the relationship currently enjoyed with Medic 1. Chief Griffin suggested it would be appropriate to ask the County about their best practice throughout the county. Chief Griffin then added that during the asbestos situation at Station 87, EF&R worked very closely with the Medic program. In addition EF&R is pursuing the possibility of its’ employees having an opportunity to train as medics. The relationship between the Medic Program and EF&R is, and should continue to be, a very positive one. Commissioner Pedee then continued with his report and he advised the District’s Bond Attorney Hugh Spitzer will be putting together a document that should incorporate both the ideas of the two entities
Regional Fire Authority- District 10 and District 38 will be holding an informational meeting for anyone interested in learning about an RFA. The meeting will be on April 30 from 1800- 2030hrs. Commissioner Pedee will be drafting a letter explaining the intent of the two districts hosting this meeting.
Reserve Fund- The Secretary explained she was still working with Dave Gray on the transfer of the Reserve Fund.
Valley Record- Chief Griffin reported that Josie Williams has a meeting scheduled with the Valley Record to review a process that will get EF&R information to the paper. Press Releases are also going to be released on a regular basis to all papers.
NEW BUSINESS
Summer Newsletter- There will be a meeting this Friday, April 4, 2008 at 0930 hrs at the District office to discuss the next newsletter. Chief Griffin will be on vacation but will forward some ideas prior to his leaving.
Other- The Secretary reported she received a check for $25 from a citizen to be used as a donation to the Fire District. There was some discussion then Commissioner Parsons made a motion to give the monies to the Eastside Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association (EVFRA) for the purchase of equipment. They will then write a thank you letter. Commissioner Pedee seconded. Motion carried.
Commissioner Parsons then explained he has been talking with King County GIS about doing a study of fire station placement and he requested some monies be granted for them to do some research for us. Commissioner Pedee made a motion to approve expenditures up to $2000 to fund a GIS Study through King County resources of station locations and response times for either one station, two stations or the current Public Work Site. Commissioner Parsons seconded. Motion carried.
Commissioner Parsons then reviewed the upcoming meetings. Commissioner Pedee advised he would not be available for a meeting on May 6th so we will need to check to see if Chairman Dahline will be available. There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 1156 hrs.
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Chairman Chris Dahline Secretary Trina Parsons
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Commissioner Ron Pedee
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Commissioner Steve Parsons