MENDON FIRE DISTRICT
Board of Commissioner
District Meeting Minutes (Draft)
June 12th, 2025
ROLL CALL (meeting called to order 19:00 hrs. on 06/12/2025 by R. Wilsey)
| PRESENT | NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| YES | Baumer, Heidi | Treasurer | |
| NO | Considine, Dan | Commissioner | Out due to medical |
| YES | Fletcher, William | General Counsel | |
| YES | Friedlander, David | MFD Deputy Chief | |
| YES | Joint, Richard | Commissioner | |
| 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 President | Representing MFD Board of Directors |
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
CALENDAR / MEETING ROOM REQUEST REVIEW
The following meeting room requests (for year 2025) were submitted for approval. Secretary Sellman
indicated calendar is free for them. J. Shipe moved to approved the requests. Seconded by S. Shuler
and passed by unanimous consent of those present: 4-0-0.
| September 11th | Mendon Square HOA annual meeting (6:30 – 9:00 pm) T. Lyons sponsor. |
| October 8th | NY Forest Owners Assoc annual meeting (4:30 – 8:30 pm). M. Arman sponsor. |
SECRETARY ITEMS
Past Meeting Minutes: S. Shuler motioned to approve the meeting minutes for both the May 8
th 2025 District meeting and the June 9th Special District meeting. This was seconded by J. Shipe and
passed with unanimous consent of those present: 4-0-0.
Budget Workshop Scheduling: Sellman and Baumer reminded everyone that a budget workshop
remained to be scheduled. After discussion, the consensus was to hold it Sept. 4th at 6 PM.
Secretary to get public notice established and put it on the calendar.
NYS Real Property Tax Exemption : As deferred from the May District meeting, Counsel Fletcher and
Secretary Sellman reviewed and recommend adoption/continuance of the NYS 10% Real Property
Tax Exemption (466-A, and as formally adopted by the Town of Mendon in Oct. 2024). R. Wilsey
motioned that the District formally adopt and be in compliance. S. Shuler seconded the motion
which then passed by unanimous consent of those present: 4-0-0.
AFDSNY Annual Meeting: Sellman reminded the Board of the AFDSNY annual meting to be held in
Saratoga Springs October 2nd through the 4th.
District Correspondence: Email received from Department member G. Francesco notifying the Board
of the outcome of his judicial proceeding – which then resolved the suspension and whereby was
reinstated at the June 9th Board Meeting.
MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT (President Arman)
Carnival Review: Arman briefly reviewed the carnival and fundraising results. Numbers are
currently in flux (awaiting some vendor invoices, etc.). Overall it was good, but due to the weather,
turnout was impacted.
Power-washer for Station: President Arman reviewed that the Department retained the tabled-
status of the proposed power-washer until more definitive carnival results are known. He asked if the Board had received maintenance contract pricing (approx. $300/yr.). R. Wilsey motioned that the
District allow installation by the Department and also that the District will maintain maintenance on
the power-washer should the Department move forward with acquisition. The motion was seconded
by S. Shuler. The issue was tabled for now as there was a split decision and no tie-breaker: two
affirmative votes (Shuler, Wilsey), and two opposition votes (Shipe, Joint).
Update to the Members Building: President Arman reviewed a recent change to aspects of the
proposed update to the Department’s Members Building. Recent changes to consider a pole-barn,
clean-slate approach were discussed. Commissioner Ship noted that if storage of the antique engines
was to be considered, and if the new structure would be used as a ‘place of assembly’,
considerations must be made with respect to building codes & safety regulations, use of fire
suppression sprinkler systems, etc.
CHIEF’S REPORT
See Appendix A for content presented in Chief Tschiderer’s report.
There was a brief discussion regarding the analytic times with the Chief acknowledging the item of
most interest/importance is the Enroute (e.g. response) values. This was in recognition and
understanding of the multiple variables outside of our control with respect to On-Scene times.
Purchase Orders
| 25-12 | quantity 15 – Radio Strap Kits : Capital City Industry @ $150 – Total $ 2250.00 |
| 25-10 | Viking, et.al. turnout gear for Monica Javidnia @ contract pricing (estimated $~ 2500) |
| 25-11 | Morning Pride, et.al. turnout gear for Buchanan & Martin @ State-bid pricing |
S. Shuler motioned to accept the purchase orders – seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous
consent by those present: 4-0-0.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Voucher & Reconciliation Review
Treasurer Baumer supplied reconciliation statements for May with the usual voucher listing, billing
from credit cards & autopay.
See Appendix B for content.
S. Shuler motioned to accept the treasurer’s report and pay the bills – seconded by J. Shipe and
passed by unanimous consent by those present: 4-0-0.
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Capital Projects / Special Projects (S. Shuler)
NYS VFIRE Grant Project Status
S. Shuler led a discussion regarding investigatory outcomes from having met with a few vendors –
(with a decision based on NYS input of acceptance) that the District should with a design-build
approach vs. a design-bid approach. Shuler presented an initial RFP (see Appendix C) find a
design/build firm with open book accounting allowing direct payment while meeting the
requirements for minority/women/veteran owned businesses. Steve outlined a straw-man
schedule with presumed Board approval at the July meeting, submission to vendors with an
approximate 6-week review time with selection and award in the September time-frame.
Apparatus
| Vehicle/Equip | Issues/Problems/Plans |
|---|---|
| 364 | No issue |
| 365 | Damaged fender |
| 367 | No issue |
| 3617 | No issue |
| 3618 | No issue |
| Haul Trailer | No issue |
| 3c16 | No issue |
| 3c26 | Repair scheduled for Monday of gas tank fill-tube. |
367 Squad Truck Replacement: Due to the simultaneous / overlapping ‘Supplier Restriction’ that
took effect at bid/purchase approval, two additional packages totaling $3290 needed to be ordered
for the new 367. Commissioner Joint motioned for the Board to approve this additional expenditure.
This was seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous consent of those present: 4-0-0.
Buildings and Grounds (J. Shipe)
After brief discussion prompted by J. Shipe, the Board’s consensus was to let the lilacs surrounding
the station to grow and trim them up from underneath.
Personnel & Leadership
District Administrator’s Report
S. Shuler motioned that the District Administrator’s report be approved. This was seconded by R. Wilsey and passed by unanimous consent of those present: 4-0-0
There was a discussion led by Secretary Sellman with respect to the recording mechanism for call
response as it relates to the District’s incentive program. Commissioner Wilsey proposed a
mechanism (with the assumption that Alpine Software could/can provide their ‘seat-ID monitoring’
solution) that folks populating trucks would be automatically accounted for, and then those that are
eliminated from the responding apparatus – but make the time-out parameter can simply use the
kiosk to enter their response.
Recruiting / Retention
President Arman indicated the current pipeline is empty.
Information/Technology (R. Wilsey)
Looking at options for upgrades to the iPads (currently 5-yrs old and aged out). District would need a
quantity of seven and given cost, probably need to be deferred until next year’s budget. Ryan to
keep ongoing investigation – sometimes model-year changes come with significant pricing savings.
Ryan indicated the copier usage has resumed a more expected usage count.
Ryan started a discussion with respect to the effort of upgrading the audio / speaker package in the
community room. He summarized that the hardware cost for the majority of the system seemed ok,
but the labor and installation cost/effort was excessive. He made an observation that perhaps an
approach for speakers was to get two hard-mounted ceiling and two nice portables for the back.
Ryan to get better numbers on a sufficient projector, etc. and have that for the next meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT
At approximately 19:45, R. Wilsey made a motion to adjourn the meeting which was seconded by S.
Shuler, passing by unanimous consent of those present: 4-0-0.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by
Tom Sellman,
District Secretary
Mendon Fire District
