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Home My WebLink About2019-10-16 Fire Commission Regular Minutes MINUTES OF OCTOBER 16, 2019 G CONFERENCE ROOM 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HIGHWAY, KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair Henkel called the meeting to order at 9:06 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Gregory Henkel, Chair Kyle Keamo, Commissioner Donna Payesko, Commissioner Scott Susman, Commissioner Robert Yamada, Commissioner Absent: Marcella St. Ambrogio, Commissioner Ralph Yawata, Vice Chair A quorum was present. Also present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Renee Schoen, Assistant Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 Commissioner Yamada motioned to approve the minutes with non-substantive corrections. Commissioner Payesko seconded, and it carried unanimously. REPORT Fire Chief Rosario highlighted items on his written report and responded to questions: Budget and Finance FY 2019/2020: Overtime is still not funded. They only operate on overtime for emergencies and mandatory training that has to be done during work hours. The majority of their overtime is contractual. They used to have about $100,000 for other overtime, but that was not enough. For large community events such as the KWXX Downtown that has a large number of public participants, the County provides funding. For Ironman, the County only provides services to the public, not the Ironman participants. For Ironman, they usually standup an incident commander and 4 ground teams in downtown Kailua. They did put in request to Ironman and the Council for funding. Commissioner Yamada stated that he brought up the overtime issue with his formation. Chief Rosario will provide the needed information. Minutes of October 16, 2019 Page 2 Chief Rosario stated that their overtime is high, and they operate over a very large geographical area. They are constantly busy and cannot respond to wild fires on only non-overtime hours. They have 4 stations that do not comply with NAFF staffing requirements. Right now, they are short 12 fire officer positions. They have catchment areas that are short. Pahala does not have full-fire FY 2020/2021: The Budget Kickoff meeting was held on September 19. Their submittal for new positions was not approved. Departments were instructed to submit 3 budget proposals: status quo budget, status quo with 5% reduction, and status quo with 8% reduction. Alternative Funding and Grants Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation: A donation of a new off-road tanker is being proposed. It will probably be earmarked for North Kohala. USDA USFS Wildland Grant: They are still waiting for final approval by the USDA for this $50,000 matching grant earmarked for training and equipment. County Council Contingency Fund Assistance: They submitted a request for overtime funding to cover large public events. USFA FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant: They are still waiting for award notification. Human Resources Division: They have been very busy working on filling numerous internal recruitments. They are also working on open-competitive recruitment for Fire Fighter Recruit. The Employee Development Training Program continues. Emergency Operations Division AC-many meetings, workshops, and events. There were many fire and rescue incidents in East and Special Operations Hazmat: BC Kim is working on purchasing 4 new HAZMAT ID units and conducting more confined space classes. Heavy metal screening has been completed. Ocean Safety: BC Kim is working on a grant to expand their Rescue and replacing the current one. He is also working on RWC night operations protocol. They are in planning for an increase in full-time Ocean Safety positions so they can expand to everyday coverage. Daniel R. Sayre Foundation: BC Kim and AC-1 met with new Executive Director Elizabeth Picket to familiarize her with their partnership. Support Services Division ththth Training: The 47 and 48 recruit classes continue with their training. The 49 class is earmarked for January 2020. Minutes of October 16, 2019 Page 3 Volunteer Training: Glen Honda and Volunteer Captain Doug Keown conducted in service training for the new brush truck at HPP. Paradise Park is one of their largest volunteer group. EMS Bureau: The Pulsepoint mobile app implementation for cell phones was completed and is running. The Big Island is the leader of EMS services in the State. Prevention Bureau: The bureau continues with its 24-hour schedule and was able to conduct 86 inspections, 97 construction plan reviews, and investigate 3 fires. Auxiliary Services: BC Todd is working on issues with the Active 911 Project. Dispatch has two vacancies. The next recruitment will be in January. The Mobile Data Terminals Projects for their trucks is in the testing phase, and they are looking at grants for funding. New Projects/Business: Public Works is working on permitting and renovation of the Paradise Park Fire Station. The Managing Director toured the Central Fire Station to get an assessment of its condition and needs. Public Relations: No additional report. Other Departmental Activities: No additional report. 2019 Program of Work Update: No additional report. CHAIR ON MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE COMMISSION (None.) ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Henkel reported that the thly meeting is scheduled for November 13, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., in the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, H ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Yamada motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Keamo seconded, and it carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: GREGORY HENKEL, CHAIR