Paradise Valley Fire District

Paradise Valley Fire District Main Station, 2492 Paradise Valley Road, Bonners Ferry, Id February 9, 2010 Minutes

Present: Chairman Orrin Everhart, Vice Chair Brad Holifield, District Commissioner Rodney Ferreira.

Also Present: Fire Chief Jock Johnson, Secretary Jennifer Watts, Web Manager John Mass, and general members of the fire district.

Meeting Called to Order at 7:00 p.m. by Chairman Everhart.

Roll call of Commissioners was taken and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

Old Business:

1. There was a review of the 1/13/2010 meetings minutes-Chief Johnson reminded the Board that the representative for the firefighters had been schedule to speak at the last meeting but was not available so that was tabled. Chief said that the firefighters no longer wanted to be put on the agenda. Vice Chair Holifield moved to accept the minutes, Commissioner Ferreira seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.

2. Billing for Emergency Medical Response-Elaine Atkins had inquired about billing insurance companies for medical emergency responses by the fire department. VC Holifield talked to the Districts accountant of record, Debbie Youngwirth, and she would need to implement a new program and was not sure the expense and time would be worth the return. She did give him the name of Cassidy Brimhall who does medical billing and VC Holifield contacted her and will have a report at the next meeting. This issue was tabled to the next meeting.

3. Pleasant Valley Fire Station Information- VC Holifield moved to table this issue to the next meeting, Comm Ferreira second and the motion carried unanimously.

4. Joining Idaho Fire Commissioners Association-Cost to the district would be $302.00 because it is based on 2% of your budget. It was agreed to table this issue until further review. The board needs to go over the budget as there is over run in other areas and determine if that expense can be accommodated this fiscal year. VC Holifield moved to table this item, Comm Ferreira seconded, motion carried unanimously.

5. Conflict of Interest Policy-(See Attachment “A”)-The proposed policy was read aloud by Chairman Everhart and VC Holifield clarified that if one of the Board/Commissioners was related by marriage to some individual doing business with the district and they profited financially from this arrangement that would be a conflict of interest and that Board Member/Commissioner would not be able to vote on that issue. If they are friends/acquaintances with someone doing business with the district and they do not profit financially then there is no conflict. The question was asked if Rod Ferreira was in a conflicted position due to his seat on the Board and being active in the South Boundary Fire district. However, it was determined that this is not a conflict since they do not compete and he makes no financial gain from PVFD. Comm Ferreira moved to accept the Policy as written, VC Holifield seconded; motion carried unanimously.

6. Main Station Lease-(See Attachment B) Lease needs to be renewed due to prior lease with the Paradise Valley Fire Association expires 2/15/2010. New Lease was drafted by Nancy Stricklin (PVFD attorney) and reviewed by Tim Wilson (PVF Association attorney). Chet Savage is Chairman of the Association and he was given a copy to review and get together with rest of the Association Board to review. VC Holifield moved to accept the Lease as written, Comm Ferreira seconded; motion carried unanimously. Chief Johnson believed that this needed to be secured via resolution; Everhart said a motion is acceptable, but a roll call vote is needed. Roll was called and the resolution passed unanimously.

New Business

1. Website Information-John Moss provides a web page for all the Districts, Ambulance and Search and Rescue in the County. Info on the Web includes each districts roster, Board Member/Commissioner terms, pictures of equipment with definitions and descriptions, pictures of the stations their locations and each stations contact number. Each District is welcome to send pictures of any of their events; it’s up to their discretion. This page is intended as information for the general public and the Board thought it would be a good place to post the minutes and upcoming agendas. The cost to each District or entity is $35 a year. It seems like a good investment and tool for the public and the District needs to make better use of it. Jennifer will be responsible for emailing John information and pictures for the website.

2. Set Date/Time for Special Meeting-There is just so much business at the onset; the Board feels they need an extra meeting to address all the necessary business in front of them. The next meeting will be February 23, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

3. Fires Station #1 Lease Proposal-VC Holifield moved to table this item to the Next meeting, Comm Ferreira seconded; motion carried unanimously. 4. Chief’s Account-After review of the past minutes Chairman Everhart realized that Chet Savage and Chief Johnson are authorized signers on an account for is that the Paradise Valley Fire Association. Chief Johnson explained to the Board that the account in question has been changed to the Paradise Valley Fire Fighters Smoke Eaters account. This account is used for purchasing shirts, hats, team building activities, etc. The signers on the account are Chet, Chief Johnson, Joe Neumeyer and Debbie Youngwirth. Orrin expressed concern that the general public could be confused when donating funds to the district and believe they are donating for District Business and when in fact the funds are going to the Smoke Eaters account. Attorney Nancy Stricklin feels it is confusing to the public for the Chief to be a signer on the account. The Chief could simply contact Chet to get a check for expenses. The Board does not want the public to donate funds intended for one thing and due to a misunderstanding funds get put into the wrong account. VC Holifield would prefer that the Chiefs name not be on the account and the Chief had no objections to removing his name from the account.

5. US Fire Recovery Information-A bulk of information was dropped off by a representative of the company that specialized in billing for fire departments. Primarily they are based in California and Arizona but they also have accounts in Idaho and Montana. They are paid by taking a percentage of the recovered funds, but they do not specify in the literature what their percentage is. Comm Ferreira noted that the only time the District would use this service would be in the case of responding to vehicle accidents or if people outside of the District use our services. The Chief says that this company covers a wide range of service and they pursue the insurance company for payment and not the individual. Chief suggested that the Board review and investigate this matter further and speak directly with the representative to get answers to their questions. More discussion followed. Comm Ferreira moved to table this issue to the next meeting, seconded by VC Holifield, motion carried unanimously.

6. Vehicle Maintenance-

a. Vehicle 371 Clutch Repair-three bids in one from Meads for $1121.00; one from Onsite for $1617.00; and one from SP Motive Post Falls for $875.00. VC Holifield expressed concern that according to the budget the District is currently out of funds to repair vehicles. If the Board approved one of these bids then that line item would be significantly over budget, vehicle is still operational this is a preventative maintenance measure. More discussion followed: VC Holidifeld asked that the Chief choose which vehicle he wanted repaired and what area of the budget he wanted to pull that money from and bring that proposal before the board at the next meeting. Chet Savage inquired as to what happened to the funds carried over from the Association to the district; Comm Ferreira explained that if the Board plans to adhere to the lower budget and we receive insufficient tax funds during the current fiscal year, then money must be carried forward to meet expenses at the end of the calendar year. b. Repair of pump for Vehicle 354 – This was discussed along with the preceding repair (Vehicle 371). Comments were taken from the members of the district in attendance as follows: Does quote from Post Falls Company include cost of coming out here to fix it? Mobile service so yes that is included. Who determined that the clutch needed to be replaced? A Certified EVT did a DOT inspection and determined that this was necessary. c. Vehicle Maintenance Priority List – Chief said there were no other vehicle repairs scheduled beyond the above 354 and 371. VC Holifield said that the vehicle repair line item is already over budget. He moved to table the repair issue to the next meeting when the Chief can present his proposal as to which line items can be cut so that we can pay for these repairs. Comm Ferreira seconded the motion; motion carried unanimously.

7. Station Maintenance- a. The Main Station has electrical boxes installed with no power. There are no estimates to have someone fix this problem as it was already paid for to Bonners Ferry Builders. VC Holifield suggests that a plumber be called for the problem with the radiant heating and the other issues be followed up on as contractual issues. VC Holifield will contact the electrician and explore options to resolve this issue. b. Main Station Electrical Plug-ins - Chief explained that the lighting, emergency signs and power were subcontracted out by Bonners Ferry Builders to someone unknown who then subcontracted it to Devore Electric. This will also be addressed by VC Holifield with Devore Electric. c. Heating Problems-Comm Ferreira wanted to know if the trucks were in danger of freezing. Chet Savage said at this time they are able to manipulate the thermostat enough to avoid that. VC Holifield felt this may be fixed by a simple $15-$20 investment in a new thermostat. VC Holifield moved to get estimate for heating problems at the Main Station and Station 1, Comm Ferreira seconded; motion carried unanimously. VC Holifield moved to check with Devore Electric regarding the emergency lighting, exit signs and plug in at the Main Station, Comm Ferreira seconded; motion carried unanimously.

8. North Idaho Fire Academy Attendance-Chief explained that there is one open class, it’s the number one academy in the state for this training, it would cost a total of $2040 to send eight firefighters and that would leave three for coverage in the District. Comm Ferreira moved to authorize up to eight firefighters to attend the Academy on the stipulation that we have appropriate coverage, VC Holifield seconded; motion carried unanimously.

9. Ladder Testing Requirements-NFPA requires that ladders be inspected every year. If the District fails to meet this requirement and a firefighter is injured the District could be liable for lack of due diligence. It may be possible to divide the cost of the call fee with the City Fire Department and the South Boundary Fire District if they get theirs inspected at the same time. Chief Johnson feels it would be good to make any recommended repairs at the time of inspection to save on having to pay a second call fee. VC Holifield did not feel comfortable with pulling out an amount of funds at random without having any idea what needs to be repaired and how much. VC Holifield moved that the District allocate $655.00 for ladder testing and certification and an estimate on repair. Comm Ferreira inquired that if any ladder fail are there enough to not have to get them repaired but just rotate them off the trucks? The Chief was not sure as the ladders had never been inspected before and didn’t know how many would pass and how many would fail. Comm Ferriera seconded VC Holifield’s motion; motion carried unanimously.

10. Main Station: South Wing Material Costs-Comm Ferreira moved to table this item to the next meeting, VC Holifield seconded; motion carried.

11. Traffic Cone Purchase-25 Cones-Currently the District has no cones that meet requirements. Two quotes were submitted by Chief Johnson, one from Intermountain in Coeur d’Alene that due to a special would not charge freight and the total cost would be $387.50; one from Carquest in Bonners Ferry with a total cost of $425.00. Without having compliant cones the District becomes liable if anyone rear ends on of their trucks while stopped at a call. Comm Ferreira moves to purchase 25 cones from Carquest as he prefers to keep business local if possible; VC Holidifed seconded; motion carried unanimously.

Fire Chief Report-Chief put in for a grant from Avista for 40 traffic cones and to NLI for Batteries. Chief did not ask for 65 total cones as he has been more successful in getting grants for smaller amounts. Comm Ferreira asked if there was a blueprint available for submission for the Pleasant Valley Fire Station and could he please have a copy. He also asked if Chief Johnson had checked into any grant s from Home Depot-the Chief had but you need to be ready to build when you submit because you only are given a certain number of days to use those grants.

Commissioners Report-VC Holifield expressed a desire for the Chief to be more aware of the budget and his spending. Needs to be very aware of his expenses and keep within the budget. Also be alert to going over budget on certain line items and knowing where you can pull that money from in other place in the budget. Comm Ferreira reminded all present that we are in an economic crisis and the Board made a promise to the tax payers to keep budget to a minimum. The Board and the Chief must proceed cautiously and not try to achieve too much to fast and lose the trust of the tax payers by going over budget.

Bills-VC Holifield moved to pay the bills for the month, Comm Ferreira seconded; motion carried.

Visitor Comments: Louis Marring had prepared a statement which is as follows: Prior to the vote to create a taxing fire district, the current chief approached him about putting up a sign and claimed that only 40% of residents were paying their dues to the Association and that dues would not go up once district formed as all residents would be paying. He is now paying four times more than he was paying before and believes the campaign was run on deceit. He was paying voluntarily and now is forced to pay four times more. He finds this ridiculous. Orrin responded that if the Board can hold the budget to a minimum that should reduce taxes for the next year. Those promises where not made by the current board but he agreed that they were misleading. The reason the cost of dues increased is because now they are based on your properties assessed value since it is now a taxing district. Louis stated that he understood the district responded to home and structure fires but he is already paying the IDL (Idaho Dept of Lands) for forest coverage and is there for being double taxed. Comm Ferreira said he understood Louis frustration and the Board was trying to stay under budget and explore these issues. He also asked that residents of the district not forget that the Paradise Valley Fire District can respond to a small wild land fire and can contain it quickly and keep it contained until IDL is able to respond with a crew.

Meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.