SAN JUAN COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT #2 (ORCAS ISLAND)

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District No. 2 Information

San Juan Fire District No. 2
PO Box 217
Eastsound, WA 98245
360.376.2331
Fax: 360.376.4463 FAX

COMMISSIONERS

John Erly
term expires
December 2003

Harvey Olsan
term expires
December 2005

Bob Phalan
term expires
December 2007

MINUTES OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
February 19, 2003

posted 03/19/03

The February 19, 2003 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the San Juan County FPD #2 was called to order by Chairman John Erly at 3:30 P.M. at the Eastsound Firehall. The meeting was attended by Commissioners Olsan and Phalan , Chief Gary Bennett , EMS Division Chief Eimers., Paramedics Zoeller and Damoth, Firefighters and EMT's Dimich, Taubman, Max Jones and Spencer.

MINUTES:
A motion was made by Commissioner Erly and seconded by Commissioner Olsan that the minutes of the Regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners held on January 7, 2003 be approved as written. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.

FINANCIAL REPORTS:
A motion was made by Commissioner Erly and seconded by Commissioner Olsan to approve the final 2002 General Fund vouchers in the amount of $481.21. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.

A motion was made by Commissioner Erly and seconded by Commissioner Olsan to approve the 2003 General Fund vouchers 20601-20677 in the amount of $93,220.63. . The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously with the deletion of voucher 20647 until the issue of compensation to a Commissioner in a dual role can be addressed. A motion was by Commissioner Erly and seconded by Commissioner Olsan to approve Revenue vouchers 20678-20685 in the amount of $3,470.24. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.

CORRESPONDENCE:

1. 2/5/03: WA Fire Commissioner's Association re: self funded insurance program agreements to discuss and establish privacy rules. Workshops will be scheduled during March to explain the ramifications and requirements under the HIPAA Act of 1996 (Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
   
   
2. WA Fire Commissioners Spring Seminar re: Governance vs. Management-how to make your commissioner successful. and Fire District Audits scheduled for 4/19/03.
   
   
3. Commissioner Agenda Request from Larry Taubman re: AED purchase for EMT's. A copy of the data presented is attached and incorporated by reference.

CHIEF & EMS SUPERVISOR REPORTS:
The monthly reports by EMS Division Chief Eimers and District Chief Bennett were read. Copies of the reports are attached and incorporated by reference.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. Taubman presented a detailed proposal for the purchase by the district of AED's for certified EMT's. His presentation was appreciated, however, it was recommended that such proposals properly should be addressed to the EMS Division Chief for evaluation during the budget process or with proposed alternate methods of financing. EMS Division Chief Eimers noted that he had spoken with Larry Taubman and concurred with the benefits of the proposal. There was some discussion among the Commissioners regarding whether even with the AED's the responses would be timely enough, given the disbursement of EMT's on the island, to benefit a patient in sudden cardiac arrest.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. 1993 Explorer sale-Bids There was one offer to purchase received on the vehicle in the amount of $ 1200 from Leslie Rae.
   
   A motion was made by Commissioner Olsan and seconded by Commissioner Erly to accept the offer to purchase in the amount of $1200 from Leslie Ray. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.
   
   
2. Meeting Room Use: CUP hearing: Chief Bennett reported that the Board approved the revised use of the Fire Headquarters meeting room. There is a working policy and the room has been used by a number of groups already. Chief Bennett will provide a finalized policy recommendation for review at the March meeting of the Board of Commissioners.
   
   
3. Wage & Staffing Committee: Each of the Commissioners commended the efforts of the Committee in their preparation of Wage &Staffing Survey Report. Commissioner Erly noted, however, that there were personnel reviews incorporated which exceeded the mandate of the Committee. Mr. Erly discussed his concerns with the District's attorney, Jennifer Wilner. He noted that in several cases the report provided reviews of individuals rather than the positions. Ms. Wilner and Commissioners Olsan and Phalan agreed with his concerns. The Commissioners' decided to return the reports issued to the Committee with the request that the Committee edit the reports and present the data to the public and Commissioner's at the March meeting of the Board of Commissioners.
   
   Commissioner Olsan was in support of Mr. Erly's proposal and appreciative of the terrific overall result and the suggestions provided to the Commissioners. He concurred the report could not be released to the public in the existing format.
   
   Commissioner Phalan concurred that the Committee did an incredible job. He assured the public that the Commissioners would look closely at the recommendations, however by law they could not share the report with the public because of the evaluations incorporated which needed to be deleted.
   
   Committee Chairman, Mike Douglas, commented that it was difficult to separate aspects of the report form the personnel holding the position. He noted that in some cases the job descriptions were not up to date nor complete. According to Mr. Douglas, in some aspects, the mandate given to the Committee exceeded their abilities as a lay group inexperienced in the specifics of the Fire Service. He suggested the Commissioners may chose in the future to expand the evaluation with a professional evaluation.
   
   A motion was made by Commissioner Erly and seconded by Commissioner Olsan to request the Wage and Benefit Committee to revise their report and resubmit it to the Commissioners. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.
   
   
4. San Juan County Sheriff Dispatch Contract: The executed addendum for the 2003 Sheriff Dispatch Contract was returned. It was approved at the negotiated amount of $24,269 for this calendar year.
   
   
5. Status of Standard Operating Procedures: Chief Bennett reported the "SOP's" are being revised and policies reviewed. They are not yet complete.
   
   
6. Bid status: purchase of (2) pumpers: Chief Bennett reported that the specifications on the pumpers are complete and ready to be put out to bid. Bids will be due on or before noon on March 24th and bids will be awarded at the April 8th meeting of the Board of Commissioners.
   
   
7. Resolution 2003-1 re: surplus of A-281 A motion was made by Commissioner Erly and seconded by Commissioner Phalan to approve Resolution 2003-1 authorizing the surplus the Aid Unit 281. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.
   
   
8. False Alarm Issue: Chief Bennett noted that he has discussed the issue with the Fire Marshal and the County Chief's Association will be discussing the issue at their next meeting and hopefully developing a consistent policy.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Resolution 2003-2 re: Small Works Roster procedure A motion was made by Commissioner Olsan and seconded by Commissioner Erly to approve Resolution 2003-2 authorizing the creation of a Small Works Roster procedure. The motion was voted upon and approved unanimously.
   
   During discussion of the issue prior to the approval of the resolution, it was noted that it would be a county-wide small works roster. It would be required that notice of the roster and procedure be advertised twice yearly.
   
   
2. Memorandum re: Budget Procedure Chief Bennett provided a summary of the information presented at the joint meeting of junior taxing districts within the county with Si Stephens. A copy of the memorandum is attached and incorporated by reference.
   
   
3. Volunteer reimbursement for Commissioner in dual role The Commissioners discussed the available opinions provided by the Law Offices of Snure & Regeimbal at the request of Commissioner Phalan. It was the consensus of the Board that the Attorney General and State Auditor permits reimbursement to a volunteer in a dual capacity as a Commissioner under certain circumstances which include:
   
   · "that the Board, by resolution adopted by unanimous vote, authorize a Commissioner to serve as a volunteer firefighters without compensation." See Attorney General Memorandum dated 9/18/02 attached to January 20, 2002 letter to Mr. Phalan from Law Office of Snure & Tegeimbal attached and incorporated by reference..
   
   · Depending upon district policy-see Policy #28 Volunteer Reimbursement Policy attached and incorporated by reference
   
   · "..Only if the payment is established as a reimbursement for expense rather than a payment for services would it be permissible." See page 2 of 9/18/02 Attorney General Memorandum attached and incorporated by reference.
   
   Copies of the pertinent policy and opinions are attached and incorporated by reference. The issue of whether the payment for a BLS transport constitutes compensation is under evaluation.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

1. Rick Anda and Max Jones sought the opinion of the Board of Commissioners regarding whether the Orcas Island Volunteer Firefighter EMT Association could hold a dance fundraiser, with or without the assistance and benefit to another community non-profit group. After discussion it was recommended that the Association prepare a plan to submit to the Board. It was noted by a Commissioner that there would be ramifications on Fire District policy with regard to the use of the facilities for a paid event. The issue of alcohol was also discussed.
   
   
2. Commissioner Phalan requested that the Chief develop a policy and look at alternatives to payment of the $100 per day stipend for off-island professional training. The proposal under consideration was originally intended for the officer core only. The funds for this policy have been allocated under line items 522-40-10 and 526-40-10. A total of $6000 has been budgeted which would provide 60 days of training annually. After discussion, the Commissioners concurred that all volunteers should be permitted to seek funds for training. The also agreed it should be restricted to a 5-day maximum. The policy is under development.
   
   
3. Paramedic Dave Zoeller inquired if the Wage and Benefit Survey Committee look at all positions, including that of paramedics and if they gave suggestions. According to Commissioner Erly due to contract negotiations underway with the paramedics no financials were discussed regarding paramedic positions.
   
   
4. Larry Taubman made a comprehensive presentation of his proposal to provide AED's to all EMS personnel. He provided data from a study at Chicago airports dealing with the decrease in sudden cardiac arrest deaths when AED's were in locations accessible for prompt use. He provided statistics supporting the theory that the speed of defibrillation correlates strongly with the survival rate of the patient. Mr. Taubman also provided data on the potential cost of providing AED's to department EMTs. He discussed alternative funding possibilities.

The Commissioners concluded that the issue should be placed on the Agenda for the March meeting of the Board. EMS Division Chief Eimers felt the evidence presented was compelling and supports the proposal. Commissioner Erly noted that it was more appropriate for the information to be provided to the EMS Division Chief for presentation to the Board. Commissioner Olsan suggested that if an EMT was unable to get to the scene within four (4) minutes it would not be a successful program. He suggested that by the time a call was placed to 911 and personnel were dispatched, it was highly unlikely that an EMT with an AED could respond within the parameters necessary to significant increase the probability of survival of a sudden cardiac arrest.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: An executive session was called at 5:00 P.M. for the purpose of meeting with the Wage and Benefit Committee pursuant to RCW 42.30.110 (g). The paramedic contract issue was also under discussion pursuant to RCW 42.30.140 (4). The regular meeting resumed at 6:00 P.M. Chairman Erly noted that no decisions had been made during the session.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The March Board of Commissioners meeting has been scheduled March 11, 2003 at 7:30 P.M.

ADJOURNMENT:
There was no further business. A motion was made by Commissioner Phalan and seconded by Commissioner Erly to adjourn. The motion was voted upon unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 P.M.

Minutes of December 17, 2002 Commissioners meeting

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