January 11, 2018 Minutes

Fire District Commissioner Meeting

The opening prayer was offered by Jim Deuel. Those present were: Commissioners Jim Deuel, Roger Anderson, Mike Miller, Gordon Ball, and Dallin Gambles; Assistant Fire Chief Carl Anderson; Battalion Chiefs Mike Johnson representing station 2, Jim Kelly, Nic White, and Mitch Bingham. There were several patrons present.

Agenda Approval: There were some changes to the agenda. The audit report needs to be added as well as the swearing in of Mike and Jim as commissioners. Gordon moved to accept the changes. Mike seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, Roger, and Gordon was unanimous.

Minutes: The minutes were reviewed previously by the commissioners. Jim moved to accept the minutes. Roger seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, Roger, and Gordon was unanimous.

Budget Review: Melanie reviewed the budget. The district just paid for the 3rd month of the budget year and is under budget.

Approval of Expenditures: Dallin reviewed the expenditures and moved to accept them in the amount of $196,085.24. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, Roger, and Gordon was unanimous.

Audit report: Robert Renna reviewed the financial records of the district and prepares financial statement and creates audit reports. This year they went to a 3rd party to review the work that they have done to ensure that it is correct.

Robert praised the district for spending less than was brought in. That is what they like to see. Some of the categories were a little larger than estimated but consistent with a busy year.

Robert said that the financials of the district are healthy and the district continues to grow.

Patron Input (3 minute time limit):            There was no patron input.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. Menan station progress –Graham Whipple reported some of the key milestones that were made: that the masonry portions are essentially complete, the interior steel columns have been installed, the dome was inflated, building insulation has been put in and is well on its way to getting the shotcrete put in.   There is a lot of prep work for electrical and plumbing going on inside that is not visible on the outside. Dome Technology is on schedule. Visits to the dome are available on Friday afternoons.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Mike and Jim were sworn in by Melanie. There was no vote because no one else ran against them. The affidavit of running unopposed is on file with the district.
2. The new Fire chief: Mike explained that Carl Anderson has been serving as Fire Chief for the last four months and has done a great job. The position of fire chief has been offered to Bill Pope.   Jim moved that they finalize the acceptance of Bill Pope as the new fire chief for Central Fire District effective Feb 1. Roger seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, Roger, and Gordon was unanimous.

Chief Pope introduced himself and is excited to be serving in Idaho with Central Fire District.

3. Tami Scott from the Rigby area made a presentation about the need to have ambulance service stationed in Rigby. Tami says that she has extensive experience in paramedics and running with ambulances. She is very concerned that there is no ambulance service in Rigby itself. She explained how, in her opinion, the excessive time it takes for an ambulance to reach a victim in Rigby is a danger to the residents and that the area would be much better served if there was an ambulance service here. She has done a lot of research on how to make this a viable option. She would be willing to call the chief in Evansville, Wyoming, whom she knows well, to find out how they were able to get an ambulance service.

Mike explained that the county is over the ambulance in this area. They are not opposed to the idea and can see that this would be beneficial. He encouraged Tami to go the county commissioners because the fire district does not have the authority over ambulances. He also encouraged her to put an editorial in the paper to inform the public and start the dialog. This is an important issue and needs to be addressed. Cost versus benefit needs to be analyzed.

The commissioners will look at this and discuss this issue with the county commissioners.

4. Color selection of the Menan building: Graham had samples of the material used in the dome and asked the commissioners to choose the colors of the doors and a few other structures.

ASST. CHIEF REPORT: Carl reported the year end numbers:
Station 1 EMS call outs- 777 (120 more than last year) Fire call outs-98 (up 3)

Station 2: 147 EMS calls (down 23) 38 fire call outs (down 13)

Station 3: 79 EMS call outs (down 14) 17 fire call outs (down 19 calls).

Station 4. 92 EMS calls (down 3). Fire calls out 33 ( up 16)

Total: 1095 EMS base calls in the district, 186 fire call outs. They made every call out and were very professional.

December was a very busy month.

B.C. REPORTS:

Station 1. Jim Kelly: 82 EMS and 9 fire calls. There have been several times where there have been calls stacked on top of each other but the volunteers have answered them.

Station 2. Mike Johnson: 15 EMS calls and 2 fire calls.

Station 3. Nic White: 7 EMS and one fire call. Fire call was a plugged chimney. Morale is good.

Station 4. Mitch Bingham: 8 EMS calls and 2 fire calls. Everyone is really excited about the new fire station. He thanked the commissioners for supporting the station and letting them get the job done.

Dallin called to adjourned the meeting at 9:30. Mike seconded. The vote by Jim, Mike, Dallin, and Gordon was unanimous.