SAN JUAN COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT #2
MINUTES OF SPECIAL COMMISSIONERS MEETING
June 30, 2004
The June 30, 2004 Special Meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the San Juan County FPD #2 was called to order by Chairman Harvey Olsan at 4:00 P.M. at the Headquarters station. The Special meeting was attended by Commissioners Phalan and Duke, and EMS Division Chief Garth Eimers.
Commissioner Olsan introduced the three Chief candidates:
Mike Harris and his wife Vicki Christiansen.
Mr. Harris was the Chief of Thurston County Districts #9 and #11.
Kevin O'Brien and his wife Nancy
Mr. O'Brien is currently a Battalion Chief with the City of Auburn Fire Department.
Steve Tognoli and his wife Pam
Mr. Tognoli is currently the Chief of the Mason Valley Fire District, in Yerington NV
Chief Candidates:
Each candidate provided a brief overview of their Fire/EMS experience and accomplishments.
Following the comments by the candidates, questions from the audience were solicited.
Gulliver Rankin: He asked the candidates to address what strategies they would use to control spending.
Kevin O'Brien: He addressed creating and monitoring objective performance measures; looking at clear strategies and adopting a budget reflecting that plan; reviewing transports and response costs; including citizen advisory groups;
Mike Harris: He stated he had "issues" with the Fire District expenses; believes in modified zero base budgeting; justifying all expenditures to the Commissioners; cost containment measures; identifying real costs; communicating needs.
Steve Tognoli: He stated that cost containment was always an issue and there is always a learning curve for any new Chief. His area has a community growth of 1-2% year. He believes in zero balance growth; use of grants to cover costs; looking for alternative revenue sources such as a user fee for EMS.
Fred Inge: Mr. Inge inquired about the 4th candidate mentioned in the newspaper. He was advised by Commissioner Duke that the fourth candidate had withdrawn his name from consideration for personal reasons.
Carl Poschman: Mr. Poschman inquired about the candidates experience with Hazmat.
Mike Harris: He is certified as a Hazmat Specialist; was a Hazmat Incident Commander previously and has responded to 40-50 calls with his team. He is comfortable with Hazmat incidents
Kevin O'Brien: He has been involved with special operations and a Hazmat Technician for 5 years as well as the on scene incident command on Hazmat responses.
Steve Tognoli: He has certifications including Hazardous Materials Operations and Hazardous Materials Incident Commander.
Pierrette Guimond: She inquired what each candidate thought would be their biggest challenge if they were selected as Chief.
Mike Harris: He stated there was a difference between a manager and a leader. He believes in good detail managers and interaction with each department, learning the strengths and weaknesses, identifying obstacles and issues. He noted that he read the Catalyst Consulting report and felt that the 22 community members were not necessarily representative of the community as a whole.
Kevin O'Brien: He noted that the issue of communicating where the dollars are being spent the purpose is essential. A serious issue is also the state mandates for training requires balance. It is essential to provide the resources and training to the volunteers.
Steve Tognoli: Chief Tognoli felt that establishing trust with the volunteers, community and Board of Commissioners was the biggest initial challenge.
John Erly: Mr. Erly asked each candidate to define their idea regarding the Commissioners relationship to the Chief.
Each candidate indicated that the Commissioners responsibilities are governed by the Revised Codes of Washington.
Kevin O'Brien: The Commissioners are the people's voice. An interactive team approach is required. Commissioners have ultimate responsibility for the Fire District, the Chief is the administrator. The relationship is essential. The volunteers are the "..heart and soul..".
Steve Tognoli: The Chief can present information to the Commissioner with recommendation, but the decision belongs to the Commissioners to make an honest and best decision.
Mike Harris: He re-emphasized that the RCW's clearly lay out the duties and responsibilities of the Commissioners. He said he would approach the question assuming that underlying that question was the issue of a Commissioner functioning in a dual capacity as a volunteer. In his 30 years of experience in the fire service in all volunteer departments, Commissioners have been known to function in all capacities, however, in a
combination department, such as Orcas, he believes you cannot have a Commissioners involved in the operations of the department.
Vicki Bartram: She noted that all three candidates appear to be very qualified, but inquiries why they want to live on Orcas.
Kevin O'Brien: He noted that he grew up on Orcas Island, graduating from Orcas High School, had family here, and would enjoy the small community atmosphere for raising his children. He recalled his family home fire in 1988 in Olga where the fire department saved family heirlooms and a portion of the house. The community outpouring toward his family remained a wonderful memory of the benefits of a community such as Orcas.
Steve Tognoli: Chief Tognoli has family in Anacortes, has vacationed in this area and enjoys a small community similar in many respects to where he is currently living, though surrounded by water rather than desert sand.
Mike Harris: He saw the advertisements on several websites and was intrigued. He was impressed by the clarity of the description of what characteristics the Fire District was looking for. He felt he had those characteristics, would like the challenge of a new location with new challenges. His visit to the island has reinforced his interest and what he has seen of the community is just a bonus.
David Zoeller: He asked each candidate to comment on what has surprised them most about their visit, the most positive and negative aspect.
Mike Harris: Mr. Harris expressed deep concern over the similarity of the Island to parts of Eastern Washington with regard to wildfire issues. Orcas has unique issues due to the topography of the island. He was amazed that it took driving 100 miles to get an overview of all the stations and island in general. He was concerned over the lack of location identification. He believes signage and mapping would be big issues.
Steve Tognoli: The greatest surprise was the painted tank! He recognizes the severity of the water supply issues in a number of parts of the island.
Kevin O'Brien: The most positive aspect is the crab season! He had a thorough and thoughtful tour of the island with Geoff Schussler. He would want to initially inform himself about the district organization and island. He stressed the vast difference in backgrounds and experience of island residents.
Julie Remington: Julie provided statistics on females in the fire service historically and asked how the candidates would approach recruiting and retention of women fire volunteers.
Steve Tognoli: He stressed diversification and noted that the last six members of his department are women. He acknowledged that the fire service has evolved from no women to developing programs to prepare women to join the fire service.
Kevin O'Brien: People are needed as volunteers. The culture and philosophy of the department starts at the top with leadership. He wants to support all people interested in participating in the Fire and EMS service.
Mike Harris: He acknowledged it is politically correct to make sure female members are recruited. He noted that upper body strength had in the past been a deterrent to the ability of women to qualify. He noted that in 1974 he had the first woman applicant for fire service. A new training program was opened to provide the opportunity through training to meet the qualifications. The woman succeeded and remains in the fire service. He does not believe in lowering standards. He urges implementation of a high school firefighter program as an avenue to encourage the students scholastic work in biology, chemistry and math.
Executive Session:
The Meeting adjourned to Executive Session at 5:10 P.M. The executive session was called pursuant to RCW 42.30.140 (g), discussion of personnel issues. The meeting resumed at 5:48 P.M. There were no decisions made or actions taken.
Announcement:
The Chief Search Committee will be meeting to evaluate all the information and prepare packets of information on each candidate for the Board of Commissioners along with a recommendation. It is hoped that the selection committee will have the data prepared for submitting to the Board for a July 14, 2004 Special Meeting (Executive Session Only).
Adjournment:
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 5:50 P.M.
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