February 13, 2020 Minutes

Fire District Commissioner Meeting

Opening Prayer: Gordon called the meeting to order at 8 pm.  The opening prayer was offered by Roger Anderson. Those present were Commissioners Gordon Ball, Dallin Gambles, and Roger Anderson; Fire Chief Carl Anderson with Assistant Fire Chief Nic White; and Battalion Chiefs Jim Kelly, Blaine Ker, Mitch Bingham, and Corey Albertson.  Jim Deuel was absent, and Mike Miller attended via telephone.  CFD attorney Dennis Wilkinson was present.   There were a handful of patrons present.  Melanie Sullivan recorded the minutes. 

Approval of Agenda– ACTION ITEM:  Gordon moved to accept the agenda as presented.  Dallin seconded.   The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous. 

Approval of Minutes – ACTION ITEM: The commissioners reviewed the minutes previously.  Roger moved to accept the minutes.  Dallin seconded. The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous. 

Budget Review:  Melanie reviewed the budget.  We are well under budget at this point of the fiscal year.

Approval of Expenditures – ACTION ITEM: Dallin reviewed the expenditures and did not find anything unexpected.  He moved to approve the expenditures in the amount of $35,136.28. Gordon seconded.  The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous.   

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Truck repairs 166, 181 & 141– DISCUSSION ITEM; Carl reported that the bill for the repairs on 166 was around $12,000, which is a little higher than expected.  181 repairs will be completed next week.  The next truck to be repaired will be 141.  They will do at least those three trucks this year as well as the truck with the engineering issue that is under warranty.   

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Robert Renna audit review – DISCUSSION ITEM:  Robert Renna reviewed the audit.  Robert feels that the district is healthy and is prepared to meet the demands of a growing district.  He is pleased with the financials of the district. 
2. BLM locating in Menan station-Kris Bruington – DISCUSSION ITEM:  Carl said that the BLM discussed with him the possibility of temporarily stationing a truck and a 4-5 man crew at the Menan station during peak fire season.  Kris Bruingtron from the BLM said that the Menan area is a hot spot for wildland fires and is beneficially placed between the Dubois and Idaho Falls stations.   This truck would be called out to any wildland fire in the BLM Idaho Falls district.  There would be no monetary exchange between the BLM and Central Fire District.  This would bring the BLM firefighters closer to where wild land fires occur.  This would not affect the call outs for Menan or Lewisville.  There would essentially be a memorandum of understanding to help handle personnel issues and building maintenance.  Mitch said the personnel of Menan would like to try it for a season and see how it works out.  The commissioners feel confident with the district leadership making this decision.  
3. Permission to go to design for District upstairs remodel – ACTION ITEM:  Carl said that there is a lot building going on in the district and we need to keep up with the growth.  Carl would like to get approval to proceed with design and construction permit documents for living quarters above the Rigby station.  Graham Whipple, the architect who designed the Menan station, would charge $7,770 for the design.  Money has been budgeted for living quarters in this fiscal year.  Roger made a motion to have Graham to go ahead with the plans.  Mike seconded.  The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous. 
4. Permission to advertise for interested bidders for upstairs remodel – ACTION ITEM:  Graham suggested that we solicit interested contractors who have a public works license ahead of time.  As Graham gets the documents together, he can submit them to interested bidders.  Dennis has reviewed the contract.  Dallin moved to advertise for interested bidders for the remodel.  Roger seconded.   The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous. 
5. Wildland turnout purchase – ACTION ITEM:  Nic, Carl, and Jared have looked at wildland gear and it is time to start replacing them.  They are asking for 30 pairs of pants and 30 shirts.  It takes a while for the manufacturer to get the material in and Carl would like to get them in as soon as possible.  He received bids for the turnouts and now Carl is asking for approval to spend up to $8500, which Carl feels will cover the expense withing the time frame needed.  Dallin moved to approve the expenditure of $8500.  Roger seconded.   The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous. 

FIRE CHIEF REPORT: Carl said they have had some interesting calls.  They assisted with the active shooter call by doing traffic control.  They responded to two trailer house fires.  They have been pretty busy with EMS calls.
        – Battalion Chief input: There was no BC input.

ASSISTANT CHIEF REPORT:  Nic said that they are looking into getting new help for Lieutenant and Captains with training.  This is online training that is considerably cheaper than what they have tried in the past.

COMMISSIONER REPORTS:  Roger moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:50. Dallin seconded.   The vote by Mike, Gordon, Dallin, and Roger was unanimous. 

            Roger-EMS & Training/Gordon-Equipment /Dallin-Facilities/Jim-Budget/Mike-PR