Board of Commissioner Budget Hearing / District Meeting Minutes (Approved) October 19th, 2023

ROLL CALL ( meeting called to order 19:00 hrs. on 10/19/2023 by R. Wilsey )

PRESENT	NAME	CAPACITY	NOTES
Yes	Baumer, Heidi	Treasurer
Yes	Considine, Dan	Commissioner
Yes	Fletcher, William	General Counsel
Yes	Friedlander, David	MFD 1st Assistant Chief
Yes	Sellman, Tom	Secretary
Yes	Shipe, John	Commissioner
Yes	Shuler, Steve	Commissioner
Yes	Tschiderer, Steve	MFD, Chief
Yes	Wilsey, Ryan	Commissioner (Chairman)

OTHER ATTENDEES NOTED

NAME	CAPACITY	NOTES
Mike Arman	MFD Member	President – Board of Directors
Lance Marchese	MFD Member	2nd Assist Chief
Joseph Martin	Mendon Resident	Prospective MFD Member Introduction

PUBLIC COMMENT

Meeting opened with request for public comment on the proposed budget that was: posted on the District website Sept 14th and on the station bulletin board, submitted to the Town Clerk, followed by a Public Notice of Hearing submitted to the Sentinel Newspaper September 25th, 2023.

No immediate comments, and the time for public comment on the proposed budget was extended until the Treasurer’s report.

PUBLIC INTRODUCTION

M. Arman introduced a new applicant (sponsored by MFD Member Principe) to the Fire Department, 20-year Mendon resident Joseph Martin. Mike noted that Joe attended the October Department Meeting and has been to at least two training drills. The application will be voted upon at the November 6th Department meeting.

CALENDAR / MEETING ROOM REQUEST REVIEW

There following meeting room requests (for year 2023) were submitted for approval. S. Shuler motioned that they be approved with a second by J. Shipe, passing with unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

Nov 5th 2023 : Genesee Rowing Club (member J. O’Brien sponsor)

Nov 18th 2023 : New York Ski Racing Association (35-40 folks, T. Baumer sponsor)

Dec 2nd : Scout Pack 105 pancake breakfast

SECRETARY ITEMS

Approval of September 14th District Meeting and October 12th Special District Meeting Minutes

S. Shuler motioned to approve both sets of minutes with a second by D. Considine. The motion passed with unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

Change to State Fire District Fall Meeting 2024

Secretary Sellman reminded commissioners of the announced October 20-23 NYS Fire District to be held at Turning Stone in 2024.

CORRESPONDENCE

October 18th Email from Tim Baumer, Member Mendon Fire Dept.) see Appendix A.

In summary, the letter asked for the District to review the handling of an incident at the MFD Annual Clambake, offering an opinion that the handling was more in the purview of the Department than that of the District. There was discussion with the Chief indicating that there were violations across both organizations of which the Chief is responsible for on the District side. The President was made aware of issues on the Department side and could take actions from that perspective.

MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT (given by Department President Arman)

Purchase of Thermal Imaging Cameras for the District

Mike informed that district that pricing has been acquired for two Bullard thermal imaging cameras that have been evaluated by the Chief and line and have met their approval. The $14K expenditure will be brought to a vote at the Nov 6th Department Meeting with an expectation of approval.

MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT (cont.)

Fall Festival Event

Mike outlined the 3-5 pm festival/open house with the Auxiliary – pumpkins, cookies, cider, book fair, hayrides, bonfire, engines out for display, etc.

Annual Department Election Preparation

Mike shared that the nomination committee was established (including himself, Pete Kester and Tim DeRuyscher) and is now soliciting nominations.

CHIEF’S REPORT (by Chief Tschiderer)

CALLS (since 01/01/23)	220
APARATUS DAMAGE	None
INJURIES	LOSAP: T.Lyons ( Clambake fall ) Non-LOSAP Medical Leave: E. Bendschneider, and D. Kester, D. Considine

Calls of significance:
- Motorcycle MVA- 3 polytrauma patients with life-threatening injuries. One patient needed CPR, and we used 4 tourniquets.
- MVA @ W. Bloomfield north of Parrish (psychiatric emergency)
2nd Assist Chief L. Marchese suspended.
Bullard TIC’s to be purchased by the Department.
NYS DOT has (based on additional complaint filed) indicated the Boughton Hill / Rt 64 intersection is going to be getting consideration as safety benefit exceeds project cost.
New traffic pattern at Bulls Sawmill / Mendon Center Rd. Traveling NB from 251 there is now a full stop at Mendon CTR. If you are NB on Mendon Ctr from 251 they have removed the Yield sign.
Streamlight scene lights arrived and will be put in service ASAP.
Viking PPE – representative still in size-corrective mode.
New EMS bags placed into service on 367
Resignations received from Dave Ackerman and Ken Morrell.
Submitted new SOG 6030 – ATV for approval (see Appendix B).

Purchase Requests

Fee and travel expense for Chip Knapp to attend NYS Fire Academy Fire Officer One class ($ 716.06).
Chief noted that approx. $400 may be needed for upcoming Community Service Drill supplies.

Approval of Chief Requests

R. Wilsey made a motion to approve the purchase request for Fire Officer Training. This was seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

R. Wilsey made a motion to approve the PO for training props for Community Service Drill. This was seconded by S. Shuler and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

R. Wilsey made a motion to approve the ATV SOG. This was seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

Suspension of 2nd Asst. Chief Marchese

There was lengthy discussion regarding an incident involving L. Marchese and member A. Morrell at the Department’s Annual Clambake that resulted in his suspension. With the information and explanations given, and with a path-forward defined constituting that ability of all parties to keep to a professional interaction, S. Shuler motioned to remove the suspension of 2nd Asst. Chief Marchese. The motion was seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Monthly Vouchers

See Appendix C for this meeting’s Vouchers that were presented by Heidi. There was clarifying discussion with respect to Cintas Corp billing and the old Xerox copier that had been replaced.

2023 Budget Presentation

Heidi presented the budget (as proposed in September) noting: (a) we did not go over the tax cap and she would be filing the tax-cap form. After allowing for extra time for any public comment, the 2023 budget hearing was closed.

R. Wilsey made a two-part motion that (a) the proposed budget be adopted as the operating budget for 2024 and (b) the treasurer’s report be approved. This motion was seconded by S. Shuler. The motion passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0. The budget as presented and details are below in Appendix D.

OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS

Capital Projects / Special Projects / Buildings & Grounds (S. Shuler / J. Shipe)

Landscaping & Grounds:

J. Shipe indicated he’s planning on addressing the basement cage-door project soon.

There was discussion regarding the burn-permit / size requirement in preparation for the Fall Festival.

Apparatus

Vehicle/Equip	Issues/Problems/Plans
364	No issue
365	No issue
367	No issue
3617	No issue
3618	No issue
Haul Trailer	No issue
3c16	No issue
3c26	No issue

In response to Chief Tschiderer’s inquiry as to who would be the point of contact for apparatus until someone is appointed or elected, the board directed him to the District Administrator.

Personnel (reported by D. Considine)

Background Checks:

Dan reviewed that there have been 22 responses so far to the CheckR backgound processing email notices, and all of those folks have cleared.

There was discussion with respect to what’s the process if someone refuses to participate. An initial thought is that individuals not willing to go through the check would not count as a viable two-deep leader and would require two other verified individuals (e.g. would result in 3 adults). The main objection by some is that the process requires the users social security number, a common point of attack with respect to identity theft.

Dan outlined that he would establish a process with the District Admin to generate/maintain the the CheckR evaluation and results.

The timing of the check for new member applicants was discussed, with the thought it should be done & completed prior to the voting process. As such, Dan will generate the request for the new applicant introduced earlier.

Commissioner Resignation:

S. Shuler made a motion to accept Art Morrell’s resignation as District Commissioner with a second from J. Shipe. The motion passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

There was discussion regarding appointment of a replacement with no conclusion.

District Administrator’s Report:

See Appendix E for copy of the report. D. Considine made a motion to approve D. Sweet’s report with a second from J. Shipe. The motion passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

Tom Lyons Injury Cost:

There was discussion regarding insurance coverage for Tom Lyons injury at Clambake. With all proper paperwork/documentation filled out, the consensus was to let the District insurance work with Tom’s insurance company to resolve payment processing.

Personnel (reported by D. Considine)

Employee Handbook

Secretary Sellman inquired as to the source of the June 8th submitted draft of the employee handbook. Chief Tschiderer identified it’s location, rough makeup (single doc file with two separate appendices) and enabled access. J. Shipe indicated that any work that had been done since was not worked into the version that is currently in electronic format. Commissioner’s that have made changes that are not reflected in the original are responsible for its update/maintenance.

Information/Technology (from R. Wilsey)

In answer to Ryan’s inquiry, J. Shipe indicated that several monitors had been received via acquisition from the federal government. These will be installed & used to enable the District Administrator to view security cameras in real-time from his desk.

OLD BUSINESS

No Action

NEW BUSINESS

M. Arman raised an inquiry into the status of the air conditioner for the upstairs lounge that resulted in the safety-disconnect being pulled out of caution. Buildings & Grounds will contact Mike Schueler for consultation.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None brought forward.

EXECUTIVE SESSION and MEETING ADJOURNMENT

At 18:08, R. Wilsey made a motion that the Board go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing discipline and suspension of a particular person. This was seconded by S. Shuler, passing by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

At 18:15, the Board exited Executive Session. R. Wilsey made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by J. Shipe, passing by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0

Respectfully Submitted by

Tom Sellman

District Secretary, Mendon Fire District

APPENDIX A: Letter to Board of Commissioners from Tim Baumer