2025-01-23 Fire Commission Minutes

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Regular Session Minutes January 23, 2025 Page 2 and wages are on track, OCE is currently low, and equipment is in excellent shape at 96%, with all necessary items encumbered. Vice Chair Wolf noted that only 5% of funds were used in line item 6226 under grants & miscellaneous OCE and asked if funds could be reallocated. Chief Todd explained that grants have strict federal constraints and cannot be moved. He will look intothe low usage, likely due to pending financial paperwork, and report back next month. Grants: CDBG grants are still pending delivery, the MIT Wildfire Mitigation grant is moving ahead. They’re also moving ahead with the AFG base station refresh project which at the end of last year is 100% obligated. Unused extractor funds were approved for radio purchases. The 2023 AFG grant awarded $488,000 for an incident command training program, bringing in "Calm the Chaos." A USDA grant- funded brush truck, ordered three years ago, has arrived and is being prepped for Ocean View Fire Station. Two trucks from the 2023 volunteer capacity grant are pending delivery, while this year’s grant is funding hose, PPE, and other equipment. They are still awaiting lifeguard towers from fair share funds, and recent approval was granted to design a new mechanic shop and possibly a warehouse. Further discussion covered the mechanic shop, helicopter maintenance, the Kona HR Branch Report:Five Fire/EMS Specialists II were promoted in mid-December. The Fire/Hazardous Materials Specialist assessment took place on 12/20/24. A Supervising Fire Communication Officer was selected and promoted. Internal recruitments for Battalion Chief of Operations and Special OPS have closed. For open competitive recruitment, five candidates were referred for the Program Support Technician position, but none were selected. One applicant for Clerk III is in the hiring process. A Fire Maintenance Worker was hired but has since resigned. The Firefighter Recruit physical agility test is set for February 2nd. Three Professional Development Trainee positions remain open: ISA I, Grant Specialist, and Info & Education Specialist. Chief Todd provided updates on WSO positions and a supplemental agreement. Further discussion addressed potential changes to firefighter recruitment requirements to enhance flexibility, improve hiring, and expand the candidate pool. Total Calls for Service: Chief Todd reported closing the calendar year with 31,143 recorded 911calls, though the actual call volume was likely around 34,000 due to multiple calls for the same event. Incident breakdown: Fire calls 3%, Rescue and EMS 73%. He also noted upcoming changes to the national fire incident reporting system.