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Minutes 12/22/2011 RECEIVED JAN 2 6 2012 Isles of Capri Fire/Rescue Board of County Commissioners Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Dec. 22, 2011 Isles of Capri Fire Station ATTENDEES: Joseph Langkawel,Chairman Ted Decker,Advisory Committee Member Kevin Walsh,Advisory Committee Member Jim Gault,Advisory Committee Member(by PhonePiata Hiller CALL TO ORDER Henning --- Joe Langkawel opened the meeting at 6:30 PM Coyle Colette II. OLD BUSINESS None Ill. NEW BUSINESS a. Presentation from the Isles of Capri Citizens Budgetary&Operational Investigation Committee. b. The committees statement was read. c. A group of citizens from the Isles of Capri Fire District has formed a committee to do a comparative study of the budgetary and operational advantages of various administrative alternatives for the Fire Department.Specifically,the comparison shall include but not be limited to these scenarios: 1) Maintaining the Fire Department's current administrative relationship with Collier County 2) Changing the administrative organization from Collier County to another Collier Fire Department 3) Merging the Isles of Capri Fire District with a neighboring Fire District d. The committee requested 4 actions from the Advisory Committee. Item I a. Requested that Fire Advisory Board to write a letter to the Board of County Commissioners informing them of this new committee,acknowledging the effort, and informing them that the Fire Advisory Board has agreed to receive and evaluate the completed study. b. Motion to send a letter made by Ted Decker. c. Motion Seconded by Kevin Walsh. d. Motion carried unanimously. e. Joe Langkawel Produced a Draft letter which he read to the board. f. Motion to approve the draft letter made by Ted Decker. g. Motion Seconded by Kevin Walsh. Misc. Comes: h. Motion carried unanimously. Date: /2A I I Z Item#: Y Z Al(12- Cc oies to. Item 2 a. Fire Advisory Board to clear up a misconception about any ambulance relocation discussion and a letter be sent to the County rescinding the prior approval of the Medic 90 Unit to Marco Island. b. Motion to send a letter to rescind the letter of 28 Oct. 2011 support the relocating of Medic 90 to Marco Island made by Ted Decker. c. Motion Seconded by Kevin Walsh. d. Motion carried unanimously. Item 3 a. Requested that the Fire Advisory Board immediately send a letter to Collier County asking for an Official written explanation of the budget crisis,the cause, and the exact dollar shortfall,by an appropriate County official. b. Joe Langkawel suggested that we send an Advisory Committee Member to sit down with HR and resolve this issue. c. Kevin Walsh volunteered to do this. Item 4 a. Requested that the Fire Advisory Board immediately send a letter to Collier County asking for a temporary hiring freeze to give the Fire Advisory Board a chance to evaluate the budget problem and to give our committee a chance to submit its findings before committing to any new long term employment relationships. b. Joe Langkawel stated that he felt that we needed to fill the Chiefs Position for the Health and Safety of the Department. c. Kevin Walsh thought a freeze may be needed in the future for other positions. d. Joe Langkawel stated that a meeting was scheduled with Leo Ochs and it would be best to not act on this until after such meeting. e. All Committee members agreed. IV. ADJOURNMENT a. Motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 made by Ted Decker. b. Motion Seconded by Kevin Walsh. c. Motion carried unanimously. Approved: - .41 Date: /// Statement from the Isles of Capri Citizens Budgetary& Operational Investigation Committee To be presented to the Isles of Capri Fire Advisory Board at the December 22, 2011 special meeting Item 1 A group of citizens from the Isles of Capri Fire District has formed a committee to do a comparative study of the budgetary and operational advantages of various administrative alternatives for the Fire Department. Specifically,the comparison shall include but not be limited to these scenarios: 1. Maintaining the Fire Department's current administrative relationship with Collier County 2. Changing the administrative organization from Collier County to another Collier Fire Department 3. Merging the Isles of Capri Fire District with a neighboring Fire District Item 1 Action: In order for our study to be received and evaluated by the Isles of Capri Fire Advisory Board,we need the Fire Advisory Board to write a letter to the Board of County Commissioners informing them of this new committee, acknowledging the effort,and informing them that the Fire Advisory Board has agreed to receive and evaluate the completed study.According to our research into citizens' committee past practices,the letter is necessary to provide the foundation for us to present our completed report to the Fire Advisory Board, and for the Board to subsequently take a recommendation to the BCC. We would also like to invite a Fire Advisory Board member to sit on our committee as a liaison to the Fire Advisory Board. Item 2 Additionally,we need the Fire Advisory Board to clear up a misconception about the recent ambulance relocation discussion. In the previous Fire Advisory Board meeting,the Chairman stated that the discussion about moving the IOC-stationed ambulance out of District had been effectively tabled,and that the Fire Advisory Board does not need to send a letter to the County rescinding their approval of the move. In fact,the County considers such an approval letter as the standing opinion of this Fire Board.It is imperative that the Board send a letter to the BCC as quickly as possible rescinding the approval and indicating the need to re- evaluate the ambulance move if it should come up again. This is an important point of County procedure and protocol.The approval letter will remain as the Fire Advisory Board's standing opinion and can apply to a future situation,without re-evaluation, unless a rescission letter is sent. That's the way the County handles Board position statements.Betty Moenkhaus has attempted to point this out at the last two Fire Board meetings with little success. In fact, she is completely correct in this matter. Item 2 Action: We ask the Fire Advisory Board to immediately send a letter to the County rescinding the prior approval of the ambulance move,to prevent the possibility that the approval will be viewed as the Board's standing position. The Board should indicate its willingness to listen to future appeals to move the ambulance on a case-by-case basis,but without this ongoing assumption of approval. Without a rescission letter,we could lose our ambulance tomorrow with no advance warning. Items 3 &4 And finally,we have heard conflicting stories as to the exact nature of the Fire Department's newly discovered budget emergency. It is imperative that this Board immediately send a letter to the County asking for an official 1 of 2 written assessment of the situation by someone in the payroll or other appropriate department so we know what we are facing. Inaction on this issue is troubling.We also ask to Board to reconsider the idea of a temporary hiring freeze proposed by Board member Kevin Walsh. We believe the idea should be discussed and adopted. In light of our budget emergency and a pending report by this committee,we ask the Fire Advisory Board to move on these two issues immediately. Item 3 Action: We ask that the Fire Advisory Board immediately send a letter to Collier County asking for an official written explanation of the budget crisis,the cause, and the exact dollar shortfall,by an appropriate County official. Item 4 Action: We ask that the Fire Advisory Board immediately send a letter to Collier County asking for a temporary hiring freeze to give the Fire Advisory Board a chance to evaluate the budget problem and to give our committee a chance to submit its findings before committing to any new long term employment relationships. The Isles of Capri Citizens Budgetary&Operational Investigation Committee 2 of