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Ochopee FCD Advisory Board Minutes 05/12/2014 Ochopee Fire Control Advisory Committee Minutes May 12 , 2014 OCHOPEE FIRE CONTROL DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OF MAY 12, 2014 CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call of Attendees The following were in attendance: Alan McLaughlin, Fire Chief, Ochopee Fire Control District Frank Hawkins, Chairman of the Advisory Committee, Port of the Islands Ron Gilbert,Advisory Committee Member, Port of the Islands Anthony Davis, Advisory Committee Member, Port of the Islands ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS TO AGENDA Chief McLaughlin added SCBA to the Old Business section of the Agenda. Approval of Agenda The agenda was approved as amended. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of April 15, 2014 A correction was made on page 8 in regards to the wording instead of is to it. The minutes were approved as amended. REPORTS: Budget Chief McLaughlin - We have an approved balanced budget there will probably be some minor changes. We had some impact fee that came in last year they were utilized to cover some of the expenses at the Port of the Islands Station 61. Because the items had already been purchased the expenses were charged to the impact fee budget and credited back to our operating budget allowing the purchase of some capital items for the new station. We are on track with the budget for this year and the next. Page 1 Frank Hawkins—Are the pilt monies filtered into the budget? Chief McLaughlin — This is all done by the budget office and it comes out of general fund because in 1991 they moved the Pilt funds into general fund. Frank Hawkins-So we don't get Pilt funds. Chief McLaughlin — We do not get Pilt funds we get funds out of the general fund. There will probably be an increase to the general fund contribution but it keeps us solvent. The more carry forward we have the less general fund contributions. Line of Duty Deaths Chief McLaughlin—There were 6 line of duty deaths in April and 37 so far this year. Awards and Recognitions Chief McLaughlin -There are no awards, recognitions or certifications this month. Operations Report Chief McLaughlin -There were 51 calls for the month of April which is above average. We have been above average all year and by the end of the year he feels we will probably have over 550 calls. There has been an increase in calls and traffic. There were three fire inspections in the Isles of Capri Fire District they compensate the Ochopee Fire District for doing their inspections. Fred Johnson has been hired as a part time fire inspector for Ochopee Fire Control District. Frank Hawkins—He asked why we are doing the fire inspections at Isles of Capri? Chief McLaughlin —Because there is no one else in the County that can do them and since he is overseeing that Department as well he is the AHJ for them as well so by statute they have to be done. Frank Hawkins — They are in the process of merging with East Naples why don't they do the inspections. Page 2 Chief McLaughlin —We are starting to do that but it is not that easy. There is still a referendum vote in August and if it fails then nothing happens. We need a fire inspector to improve our ISO rating. He went on to explain that we hired Fred Johnson who had been employed with the City of Naples and the School Board as an inspector. We are using the job banker budget to cover his wages. Hiring the inspector will allow the District to come into compliance. It works for the Capri Fire District because for the first two months the new Fire Inspector will be in their District getting everything ready to hand off the department to East Naples Fire District. The part time Fire Inspector will be an asset that can be used by either Department. Tony Davis — He wanted to know what will happen to Isles of Capri Fire District if the community votes no regarding the merger with East Naples Fire District. Chief McLaughlin —The straw vote was done by property owners the vote in August will be by registered voters that live in the District and most of them are renters the outcome of the vote in August could be different. A contingency has been planned and Isles of Capri Fire District does have a budget for fiscal year 2015. We do not have to merge to fix the millage issues here. He still wants to annex at least the 70% of District I that is covered by Ochopee Fire Control District. OLD BUSINESS 1-75 Station Chief McLaughlin—The 1-75 Station is moving right along they expect to be done in August 2014 with us manning the station in October 2014. The Inter local agreement with FDOT for four years has been signed. The funds will be provided by general fund regarding the purchasing of the vehicles with FDOT reimbursing the County. He will be going to Ocala regarding the pre- build of the vehicles by the end of May 2014. The next set of dollars will be forwarded in July for funding personnel and equipment to outfit the station. He will be interviewing personnel either the first or second week of august. He wants to have his personnel hired by September 1, 2014 so that they are working for a two week period prior to the opening of the station so that they are acclimated and assist in getting the station up and running. Tony Davis- He wanted to know how long it would take to obtain the vehicles. Chief McLaughlin — The first truck is two months, the second is four and a half to five months and the third one is eight months. The state will be leasing an engine we will not be using one of our engines. We will also be using our Attack truck which was purchased to service 1-75 until the engine purchased for Station 63 is delivered. Page 3 Vacant Position on Advisory Board The position is still open and Everglades City has been contacted about the Mayor appointing a different board member who can attend the meetings. District I Chief McLaughlin —We already covered this. The District I contract is coming up in September so he wants to define the District I areas again and incorporate those areas into our District. SCBA Chief McLaughlin — Our personnel trained on our new SCBA and they will be placed in service this Thursday. Then the old SCBA will be taken out of service and put up for auction. NEW BUSINESS Auctioning the Carport at Port of the Islands Chief McLaughlin —The Carport at Port of the Islands is up for auction right now for $2500 the purchaser has to take it down and make any repairs to the area if needed. Union Contract Chief McLaughlin —The union contract was ratified very quickly in just two and a half hours and he feels it is a win for everyone. This contract will save $39,000 out of the budget the personnel get a flat pay check and a higher base salary. Plus the inputting of the payroll has been simplified for the time keepers. We changed the way our personnel are paid, fixed the holiday pay and ended the furloughs. We saved enough money with the change to give the fire personnel a 1% raise which should help to cover the expense of traveling to the new station on 1-75. Ron Gilbert—Wanted to know how many firemen work at the Port of the Islands Fire Station. Chief McLaughlin —There are two on duty all the time we work on a swap program with EMS. One of the personnel is an Ochopee Firefighter the other is an EMS Firefighter Paramedic. On the ambulance they have a Paramedic Firefighter and an Ochopee Firefighter. Ron Gilbert—There are two here but how many are on duty. Page 4 Chief McLaughlin —There are six on duty. He assigns senior personnel to the Port of the Islands station they rotate every other month. Ron Gilbert—So personnel are rotated. Tony Davis—He wanted to know how many Firefighters we had. Chief McLaughlin —We have 12 Firefighters and we are adding another 9 due to the opening of the 1-75 Fire Station. The payroll for the new nine personnel will be paid out of the 1-75 budget. Meeting Schedule Meeting schedule was added to the agenda per a request by Frank Hawkins due to the Chief's question about breaking for the summer. Chief McLaughlin brought up the question of whether or not the Advisory Committee wanted to continue meeting through the summer. It was decided that the Ochopee Advisory Committee would be on hiatus for the months of June,July and August reconvening in September. PUBLIC COMMENT None ADJOURNMENT The meeting ended when a motion was made to adjourn it was seconded and passed. Chayi i' Ochopee Fire Control District Advisory Committee Page 5 Patricia L. Morgan From: Swisher, Linda Sent: Monday,August 25, 2014 10:05 AM To: Patricia L. Morgan Cc: McLaughlin,Alan Subject: FW: Ochopee Advisory Committee Minutes for 5-12-14 Attachments: OFCD Resignation.docx Patricia, As per the attached the chairman of the Ochopee Fire Control District Advisory Committee resigned as of today so we will not be having an advisory Committee Meeting until we find a new board member. The Everglades City Committee Member does not attend the meeting only the three members From Port of the Islands were attending and now one of them has left. Swisher la From: CHARLES (Frank) HAWKINS [mailto:fhawk1102 @embargmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 22, 2014 5:34 PM To: SwisherLinda Subject: Fwd: Ochopee Advisory Committee Minutes for 5-12-14 Good afternoon. Unfortunately, I find it necessary to resign from the committee due to the need to cut back on my outside activities. Thank you for all your help during my tenure. I have attached a more foiinal letter. From: SwisherLinda [mailto:LindaSwisher @colliergov.net] Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 3:29 PM To: fhawk1102 @embargmail.com; port.ron @mac.com; Anthony @jadavis.com Cc: McLaughlinAlan Subject: Ochopee Advisory Committee Minutes for 5-12-14 Committee Members, Please find attached the minutes of the Advisory Committee Meeting of 5-12-14 for your review. lindaswishergcolliergov.net i To whom it may concern: I respectfully submit my resignation from the Ochopee Fire Control District advisory board. Unfortunately, I find the effort of this board to be unnecessary. There has not been a single member of the public attend a meeting since I have been involved. The BCC is moving ahead with consolidation of the fire districts, which is probably the right thing to do in the long run. Every decision made since I have been on the advisory board has been without input from the board. Usually we are the last to know and usually find out through the real estate office at Port of the Islands or the news media. We have had an open position since I have been on the board,which no one in the district is interested in filling.The Everglades City representative has never made a meeting. The public in the district apparently sees little value in this board. Please consider this resignation to be immediate. Thank you. Charles F. Hawkins Charles F. (Frank) Hawkins