A regular meeting of the Wake County Fire Commission was held on Thursday, July 15, 2004, 7:00 PM in the EMS Training Classroom located at lower level of the Wake County Commons Building, Carya Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina. Raymond L. Echevarria presided as Facilitator and called the meeting to order.
CALL MEETING TO ORDER
The following members were present: Chief Mike Chambers, Chief Paul Dunwell, Chief Scottie Harris, Commissioner Harold Webb, Chief Tony Mauldin, Mr. Billy Myrick, Chief Mike Cooper, Chief Scott McCollum and Chief Tom Vaughn.
Members absent were: Mr. Jeff Frazier, Mr. Vernon Malone, Chief Rodney Privette, Ms. Ann Suggs, Mr. Lucius Jones, and Chief Chris Wilson.
ROLL CALL
Raymond Echevarria distributed attendance roster for Fire Commission members. Attendance roster for FY 04 was distributed for review and verification.
ANNOUCEMENT OF CLOYCE ANDERS' RESIGNATION
Raymond Echevarria informed the Fire Commission of Cloyce Anders' resignation.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Upon motion of Chief Scottie Harris seconded by Mr. Billy Myrick, the Fire Commission unanimously approved the minutes of the May 13, 2004, regular meeting.
Upon motion of Chief Scottie Harris, seconded by Mr. Billy Myrick, the Fire Commission unanimously approved the minutes of the June 7, 2004, Special Called meeting.
Budget / Fire Tax Financial Report
Mr. Ben Canada, Wake County Budget and Management Analyst, provided a powerpoint presentation on budget issues. The presentation provided a synopsis of how FY 04 ended, an update on the FY 05 process, a preview of the FY 06 budget process and a discussion on fire tax district fund balance. Ben Canada stated date annual audits are due. Ben Canada informed the Fire Commission he is going to begin asking for quarterly reports.
Unfinished business
FY 05 approved budget
Ben Canada provided an update on the FY approved budget during the financial report.
HEERY Report
Raymond Echevarria provided copy of e-mail from Don Jackowski, Wake County Facilities Design and Construction, regarding the construction schedule. Copies of revised construction drawings for each station were available.
COMPENSATION STUDY
Catherine Clark provided an update on the compensation study. She informed the Fire Commission the Compensation Committee has concluded its work. Catherine also reviewed how the monthly payments are calculated.
Fire service long range business plan
Chief Tom Vaughn provided an update on the apparatus component. The fire apparatus committee is working on a replacement and purchase plan for fire apparatus and a basic set of specifications for various apparatus types.
Chief Scottie Harris provided an update on the facilities component. The facilities subcommittee has developed a list of criteria recommended to be looked when evaluating fire stations for closure. The list is:
Criteria for Closing Fire Stations
· Number of firefighters on initial unit
– for structural fire dispatch
– and response time to get first arriving unit.
· Is water supply a problem? If no hydrants, how long will it take to get tankers on the scene?
· Change in ISO grade (better or worse).
· Compliance with proposed service level response time goals (urban, suburban, rural).
· Cost to provide service based upon a long-term contract.
· Are other services impacted or provided that will no longer be provided? (rescue, brush, tanker)
· What future costs are anticipated (for both the current fire service provider and the proposed department)? i.e. apparatus replacement, station replacement or renovations.
If there is measurably better service at same cost, consider the proposal alternative.
If the same service can be provided at less cost, consider the proposal alternative.
Other Considerations
· Workload should be considered based on the number of incidents that originate in the primary service area and not based on the number of incidents responded to by units in the station?
· Need to evaluate the impact on current forced annexation contract areas (number of responses and the cost for service).
· Any savings/efficiencies created by closing fire stations are to be used to support operating expenses in the fire tax fund.
Chief Harris motioned, "Fire Commission agrees with and supports this list of criteria and considerations and requests the County Manager to begin discussions with Raleigh and Cary. To enable the Fire Commission to meet its commitment to complete a long-range business plan by January 2005, the Fire Commission requests a report on the status of the discussions at the September meeting."
Chief Vaughn seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
New business
Automatic vehicle location (AVL) system
Public Safety Director John Rukavina provided an update on implementation of AVL for EMS and Wake County Sheriff's Office. Fire service personnel are invited to demos on July 20, 2004, and July 21, 2004.
Turnout gear joint purchase
Ricky Dorsey provided a report from the committee on joint purchase of turnout gear. Committee recommends that the joint purchase of turnout gear be processed in the same manner as the purchase of defibrillators and thermal imaging cameras based on the City of Raleigh turnout gear specification. The committee also recommends that FY 05 turnout gear funds be distributed based on the percentage and amounts allocated to the turnout gear line item by each department. The committee also recommends a study committee to evaluate turnout gear specification and distribution for FY 06.
Chief Vaughn motioned for the Fire Commission to approve the three committee recommendations. Chief Scottie Harris seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Each region will recommend one person for the turnout gear study committee.
Year 3 of defibrillator and thermal imaging camera purchase plan
Raymond Echevarria informed the Fire Commission Year 3 units have been ordered. Chief Roof is working on a replacement schedule for defibrillators and thermal imaging cameras for the budget committee.
Medical first responder program
Ricky Dorsey provided a handout regarding issues with the Wake County Medical First Responder program. County staff recommends a small study team to explore the various issues including the feasibility of transitioning to medical responder. The study team will bring back a program recommendation at the September Fire Commission meeting.
Chief Mauldin motioned for each region to recommend a member to the study team with Ricky Dorsey leading the team. The study team will bring answers back to the September meeting. Mr. Billy Myrick seconded the motion. The motion carried on a unanimous vote.
Committee Reports
800 mhz/cad Committee
Chris Perry provided an update for the 800 MHZ/CAD committee. The committee has developed several procedures for using the 800 MHZ radio system.
Contract committee
Raymond Echevarria informed the Fire Commission that Chiefs Rich (Stony Hill FD), Roof (Bay Leaf FD) and Vaughn (Wendell FD) are on the contract committee.
Other Business
Chief Scottie Harris provided a status report on Chief Jimmy Keith.
Mr. Billy Myrick informed the Fire Commission the wife of Eastern Wake's treasurer passed away recently.
Public Comments
There were no public comments to the Fire Commission.
Adjournment
The next regular meeting of the Wake County Fire Commission is scheduled for Thursday, September 16, 2004, at 7:00 PM.