Westhampton Firefighters Association - Meeting Minutes

Westhampton Firefighters Association - Meeting Minutes page 1 of 1

Meeting Date: Tuesday, January 8th, 2013.

Meeting called to order: 19:00 Hrs. Members present: 24

Previous Meeting Minutes: Read and Approved

Treasurer’s Report: Deposits (donations and other): $ 1171. ($1000 donation in Memory of Frank and Ernestine Munson) Payments: $ 68.94 Total in: Checking: $ 575.60 7-day account: $ 5291.31 Savings: $ 5240.10 Grand Total: $ 11,107.01

Review and update of Old Business: 1.) Report on new Shirts for the Association: all accounts are paid up in full. 2.) Lock box for the Fire Dept.: slot is cut in the top; it is bolted down. 3.) January: Bell Tower subscription payment was voted to be paid.

Chief’s Report: 1.) Discussion on the Department Budget, Grants status, etc….no new news, but a brief re-cap. 2.) Update on the ambulance contract situation: the presentation was made to the Select Board, and the direction to proceed proposed by the Committee was approved by the Select Board. The Proposal has now been forwarded to the Finance Committee who will review it on January 15th at 19:00 Hrs. The State and the State Inspectors have approved the Proposal, and the sale of the Easthampton Ambulance was approved by the City of Easthampton. The plans for moving the placement of Vehicles around in the P.S.C. were discussed. 3.) Discussion on incidents responded to over the last month. 4.) Report and discussion on Department Training. 5.) Permitted Brush Burning Season will start January 15th, and will continue until May 1st; Burning Permits are being managed and applied for on-line, via the Department’s web site. Calling the Department Land Line will ask the caller to go on-line to sign up for a Permit. The web site sign-up has clear instructions, and the person requesting the permit must read and approve the “Rules and Regulations” page. 6.) Report on the S.A.F.E. Training December 17th at the Westhampton Elementary School. 7.) The new black box on the wall in the F.D. Meeting Room of the P.S.C. is an interface for the new and coming fiber optic cable system. Be careful, it is a head-banger! 8.) The Chief presented the three proposed new Fire Department Members to the Association. After discussion, a slate was moved to accept all three and it passed unanimously. The three are to be paired with an Officer to be Mentored: Matt Campbell with Steve Holt, Andy Hilnbrand with Bill Jablonski, and Melissa Start with Lee Douchkoff.

New and Other Business: 1.) Newly elected Association Officers: all have accepted and are in office. 2.) A discussion was had on what to do for a “thank you” Dinner Party for recently retired Firefighters Mike Derouin and Don Long. The consensus was to try to do a party in March, April, or May. Maryanne Duggan agreed to be the “primary coordinator”, as long as there were helpers, and a number of Firefighters volunteered to help.

Schedule and Dates: Training: reminder of the training in Auburn. Department Training: the next Department Training will be on Donning and Doffing of Turnout Gear, to be held on January 29th at 18:00 Hrs. Events: the date for the 2013 Benefit Pancake Breakfast at Steve’s Sugar Shack will be Saturday, April 6th. Next Regular Department and Association Meeting will be Tuesday, February 5th, 2013. Training at 18:00 Hrs.; Meeting at 19:00 Hrs.

Refreshments Schedule Reminder: list read and is posted.

Vehicles Checking Reminder: list read and is posted. Reminder and warning that vehicle checking is NOT being done regularly, which is a very dangerous situation! Firefighters are asked to please do their fair share of this critical work.

Meeting adjourned: 19:59 Hrs.