ROLL CALL ( meeting called to order 19:00 hrs. on 04/10/2025 by J. Shipe )
| PRESENT | NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| No | Baumer, Heidi | Treasurer | Out of town on business |
| Yes | Considine, Dan | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Fletcher, William | General Counsel | |
| Yes | Friedlander, David | MFD 1st Assistant Chief | |
| No | Joint, Richard | Commissioner | Out of town on vacation |
| Yes | Sellman, Tom | Secretary | |
| Yes | Shipe, John | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Shuler, Steve | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Tschiderer, Steve | MFD, Chief | |
| No | Wilsey, Ryan | Commissioner (Chairman) | Out of town at FDIC |
OTHER ATTENDEES NOTED
| NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| Mike Arman | MFD President | Representing MFD Board of Directors |
| Dale Sweet | MFD District Administrator |
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
CALENDAR / MEETING ROOM REQUEST REVIEW
None.
SECRETARY ITEMS
Past Meeting Minutes
D. Considine motioned to approve the March 13th 2025 District meeting minutes with a second by S.
Shuler. The motion passed with unanimous consent of those present: 3-0-0.
Correspondence
None.
MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT (President Arman)
- Recruiting: 3 new members just voted into the Department. No other prospects in the pipeline. Recruiting open house at the station April 26th, 9 AM – Noon.
- Member’s Building Renovation: Department met with three contractors with an expectation to get pricing quotes by mid to late April.
- Board of Education Presentation: Department getting on the School Board’s calendar for April 22nd to present their case and have the School Board to consider the 10% firefighter tax exemption.
CHIEF’S REPORT
See Appendix A [pg1 & 2] for content presented in Chief Tschiderer’s report.
There was a brief discussion regarding the scheduling of putting the new 5” and 1-3/4” hose into
service – with the agreement that it will be done in coordination with upcoming hose testing (later in
April, somewhat governed by weather conditions).
Purchase Requests (editor’s note: as presented at the end of the meeting during Old Business)
Purchase Requests (editor’s note: as presented at the end of the meeting during Old Business)
- 4 Harris Throat Microphones: State Bid Pricing Ear Hugger $ 104 each : total $ 416
- Low bid suppliers: Jerome Fire Equip: Fans
- MES: batteries & charger
- 50 Helmet Shields / 39 ID patches for helmet accountability system: lowest pricing from
Golfireshields : total price $ 2428.50 ( approx. $48/each )
Nearest competitive price from The Fire Store at approximately $ 54.99/each, 3rd competitor
at approx. $60/each. After discussion as to the benefits of, and generalized movement by
nearby fire service agencies towards the system’s incorporation, D. Considine made a motion
to approve the purchase requests. This was seconded by S. Shuler and passed unanimously
by those present: 3-0-0.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Voucher & Reconciliation Review
Treasurer Baumer supplied reconciliation statements for March with the usual voucher listing, billing
from credit cards & autopay. D. Considine read the bank balances into the record. See Appendix B
for content. Note there was a typo with respect to the date of the Bank Balances – the date had
been held over from the previous month’s report. Commissioner Shuler motioned to approve the
Treasurer’s report. This was seconded by D. Considine and passed unanimously by those present: 3-
0-0.
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Capital Projects / Special Projects / Buildings & Grounds (S. Shuler / J. Shipe)
Administrator Sweet led a discussion updating the Board on the research that he and Assistant Chief
Kester with respect to a replacement for the 367 Squad truck (see APPENDIX C District
Administrator Report (part 2 of 2) ). The discussion reviewed the truck characteristics, the truck-
bed insert for equipment, lighting, electronics and graphics required. D. Sweet reviewed the
anticipated known and estimated costs that in total summed to $ 95,000. D. Considine made a
motion to allocate a sum, not to exceed $95,000 for the acquisition ( subject to permissive
referendum as contained in APPENDIX D ) of said truck and equipment. This was seconded by S.
Shuler and passed by unanimous consent of those present: 3-0-0. As such, Administrator Sweet was
instructed to proceed with mini-bid process. [ editor’s note: Notice of Permissive Referendum
received by the Mendon Honeoye Falls Sentinel with an expected publish date of April 17th edition.]
NYS VFIRE Grant
S. Shuler led a discussion with respect to the VFIRE Grant and it’s support for the buildout of
bunkrooms in the station. Commissioner Shuler indicated that once Commissioner Wilsey returns
from FDIC, they will be contacting the NYS representative Bailey to see if the grant process
includes reimbursement for approaching a design firm via RFP. There were discussion points
with respect to NFPA guidelines ( NFPA 1581 ) that speak to requirements for bunk rooms /
areas. Various layout and design considerations were noted as well as how that is influenced by
current space availability/constraints.
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 |
Personnel & Leadership (from D. Considine)
After review, with a last minute update regarding a recent issue with a probable faulty flow
switch on the boiler, D. Considine motioned to accept the District Administrator’s Report. This
was seconded by S. Shuler and passed with unanimous consent of those present: 3-0-0.
There was a brief discussion with respect to the positive impact observed so far by Chief Tom
May’s involvement in the training program.
Chief indicated reports from the three members at FDIC conference very positive.
There was a reminder of the upcoming Recruit NY event to be held at the station April 26th.
D. Considine noted Tony Blackwell (McNeil Insurance) will be coming to present to the
Department at their May meeting.
Recruiting/Retention:
None.
Information/Technology (from R. Wilsey)
- Chief gave a brief update as to some County communication infrastructure system updates. J. Shipe asked if it could be investigated why the Bryx streaming seems to oscillate between working/not working. Chief will inquire.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT
At approximately 19:51, J. Shipe made a motion to adjourn the meeting which was seconded by D.
Considine, passing by unanimous consent of those present: 3-0-0.
Respectfully Submitted by
Tom Sellman
District Secretary,
Mendon Fire District
