ROLL CALL ( meeting called to order 19:00 hrs. on 12/10/2024 by R. Wilsey)
| 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 | |
| Yes | Joint, Richard | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Sellman, Tom | Secretary | |
| Yes | Shipe, John | Commissioner | |
| No | Shuler, Steve | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Tschiderer, Steve | MFD, Chief | |
| Yes | Wilsey, Ryan | Commissioner (Chairman) |
OTHER ATTENDEES NOTED
| NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| Mike Arman | MFD President | Representing MFD Board of Directors |
| Chip Knapp | MFD Vice President | Representing MFD Board of Directors |
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
New Member Candidate Introduction
Department President Arman introduced Julian Fischl of Honeoye Falls to the Board for a brief
interview and welcome by the Board.
CALENDAR / MEETING ROOM REQUEST REVIEW
No new meeting room requests (for year 2024) have been submitted for approval.
SECRETARY ITEMS
Past Meeting Minutes
S. Shuler motioned to approve the November 7th 2024 District meeting minutes with a second by D.
Considine. The motion passed with unanimous consent: 5-0-0.
Correspondence
Secretary Sellman reviewed an email received Dec. 7th by District Board members from MFD member
Tom Lyons. The email discussed considerations the author felt the Board’s should keep in mind
when they review and make acceptance decisions on the Department’s proposed (from their
December 5th annual meeting election) slate of Department line officers.
MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT (President Arman & V.P. Knapp)
- Department Elections: Mike noted that of the three open slots for Department Board
Director, there was only one nomination (C. Fitzpatrick) that was approved. President Arman
indicated he would be appointing the two open slots (L Kaplan & J. Brush). - FEMA Grant: C. Knapp presented the latest revision of the list of items intended for the FEMA
Grant. He reviewed the cost of the grant-writer ($ 3300). J. Shipe reviewed the segmentation
rubric of recipients. D. Considine expressed some concern regarding the speed of the
decision process. Chief noted that of the items presented, the circa 1960’s fans and 1990’s 5”
hose are in the class of ‘need’ vs. ‘want’. After discussion, D. Considine motioned the Board
approve the $3300 fee for a grant-writer to try an procure the approx. $ 53K worth of items:
[Blower Fans $11.8K, 5” LDH $41.2K]. This was seconded by J. Shipe and passed
unanimously: 5-0-0 - Outside Training Assistance: C. Knapp initiated a review of and consideration of expenses
anticipated to hire two part-time trainers for 6 months [proposed at the November Board
meeting ]. The two trainers would split their focus towards two groups: [1]
experienced/existing members and (2) new members & RAM’s. Chip noted the total
estimated cost would be $ 13,260 ( $ 12.6K for the trainers and $ 660 for the necessary
insurance coverage ) [ see Appendix D for a breakdown of the training costs]. D. Considine
motioned to approve the $ 13,200 for the training expenses outlined above . J. Shipe
seconded the motion which passed unanimously: 5-0-0. Next steps discussed were: (a) C.
Knapp to work with Chief on a posting for Monroe County, (b) C. Knapp to work with W.
Fletcher to develop the employment contract, (c) C. Knapp to work with D. Considine on
getting insurance in place. It was noted that decision making must be done within a Board
meeting. Chairman Wilsey asked if the goal was to approve the job posting by January 1,
2025 – the consensus was yes. - Recruiting/Retention: C. Knapp reviewed his incentive program spreadsheet (see Appendix F:
Member Retention Incentive Program Listing) noting the significance of the color coding:
red – most important items, yellow – recruiting & 2nd most important items, orange – formal
classes (NYS, County, some Department, blue – drills & training / driver qualifications. R.
Wilsey noted that the Board needs to work with Treasurer Baumer to see where/how the
being proposed program will fit into the budget, with a goal to complete that task for the
January meeting.
CHIEF’S REPORT
See Appendix C for content presented in Chief Tschiderer’s report.
Chief initiated a discussion with respect to plans for equipment that’s was surveyed out of service by
resolution at the Oct 17th Board Meeting. After discussion, as the guesstimated value for the two
Cutters Edge saws was less than $500, Secretary Sellman will prepare a notice (to be published to
the Department members) of a sealed-bid (floor price $200 / saw) availability ( date-TBD).
Chief requested permission to donate surplus PPE to the Greece Central School RTE program
(developing EMT, BEFO and extrication training to junior & senior high school students). Program
run by past volunteer assistant chief at Brockport FD – Chris Maros. After discussion, J. Shipe
motioned to approve the donation, seconded by S. Shuler and passed unanimously: 5-0-0.
Purchase Requests
- Multiple sets of turnout PPE, boots and helmets (various vendors). Post discussion, it was
- clarified that this request was for approval to go out for pricing.
- Approved for Purchase: FIT Test System adapter OHD for $420.00
- Approved for Purchase: Qty. 10 Dual Band Pagers from Unication (G5-P25) for $ 6,540.75
After discussion, D. Considine made a motion to approve the two purchase requests as well as to
proceed and obtain the required pricing for outlined PPE. This was seconded by S. Shuler and passed
unanimously: 5-0-0.Rental PPE for new firefighters Buchanan & D’Alesandro (12-month contract) – $ 3680.00. After discussion, S. Shuler made a motion to approve the purchase request. This was seconded by D. Considine and passed unanimously: 5-0-0.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Treasurer Baumer’s submitted report presented quotes (with associated commentary) of four CPA
firms she researched to perform audit services previously provided by McDonald CPA firm.
| Firm | Price |
| Stokes, Visca, Hucko & Barone, LLC (SVHB) | $ 9500 |
| EFPR Group, CPAS, PLLC | $ 12,500 |
| MMB + Co., LLP | $ 11,950 |
| The Bonadio Group | $ 16,700 |
After discussion, J. Shipe motioned that the Board accept the proposal offered by SVHB. This was
seconded by S. Shuler and passed unanimously: 5-0-0 .
Treasurer Baumer also made a recommendation/reminder for a balance carryover to be in a position
to pay for Jan/Feb expenses. The recommendation/reminder also noted a need to decide on the
amount of operating funds to be moved to the Capital Reserve. After discussion, the Board decided
to hold a special meeting on December 30th @ 6:30 PM for this purpose. Secretary Sellman will
generate and send a corresponding Notice of this meeting to the District newspaper and post on the
website.
S. Shuler made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report and pay the bills. The motion was
seconded by S. Shuler and passed by unanimous consent: 5-0-0. See Appendix B for the vouchers
presented and approved.
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Capital Projects / Special Projects / Buildings & Grounds (S. Shuler / J. Shipe)
J. Shipe informed the Board that the water heater approved (Oct 17 Board meeting) scheduled for
installation Tuesday ( December 17th ) but may shift to Wednesday (if access to thermostat in radio
room is a problem). Sprinkler system maintenance scheduled for some time in January but may be
delayed depending on status / impact of NYS Grant plans for upstairs space.
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 – going in the following day for oil change / inspection. |
| 3c26 | No issue |
Commissioner Joint noted to the Board that making any evaluation of the bed-inserts for any of
the pickup-truck vehicles ( 367, 3C-16 ) has been near impossible – with a late-breaking update
from an Adirondack region fire department callback with a positive view of the insert. Discussion
continued relative to: which, and in what order, and in what truck model would be appropriate
for the two red pickups ( 367, 3C-16 ). At the end of discussion, it was clear that: (a) no new
inserts would be acquired for current 367, 3C-16 , (b) a decision between 1-ton vs ¾-ton for a
367 replacement has yet to be determined, and (c) a decision will have to be made as to which of
current 367 or 3C-16 vehicle will be used to backfill for 3c-26 vehicle.
District Administrator’s Report:
S. Shuler made a motion to approve D. Sweet’s report with a second from R. Wilsey. The motion
passed by unanimous consent: 5-0-0. ( See Appendix A for the report.)
Personnel & Leadership ( From D. Considine)
Leadership workshop scheduled for December 19th was cancelled.
Information/Technology (from R. Wilsey)
- Projector kept in Commissioner’s conference room (thought to have been broken) is in factfunctional. Dale investigating mounting issues for ceiling mount. Dale is also working on speaker definition/config/acquisition (e.g. looking at optional stands/portability issues ).
- Alpine struggling through its processes, but the bulletin board should be back up this evening.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
R. Wilsey initiated a discussion regarding the District’s acceptance of the slate of Line Officers as
voted on by the Department at their December 5th, 2024 Annual Meeting (see Appendix E : 2025
Mendon Fire Department Line Officers ). At the end of discussion, the consensus of the Board was to
accept the entire selection – however the Board felt that all 2025 members need to be involved in
the approval process. As the election decision for J. Shipe was in progress and ending in 50 minutes,
R. Wilsey motioned that a recess of one hour be conducted. This was seconded by S. Shuler, passing
with unanimous consent: 5-0-0.
The District Board meeting went into an hour recess at: 20:08 and then reconvened at 21:10.
Secretary Sellman informed the Board that J. Shipe has won the position of District Commissioner for
a 5-year term beginning January 1st, 2025 (90 ballots cast, 88 for J. Shipe with two write-in’s).
S. Shuler then motioned that the entire slate of Line Officers for 2025 (as outlined above and elected
by the Mendon Fire Department) be accepted by the District. J. Shipe seconded the motion that
then passed by unanimous consent: 5-0-0.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT
At approximately 21:12, S. Shuler made a motion to adjourn the meeting which was seconded by J.
Shipe, passing by unanimous consent: 5-0-0.
Respectfully Submitted by
Tom Sellman
District Secretary,
Mendon Fire District
