Ochopee FCD Advisory Board Minutes 05/11/2015 OCHOPEE FIRE CONTROL DISTIRCT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
ON MAY 11, 2015 � a �
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman Tony Davis at 4:05P =Y
Roll Call of Attendees
Caleb Morris, Assistant Fire Chief, Ochopee Fire Control District
Anthony Davis, Chairman of the Advisory Committee, Port of the Islands
Ron Gilbert,Advisory Committee Member, Port of the Islands
James Morris, Advisory Committee Member, Port of the Islands
Jean Kungle, Guest, Port of the Islands
Additions and Deletions to Agenda
None.
Approval of Agenda
A motion was passed to approve the agenda as written.
Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of April 13,2015
Minor change spelling on page four should be feels instead of fails and the minutes were
approved as read.
REPORTS:
Chief's Report
Budget
Chief Morris — There is not problems with the current budget it is business as usual. Chief
McLaughlin attended all of the budget meetings and clarified the millage increase it will be
raised from 4 mils to 4.5 mils for three years to pay back the funds for the Port of the Islands
Station,the boat motors and the SCBAs.
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Chief Morris —So far there have been 28 Firefighter line of duty deaths and 5 in the month of
April, 2015.
Awards, Recognitions&Certifications
Chief Morris- None this month, however everyone has been doing a great job.
OPERATIONS REPORT:
Chief Morris -There was one mutual aid call out of District to Cape Romano and it was the only
boat Rescue call for the month of April. There were 29 incidents on 1-75, 13 Vehicle Accidents,
2 Vehicle Fires, 13 Emergency Medicals and 1 Grass Fire. There were 2 Fire Inspections and 0
Fire Investigations.
Jean Kungle asked if we responded to the fire in the Picayune Strand State Forest.
Chief Morris- Ochopee Fire Control District responded to the fire on Saturday afternoon with
the Water Tender which was used for water supply.
OLD BUSINESS:
Vacant position on the Advisory Committee
Tony Davis — Please keep in mind we still have a vacancy on the Advisory Committee that we
need to fill. He asked Chief Morris if Kenny Brown would be interested in serving on the
Advisory Committee.
Chief Morris — He would be a good candidate he has always shown a lot of interest in the
Department.
Tony Davis— requested that Chief Morris ask Kenny Brown if he would be interested in serving
on the Advisory Committee.
Tony Davis—He mentioned that at a previous meeting the Advisory Committee voted Macbeth
Collins off of the Committee because he was not attending the meetings so Everglades City
does not have a representative.
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Locution System
Chief Morris— it is up and running at the Port of the Islands Station, Station 60 but it is still hit
and miss at Station 63 because of the Internet. Chief McLaughlin has been battling it out with
Century Link to obtain internet service at the 1-75 Station. Chief McLaughlin has now turned
over the problem to the State's personnel. He feels by the next meeting we should know if we
will be using Century Link or another alternative to obtain internet service at the 1-75 Station.
The problem with the locution system at Station 63 is due to Internet service the dispatch
system runs on it and the connection has to be consistant.
Ron Gilbert — He suggested that the State Personnel should contact the Public Service
Commission because they have a held order that involves public safety.
FEMA Grant for Smoke Removal Station 60
Chief Morris—It will be several months before we are notified whether we have received
the FEMA Grant for Smoke Removal at Station 60.
Ochopee Fire Control District Request for Services Proposal
Chief Morris —The Request for Services Proposal has been completed and several alternatives
were also submitted in the proposal. Only two proposals have been submitted one by Greater
Naples Fire District and Ochopee Fire Control District.
Report on District mergers&State of Florida trends towards consolidation
Tony Davis—Myself, Chief McLaughlin and Jean Kungle met with Commissioner Henning.
The workshop is coming up next month in reference to the Service Proposal. They were not
able to meet with Commissioner Hiller but they e-mailed the information to her. The point was
made to all the commissioners this is what they should be looking at. There is nothing to back
up the merging of the Independent Fire Districts. Commissioner Henning made a comment that
he had read information that stated Independent District's were not a workable solution.
Jean Kungle is going to attend the workshop and Tony Davis encourages the other members to
attend.
Tony Davis — Per the report on District Mergers & the State of Florida the trend is to merge
under the County and dissolving the independent districts.
Chief Morris- All the departments are going that way merging under the County.
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Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant for Foam
Chief Morris — We apply and usually are awarded this grant every year. Because we have a
volunteer program and assist Forestry with brush fires we are eligible for this 50/50 grant.
NEW BUSINESS:
Approval of Robert Craig to fill Ochopee Advisory Committee Vacancy and
Appointment Memo
A motion was passed to approve Robert Craig to The Ochopee Fire Control District Advisory
Committee and the Chairman signed the appointment memo to submit to the Board of County
Commissioners.
FDOT 15/16 Budget
Chief Morris—FDOT's budget ends 6-30-15 the new budget starts 7-1-15 we are in the process
of formulating a budget for the new fiscal year. The current budget was created on a calculated
guess as to what might be needed to run the 1-75 station based on Ochopee Fire Control
District's budget expenses. Not until the station was up and running did we know if we had
sufficient funding.
Chief Morris—We report to the State through Amy Perez she is our contact. We have meetings
or telephone conferences once a month which is going to change to every three months.
He read an e-mail from Amy Perez our contact at FDOT to move forward with the 2016 budget
by submitting it to the Board of County Commissioners.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
None
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting ended when a motion was passed to adjourn.".-- \'
A thony'Qavis, Chairman
Oc a Fire Control District
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