ROLL CALL ( meeting called to order 19:10 hrs. on 11/02/2023 by J. Shipe)
| PRESENT | NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| No | Baumer, Heidi | Treasurer | (conflict with work meeting) |
| Yes | Considine, Dan | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Fletcher, William | General Counsel | |
| Yes | Friedlander, David | MFD 1st Assistant Chief | |
| Yes | Sellman, Tom | Secretary | |
| Yes | Shipe, John | Commissioner | (acting Chair to begin meeting) |
| Yes | Shuler, Steve | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Tschiderer, Steve | MFD, Chief | |
| Yes | Wilsey, Ryan | Commissioner (Chairman) | (late arrival due to work conflict) |
OTHER ATTENDEES NOTED
| NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| Mike Arman | MFD Member | President – Board of Directors |
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
CALENDAR / MEETING ROOM REQUEST REVIEW
There following meeting room requests (for year 2023) were submitted for approval. J. Shipe motioned that they be approved with fees waived. This was by S. Shuler, passing with unanimous consent of those commissioners present (Shipe, Shuler, Considine): 3-0-0
Troop 105 Pack/Den Meetings: Nov 8th & 15th, Dec 6th & 13th Meeting Room 5:30-7:30pm
Mendon Storm Baseball: Nov 18th, 8am – 1pm Parking Lot Use for Pie Distribution
Mendon Democrats: Dec 13th, 2023 & Dec 17th, 2024 Meeting Room 7:30pm-9pm
There was a brief review of an online inquiry by Grace Choir (of Mendon Community Church) regarding use/availability of the public community room for rehearsals starting January 2024 on Tuesday evenings from 7-9 pm. Secretary Sellman will pursue acquisition of clarifying details. Early analysis is that it would be in conflict with our chartered Scout Troop’s Tuesday meetings.
SECRETARY ITEMS
Approval of October 19th Budget Hearing and District Meeting Minutes
S. Shuler motioned to approve the minutes with a second by J. Shipe. The motion passed with unanimous consent of those commissioners present (Shipe, Shuler, Considine): 3-0-0
Adoption of Fire District Election Chairman
A resolution was motioned by J. Shipe to appoint Mendon Fire Department President Mike Arman as the District Election Chairman with the authority to appoint two election inspectors/ballot clerks. The motion also authorized payment (due to the District’s extended election hours) of a sum of $100 for each official. This motion was seconded by S. Shuler and passed with unanimous consent of those commissioners present (Shipe, Shuler, Considine): 3-0-0
MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT (given by Department President Arman)
Purchase of Thermal Imaging Cameras for the District
Mike reminded the Board that approval for the $14K expenditure by the Department will be brought to a vote at the Nov 6th Department Meeting with an expectation of approval.
Department Member Status Update
Mike briefly reviewed status changes for some department members that were not in compliance with Departments ‘active’ member classification (due to lack of participation) – and had been moved to Social Member status (for a max of 2 years per Dept. By-laws).
Background Check Status for Current Members
Mike inquired as to what the process will be for few current members that have not completed the new background check mechanism. There was discussion that resulted with Dan planning to request members that haven’t completed it (by the next District meeting) to come before the District Board to provide an explanation. The topic will be also be brought up again to the general membership at the next Dept. Meeting (Nov 6th).
Review of RAM Program Guide Updates
Secretary Sellman presented and reviewed two changes to the RAM Program Guide: (1) changes to more definitively address the appropriate checks/training required by adults to satisfy the two-deep leader youth protection approach, and (2) RAM interaction with media, whether it be active reporting on scene or social media interactions – all to fall under the purview of the District’s Code of Ethics Rules.
CHIEF’S REPORT (by Chief Tschiderer)
| CALLS (since 01/01/23) | 230 |
| APARATUS DAMAGE | None |
| INJURIES | LOSAP: T.Lyons ( Clambake fall ) Non-LOSAP Medical Leave: E. Bendschneider, and D. Kester, D. Considine |
- Call Analytics :
- Qty 23 – Calls with three or less responders YTD (mix of Fire and EMS calls)
- Qty 12 – Calls with one or NO responders YTD (mix of Fire and EMS calls)
- Approx. 20% of calls are being handled by less than safe staffing (certification levels, i.e., Interior, EMT); analysis is still ongoing.
- Calls of significance:
- Honeoye Falls Family Practice Office – Mendon limited to one interior FF out of the 12 responding.
- 9 members currently short on call points and 11 members short on training points. There are still opportunities to meet the training-point guidelines for many (completion of some online mandatory training and upcoming CPR class).
Purchase Requests
- Seven Fire Fighter Helmets @ $ 625.73 each (total $ 4377.73).
R. Wilsey made a motion to approve the purchase request for helmets. This was seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0
- New Pagers in the area. When queried by R. Wilsey, Chief requested that the dealer program them and then deliver to the Department. The priority is delivery of the new ones vs. considering repair issues with older units.
- Per notification of availability for surplus from the Chief, S. Shuler made a motion to surplus the old Kendrick’s Traction Devices and older EMS bags. This was seconded by J. Shipe and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0
- There was discussion regarding members out of compliance with having their required department physical. The decision was those well outside of the norm for (especially anyone over 12 months out of bounds) will be instructed that they cannot go on calls until they rectify the compliance violation.
- Chief reviewed (with subsequent discussion for clarifications) the results of the ISO inspection where the District received a score of 3/3Y (on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst).
- Chief working to attain monies in conjunction with the DEC (matching) grant. Monies would be used to procure two of the small Thermal Imaging Cameras evaluated last month, and some fire extinguisher conversion (to support foam) kits.
- The Consolidation Committee is going well; when it happens, there will be a significant increase in our members’ abilities for training, safety, and support. It will provide a cost-effective, efficient combination organization. ($2.814/$1,000 if all current budgets are combined, including all redundant equipment and services).
- Viking PPE gear is still a work in progress and the Streamlight scene lights are now in service (with the exception of one – returned due to infant-failure).
TREASURER’S REPORT
Monthly Vouchers
S. Shuler made a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. This motion was seconded by D. Considine and passed by unanimous consent of those commissioners present: 4-0-0. See Appendix B for the list of vouchers.
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Capital Projects / Special Projects / Buildings & Grounds (S. Shuler / J. Shipe)
Landscaping & Grounds:
J. Shipe indicated he fixed the heaters in the truck room.
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 |
District Administrator’s Report:
See Appendix A for copy of the report. S. Shuler 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
Personnel (reported by D. Considine)
Nothing to report.
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
The District Administrator drew attention to the board that the approval of various Department events at the January 2023 District’s Organizational was missed within the minutes. The Board approved these events (as outlined below) by Nunc Pro Tunc order:
Annual Mendon Fire Department Carnival and Fund Drive
Annual Mendon Fire Department Banquet & Inspection Dinner
Mendon Fire Department Clambake
Mendon Fire Department Carnival Appreciation Event
Mendon Fire Department Fall Festival
R. Wilsey re-affirmed that he’ll be reminding the Department Training Officer and the Scouting Liaison of the need to work with Seneca Waterways Council Representative to bring their Youth Protection Training in-house. This gives members two alternatives to accomplish the training – at a future drill or through the BSA online portal.
NEW BUSINESS
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT
Chief went on the record that the commissioner meeting completed it’s agenda without having to discuss a personnel matter.
At 20:06, R. Wilsey made a motion to adjourn the meeting 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: District Administrator Report ( Part 1 of 2 )
APPENDIX A: (cont.) District Administrator Report ( Part 2 of 2 )
APPENDIX B: Treasurer’s Report Vouchers
