Lockwood Fire Protection District
PO Box 221
Volcano, CA
95689
Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors
October 16, 2007, 7:00 p.m. at Station #1
Minutes
1. Call
to Order and Reading of the Creed. Meeting
was called to order and a quorum was established. John
Asmus, Jim Wagner, Chris Schneider, Homer
Forbes. The Treasurer and Chief were also present. The creed was read.
2.
Closed Session Authority: According to the
California Government Code 54957, the Lockwood Fire Protection District Board of Directors
reserves the right to hold a closed session for consideration of real property
negotiations, pending litigation, threats to public buildings or public access and
personnel matters.
3.
Guest Discussion Item:
Ray Blankenheim presenting opinion on value
of AFPD/LFPD merger and answering questions. John
Asmus introduced Chief Ray Blankenheim to tell LFPD about joining the AFPD. Chief Blankenheim discussed the pros and cons of
managing their own department vs. joining AFPD. They
had originally had difficulty keeping up with the legal mandates required of their
district. Those responsibilities were taken
over by the AFPD. Regardless of revenue, AFPD
pays all of the expenses for the department. Equipment
maintenance is managed by AFPD. The
existing department did not have any debt that AFPD would have needed to take over. Ray felt that at the time AFPD was anxious to
annex the department. Ray’s
department was originally bringing in revenue of $9,000 per year. A vote from the people of Pine Grove Was not
required. It was handled through the LAFCO
specifications.
John noted from talking to Butch Martin
that should LFPD consider joining AFPD, LFPD’s existing assessment would likely
remain in place until existing debts were paid. After
that, LFPD’s assessment would be the same as AFPD’s. Most likely this would result in a decrease in
assessments.
Homer asked how the original district was
governed. The Board of Directors for the Water
District of Pine Grove also handled the fire department.
That Board of Directors remained in place after the fire department
joined AFPD. It was noted that should Pine
Grove have decided to go back to being an independent department, the Water District Board
of Directors could have hypothetically negotiated that change.
Ray expressed that he found both Chief
McCart, and the county, were very obliging of his needs and respectful of his experience
and department needs. Ray felt that his
position of Chief had not changed significantly.
AFPD is not managed by the County and is
financed separately with its own budget. The
fire board of the county sits separately from the county board. AFPD volunteers receive $8.00 per call. It is considered a reimbursement payment. Ray stated that he has 28 volunteers and of
them about 26 respond consistently although none of them work in Pine Grove. After Chief Blankenheim’s presentation,
the members discussed the concept of a merger and felt that at the present time there are
too many unanswered questions and that this issue should be revisited next year.
4.
Approval of Minutes and Treasurer’s
Reports
a.
Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of September
25th, 2007
b.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report for
August, 2007
c.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report for
September, 2007
Jim Wagner motioned to approve the September
25th, 2007 minutes and both the
August 2007 and September 2007 Treasurer’s reports.
Homer Forbes seconded the motion.
The motion passed unanimously.
5.
Fire Chief’s Report
a.
A logging accident resulted in a fatality
within our district up by Lupin and Shakeridge. Dave
commented on how professionally the responders reacted.
The LFPD four wheel vehicles were very responsive in getting people in and
out.
Mr. Asmus brought up the question of the
local television station requesting monthly statistics. The group consensus was that it
was a positive community asset to share the statistics. Additionally, Up Country News is
also requesting monthly statistics and would like to conduct an interview with Chief Long
for a future edition. Administrative Assistant
Steve Gast agreed to submit the monthly statistics to both the television station and Up
Country News.
b.
Training:
Everyone is up to date on training with the exception of driver
certification which is under way. This will provide additional staff to drive the engines. Driver Operating 1A and 1B for two people. $580.00 each and it is a 40 hour class.
c.
Amador Fire Chief’s Association Meeting
– No comment
d.
Repair of Equipment – Chief Long
requested a status on the repair of unit 72’s steering box. Initial estimates are
approximately $1700.00 to repair the steering box. Given the age of the unit a new
steering box cannot be purchased, rather it has to be rebuilt which accounts for the high
cost.
e.
Board payment of firefighter’s
membership to CSFA. – No comment
f.
NEFRS – No Comment
g.
DMV Checks and Insurance Requirements. Dave didn’t find anything out regarding DMV
checks and insurance requirements. Chris
suggested that once a year each volunteer would need to provide a current DMV report. The insurance company needs to be contacted
to clarify driving restrictions and responsibilities. Dave also suggested that each
volunteer provide copies of their own insurance to verify that they are insured.
h.
Other: Dave commented that they are working
on a probationary time frame to ensure that each member is committed to the department to
offset expense of training and equipment provisions.
6.
Action Items:
a.
Capital Improvement Plan: Postponed.
b.
Liabilities and Assets List: Postponed
c.
Fidelity Bonds Adjustment: Postponed
d.
Vehicle Insurance Evaluation
The Board discussed the requirement of each volunteer to have the fire department named as
a rider on their insurance in the event a volunteer is involved in an accident en-route to
the station when responding to a call. The
Board discussed compiling a comprehensive list of all LFPD vehicles in order to match what
is presently listed on the insurance declaration. Concern was brought up that the
department might be paying premiums on vehicles that are no longer owned. Motion postponed to future date.
e.
$4200.00 Grant Resolution for the Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection. Homer Forbes
motioned to approve the resolution, Jim Wagner seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
7.
Information
and Discussion Items:
a.
Review Policy Manual Additions of Treasurer
and Administrative Assistant. No Comment
b.
Audit of AFPD disbursement amounts. Mr.
Forbes brought up for discussion the need to vigorously pursue revenue for the district
and specifically the need to review the county parcel maps to assure that homeowners in
the district who pay their fire department assessment that the funds come directly to LFPD
and not AFPD. The Treasurer will review parcel maps from 1 year past to present and into
the future.
c.
Equipment Repair or Replacement: 6173
Steering Box or Vehicle Replacement; 6172 Foam Unit Down; 6180 Transmission Tune Up. See notes above.
d.
Review committee assignments. No Comment
e.
Purchase and Installation of 5400 gallon
water tank. No comment
8.
Board Reports
Mr. Asmus and Mr. Wagner announced that
their term as fire board members ended with the October 2007 meeting. No formal candidates have come forward as
replacements. Mr. Asmus stated he will attend the November Board Meeting to ensure a
smooth transition.
9.
Committee Reports: None
10.
Public Comments:
This time slot is for information from the
public. No action or discussion will be
conducted on matters presented at this time. When addressing the Board, please state your
name for the record prior to providing your comments.
11.
Dates to Remember:
Auxiliary Christmas Party: December
8, 2007. Potluck. Auxiliary will supply meat and drinks. Mr. Asmus requested date be added to the website.
Next Regular Board Meeting:
November 20th, 2007
Next Auxiliary Meeting:
Next AFPA Meeting:
12. Adjournment:
Meeting was adjourned at 8:50