ROLL CALL ( meeting called to order 19:05 hrs. on 03/09/2023 by R. Wilsey )
| PRESENT | NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| Yes | Baumer, Heidi | Treasurer | |
| Yes | Considine, Dan | Commissioner | |
| No | Fletcher, William | General Counsel | In Court |
| Yes | Friedlander, David | MFD 1st Assistant Chief | |
| No | Morrell, Art | Commissioner | Out with COVID |
| Yes | Sellman, Tom | Secretary | |
| No | Shipe, John | Commissioner | Out of the country. |
| Yes | Shuler, Steve | Commissioner | |
| Yes | Tschiderer, Steve | MFD Chief | Late arrival due to EMS Call |
| Yes | Wilsey, Ryan | Commissioner (Chairman) |
OTHER ATTENDEES NOTED
| NAME | CAPACITY | NOTES |
| Mike Arman | MFD President – MFD Board of Directors |
PUBLIC COMMENT
No responses for public comment at the time of offering.
CALENDAR / MEETING ROOM REQUEST REVIEW
TROOP 105 Requests
The board formally approved the Tues evenings (thru end of June) repetitive meeting request and Pancake Breakfast Event ( March 24 – 26 ) requests by Troop 105 for the public community room. S. Shuler seconded the motion which passed with unanimous consent 3-0-0. (Note: this had met with Commissioner Shipe’s support via earlier email polling). It was noted by T. Sellman that the Troop had been notified of the conflict with April 18th ( 3rd Battalion Past Chief Dinner ) and that the Scout’s would need to pursue and alternative for that meeting date. There was consensus by the board in support of putting a notice on the electronic sign for the Pancake Breakfast.
Town Of Mendon Request
There was discussion regarding a “heads-up notification” that the Town of Mendon wants to hold a review / presentation of the results of the Citizens Advisory Board’s study into Fire Protection for the Town. A preliminary date of March 29th was provided and placeholder into the calendar has been added. Need to have Supervisor Moffitt come to formally fill out the reservation request form with the sponsor being the Mendon Fire District. A point was made to remind any applicant of the 125 max-occupancy restriction.
Family Baby Shower
Ken Morrell applied (with sponsor Art Morrell) to use the public meeting room and kitchen on June 17th (all-day) for Katie Yelle’s Baby Shower. This event will be self-catered.
Commissioner Considine motioned that all events/requests discussed be approved. S. Shuler seconded the motion which passed unanimously: 3-0-0
SECRETARY ITEMS
Approval of February 9th, 2023 District Meeting Minutes
Motion to approve minutes made by D. Considine and seconded by S. Shuler. The motion passed with unanimous consent: 3-0-0
LOSAP Report Status
T. Sellman reported that the LOSAP member info/status list had been posted 02/24 and will remain so for 30 days. Once the posting period has completed, the 2022 Sponsor Authorization Form will need to be signed by Commissioner Wilsey. Note Penflex deadline for this step in the process is July 1, 2023.
T. Sellman reminded the Board of the push from Ken Bowers (MCFDOA) to ensure full County participation/support at the May AFDNYS Annual Meeting / Vote in support of a affirmative vote for the By-Law change to allow proxy-voting going forward. The vote to approve is conducted on Friday May 19th between 4:00 and 5:30 PM. Commissioner Shuler (with a schedule check required first) volunteered and proposed that he and perhaps Commissioner Shipe represent the District.
MENDON FIRE DISTRICT 101 Mendon Ionia Road, Mendon, NY 14506 Page | 3
CORRESPONDENCE
Renew LU-LA Elevator Maintenance Contract & Inspection
R. Wilsey reviewed the newly received inspection and annual maintenance contract for the station’s Limited Use-Limited Application Elevator. The consensus was to respond to have the inspection and renew the contract. S. Shuler to complete form and give to District Administrator.
County Board of Election Polling Place Agreement
R. Wilsey reviewed the Polling Place Agreement from the Monroe County Board of Elections (see Appendix C). The request is to reserve the public meeting room on June 27 and November 7 of 2023. S. Shuler motioned to accept the agreement which was seconded by R. Wilsey and passed by unanimous consent: 3-0-0
MENDON FIRE DEPT BOARD OF DIRECTORS REPORT
Line & Civil Officer Stipends
The Board approved a roughly 10 percent increase in the stipends given to Line and Civil Officers from the Department. As with last year, the recipient has option to decline the stipend (which several did last year).
Annual Department & District Banquet
M. Arman reviewed the status of the upcoming (April 15th) Department/District Banquet to be held (as was last years) at Westminster Hall. In contrast to last year (due to COVID precautions), the guest list has been expanded to more than the internal membership. D. Considine moved that the District provide $125 gas/gift card to members at the banquet. Various implementation mechanisms were discussed but a final decision was not fully determined.
CHIEF’S REPORT (presented by 1st Assistant Chief Friedlander with later input by Chief Tschiderer)
Chief Tschiderer was still out on EMS call with ambulance transport to Strong.
| CALLS (since 01/01/23) | 52 |
| APARATUS DAMAGE | None |
| INJURIES | None |
- Since the new arrangements, one mutual aid ambulance dispatched.
- Five+ low priority calls not dispatched since the February 1st run-code changes.
- Chief has requested a light be added to the rear-hatch of 3C-26 vehicle (night-visibility was an issue at recent drill when operating a command-post out of the rear.
- Chief looking into modular approach for equipment management/storage on future pickup-trucks for ease in transfer to replacement vehicles.
- M. Principe traveling to LODD service for fallen Buffalo firefighter.
- Purchase orders for Fire Police gear submitted.
- Need EMS impedance threshold device replace for one that has gone missing. EMS Officer charged with need to generate a better accountability system for equipment in bags.
- Looking to acquire 20 black hoods to replace aging ones currently in stock and 30 new particulate hoods for interior firefighters. Allows establishment of training cache to keep new hoods designated for real emergency response situations.
- Chief wants to establish equipment procurement process such that Line signs and submits request to the Chief who then signs approval – this is forwarded to commissioners for approval to enable district administrator to get pricing – then official approval by district for purchase at next meeting.
- Chief has asked Dale to get pricing for 5-gallon pails of Universal Green (a Class A & B, DEC compliant foam) at an anticipated approximate cost $70/each. This product same a what some neighboring agencies have or are looking at. Looking at evaluating for CAV system on ATV.
- Looking at acquiring blue stickers for helmets of Explorers as we get more cleared to come on some calls with advisors – there’s a need for better identification if on-scene.
- Chief acknowledged that current training officers are performing so well that some neighboring chief officers are requesting to use ours as a template to improve their program.
- An issue was noted that for drills involving technical rescue, a clear safety message/briefing is a requirement for enabling Mendon’s participation.
- Looking at posting online website (FEMA, McNeil) training options that are certificate-outcome based for members to utilize – and count towards Department/LOSAP training points.
- Chief has approved Francesco, S. Marchese and Wilsey for FDIC (hot-training curriculum) with Asst. Chief Marchese for pre-conference workshop (ICS, Sr. leader type classes).
- Chief has approved Francesco, S. Marchese and Wilsey for FDIC (hot-training curriculum) with Asst. Chief Marchese for pre-conference workshop (ICS, Sr. leader type classes).
- Chief reviewed that there’s an outstanding question as to the type of insurance supplied by Seneca Waterways Scouting as it relates to Explorer’s that have been approved by the line to participate in some calls. Need to have a conversation with Mr. White. There’s a need to examine liability and personal injury coverages. Until there’s more definitive information, S. Marchese will be requested to suspend the call-participation aspect of our Explorers. Once settled, then Chief will bring the question of Explorer-going-to-calls back to the board for official sign-off.
- There was discussion on the topic of how to better handle coverage at the station when the district administrator has to take a significant period of time off. This would be occasions that involve more than a couple hours: vacations (full or partial days). It is not intended for those unplanned hour or two run-to-an-appointment type scenarios. The goal is to ensure that there’s a driver available during the daytime hours. The need to better coordinate advance notification was raised.
TREASURER’S REPORT
H. Baumer announced that the audit is complete and are awaiting final report that AUD has been submitted to NYState.
One question/concern from the auditor was that no money has been submitted anywhere yet for last year’s LOSAP. D. Considine offered to get more information and help clarify. Dan also summarized that once in receipt of the final official list (which is in the posting-review process per T. Sellman) then he’ll be in a better position to state the dollars to be made available.
In response to prompting by the auditor, and some recent conversations with Canandaigua National Bank, H. Baumer initiated discussion regarding the opportunity to get some interest earned on the current accounts. The consensus from the Board was that she is empowered to look at / evaluate the feasibility of ‘laddering’ certificates of deposit for various intervals.
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Capital Projects / Special Projects / Buildings & Grounds (as reported by S. Shuler)
Home Improvement: S. Shuler indicated update of the project spreadsheet still in progress. Plans include portion of station sidewalk replacement staged for this and next (2024) summer. He noted that South-Side station doors in a 4-5 year window. There was general discussion regarding the update to the public meeting room : floors and ceiling were primary items.
Apparatus
Commissioner Morrell absent. See District Administrator’s report (Append B) for details.
Personnel (reported by D. Considine )
Leadership: Next Workshop is March 23rd.
Discussion was had regarding FDIC. One topic was cost of hotel rooms and the cost/benefit tradeoff: at prior-year conferences, incidents where an inexpensive hotel at greater distance resulted in missed classes due to problems with shuttle service not meeting scheduled time frames. In addition, a closer hotel is beneficial to maximize getting stuff done (gear availability, etc.) (per Chief Tschiderer).
Insurance:/EAP:
Dan reviewed the decision to stick with McNeil at the end of the competitive analysis and proposals. At the end of a discussion regarding EAP, Dan indicated he will look into extending its availability to a larger audience. Ryan made the observation that historically, McNeil had a really good track record of claim payment and that some neighboring districts have had issues with other companies.
District Administrator’s Report:
See Appendix B for copy of the report. D. Considine made a motion to approve the purchase requests with a second from S. Shuler. The motion passed unanimously: 3-0-0
Information/Technology ( from R. Wilsey)
– Computers approved last month should be delivered sometime in April.
– Will need to check the budget to see if a couple more laptops can be acquired (Ryan thinks there’s a need within the line).
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
2023 Carnival
Discussion was had regarding various carnival topics: fireworks sponsor, will Chief be here and what coordination required for parade or not.
Fitness Center
Suggestion made to somehow connect the station siren into a signal light/strobe since you can’t hear it down in the fitness center. A question regarding initial weight-training orientation by fitness coach Eke was affirmed by D. Considine.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
D. Considine motioned to convene an Executive Session to address an Employee Safety Concern submitted to the Chief. This was seconded by S. Shuler and passed by unanimous consent: 3-0-0
PUBLIC COMMENT
None brought forward.
MEETING ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn at 20:42 proposed by R. Wilsey and seconded by S. Shuler with unanimous consent: 3-0-0
Respectfully Submitted by
Tom Sellman
District Secretary, Mendon Fire District
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
