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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-12-10 Fire Commission Minutes HAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION - MINUTES AS AMENDED December 10, 2003 Royal Kona Resort Resolution Room Kailua-Kona, Hawaii CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Neil Brazier at 10:00 am. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Stephen Bowles Neil Brazier Dale Fergerstrom (10:25 a.m.) Rudolph Hart Louis Kaoiwi Karen Maedo Terry Wallace Laura Ward A quorum was present. ALSO PRESENT: Martha Rodillas Darryl Oliveira Laurie Kaneta Noni Sanford Joe Whitney STATEMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS None APPROVAL OF MEETING PROCEEDINGS A correction was noted to page 4 of the November 12, 2003, regular meeting minutes of the chiefÓs report ÐAuxiliary Services DivisionÑ should be noted. Also, the spelling of the word ÐaerialÑ will be corrected. It was moved by Commissioner Kaoiwi that the minutes of the November 12, 2003, regular & executive session minutes be approved as corrected. T seconded by Commissioner Maedo and unanimously carried. APPROVAL OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Maedo moved to accept communication numbers 03-103 109. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hart and unanimous CHIEFÓS REPORT Chief Oliveira acknowledged CommissionerÓs Kaoiwi & Wallace for their service as Fire Commissioners. Thank you gifts were presented to both out-going charter members. Budget: 2.3 million budget was submitted (2003/2004 Supplemental Budget). Still awaiting notification on funding of any items. Optimistic about the budget. Last year 20 additional firefighter positions were submitted to enhance the existing staff. In this years (2004-2005 fiscal year) budget the positions for the Kalaoa station & the taking over of the KMC fire stations have been included. A comprehensive supplemental budget was submitted. The first finance committee meeting is in January with the Budget Office staff. Chief Oliveira asked to place a status update for his strategic plan on the next Fire Commission agenda. This will give a better perspective as to where HFD is in the evaluation process of the Fire Chief. Grants: HFD is disappointed that they were denied a USFA grant. Included were SCBA units for HFD. HFD does not know why they did not receive Oliveira discovered that HFD was not in compliance with the NationalÓs because there was no records management system. Chief Oliveira will share the reasons of denial of the grant once it is learned. CIP: Puna Public Safety Complex: HFD is working with HPD regarding replacing the Keaau safety stations. A 20-acre site is being looked at and it may include a training warehouse. This location is on the Volcano side of the Gateway development. Pahoa Fire Station: A meeting will be held with the Mayor and Finance Director on December 19. An offer was made by the County to a private landowner; waiting for response. Working with the personnel on making changes & recommendations for building facilities; will have proposal on the design by the end of this month. The site is at the end of the bypass road. It has an excellent 2 access to the Puna area. Long range plans include breaking up the island into 4 sections and having two rescue companies cover each hemisphere of the island. HFD is considering reorganizing the entire HFD. Kalaoa Fire station Î moving forward at the right pace; looking at November, 2004 as opening/completion date. Fire Administration: Will be meeting with the Mayor on possible purchase/selection of site. Promotions & hiring: will conduct physical assessment portion of rescue operation. Will get HFC exact time & encourage their participation to observe. Sent out notices for FEO, FRS & Captains with testing date in January. Will invite HFC to participate in interview process. There are three qualified candidates for the FASO position. This selection will be held this Saturday at Civil Service in Hilo from 8:00 a.m. Î 4:30 p.m. FF recruitment Î still receiving background info on 64 applicants. Interviews scheduled for January 5Î12. Medical screening & drug testing will be done. HFC is invited to participate. Dispatcher & mechanic recruitment are moving along as scheduled. Operations Division: OfficerÓs meeting held December 2, 3 & 8, 2003. Keeping the staff abreast of changes and updates in the HFD. EmployeeÓs response on a survey to improve communication. Whenever there is a West Hawai`i HFC meeting, Fire Chief & Administration staff meets with HFD personnel to keep them updated. Meetings are held in East & West HawaiÒi. Records Management System (RMS) update: The RMS is user friendly and have been receiving positive feedback. Every station has the RMS. Due to a limited DSL connectivity, there are 6 stations that are Ðstand aloneÓsÑ where a floppy is used. As DSL service improves, they will be on line. Waiakea, Capt Cook will be on-line soon. Naalehu, HPP, Laupahoehoe, South Kohala are not hooked up with DSL service. There may be a fiber-optic connection soon. As of December, HFD will be in compliance with the National Fire Incident Reporting System providing statistics on a quarterly basis. Legislative proposals: Submitted a proposed bill to request funds in the HOVE district. Included an implied partnership with a foundation that would like to donate a vehicle. Working with Joe Whitney on getting the word out. Asking HFC to the project. Appropriating $568,900 to fund operating costs to establish an emergency ambulance service in HOVE. Relating to Civil Service Reform: Wants drug testing to be a requirement for all public safety employees. Wants to amend law to exclude drug testing, drug testing procedures and sanctions from Collective Bargaining process. Relating to Emergency Medical Services Budget: Seeking to fund retroactive proficiency pay adjustment for firefighters. Relating to Vehicles resembling emergency response vehicles: Se prohibit private owners from owning or operating a motor vehicle that bears a 3 similar insignia, decal, wording or paint scheme that in any way resembles an authorized emergency response vehicle and which would tend to confuse or lead the public to believe that it is an emergency response vehi Prevention division: KiharaÓs production statistics were provided (July - November, 2 116 building inspections conducted 246 fire extinguisher, fire alarm systems, smoke detectors, sprinkler & hydrant inspections 134 building plans review 1 fire safety training class 5 fire investigations 8 complaint investigations 37 meetings and conferences 2 in-service Contract scheduled to end December and will not be renewed. Support is available from other sources. Training division: th 28 Firefighter Recruit Class graduation ceremony was held on December 5, 2003. HFD administration will take the lead of coordinating the graduation ceremonies from here on. There will be more formal programs in the future. th 29 Firefighter Recruit Class will start EMT training in January. Have been getting positive feedback from the training program. Off-duty personnel of dedicated trainers have shown improvement in the training program. Projected 4 retirees at the officer level for December, 2003. Promotional process: will conduct test on ONE day only synchronized in West & East HawaiÓi. Commissioner Maedo commented that the HFC needs to be cognizant of staying out of personnel issues with the rank in file. They should be referred to Chief Oliveira and Commissioners do not get involved. Warren Sumida attended a Haz-Mat Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada November 17-21, 2003. Considering new equipment, technology and state of the art equipment. Garret Kim attended an IAFF sponsored Peer Fitness Training Certification Program on Oahu on November 10 - 14, 2003. The program even included testing cholesterol, etc. Four individuals have expressed interest to go. People are apprehensive to go. On-line classes are available. Volunteer division: driver training program started this past weekend; great feedback from attendees. Lack of clarity of volunteers of where weÓre going and what weÓre trying to fix. Chief Oliveira will be meeting with all volunteer chiefs. Many of them are not getting the word. There has been a lack of participation of volunteer chiefÓs at the meetings. 4 EMS Division: working with UH-Hilo to schedule EMT classes. There is limited classroom space and limited resources. New projects: th Chief Oliveira & some staff attended the 25 HawaiÒi Fire Chiefs Association Conference on November 20 - 23, 2003. There was a lot of positive feedback. The Pentagon plane crash incident commander did an excellent pre Products were displayed. Chief Oliveira would like to include other ranks next time. HFD will be the host 2 years from now (2005). Next yearÓs conference will be held on Maui. Attended strategic planning session for the State EMS system on Oahu with BC Paiva. This session is to improve the EMS program. There were some negative feelings between non-fire based EMSÓ & fire-based EMSÓ stations. All islands suffer the same problems. Chief Oliveira asked the Commissioners for feedback regarding hi statistical reporting. The Commissioners are pleased with the format that Chief Oliveira is using. Chief Oliveira asked to agendize ÐStrategic Plan ReviewÑ to the January 14, 2003 meeting. Public Relations: Chief Oliveira extended an invitation to HFC to attend the CountyÓs holiday open house on Wednesday, December 17, 2003, from 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Firefighters helped decorate the building. nd HFD entered two teams in the East HawaiÒi Coalition for the Homeless 2 Annual Great Tricycle Race on November 29, 2003. UNFINISHED BUSINESS COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget & Finance (Bowles/Hart) Commissioner Bowles met with Chief Oliveira and agrees that there needs to be a higher degree of coordination in the lobbying effort for funding. Office Management and Staffing (Fergerstrom/Wallace) none Rules and Policies (Kaoiwi) none Public Relations (Ward) Commissioner Ward stated that the Solutions Group asked if HFD would like to participate in activities. Sayre Fou April, 2005. NEW BUSINESS 5 Election of Officers for 2004: Commissioner Hart moved to re-elect the existing Chair, Neil Brazier and the existing Vice-Chair, Stephen Bowles. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Kaoiwi. Commissioner Ward moved to nominate Commissioner Stephen Bowles Chair. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Wallace. A roll call vote was taken to re-elect the existing Chair, Neil existing Vice-Chair, Stephen Bowles. YESNO BRAZIER HART KAOIWI MAEDO FERGERSTROM WALLACE WARD Commissioner Bowles abstained from voting. Chair Neil Brazier & Vice-Chair Stephen Bowles were re-elected f Recruitment for Fire Commissioners Î recommended recruitment for positions. Working on getting people to fill positions. Louis Kaoiwi will 2004. HFC members are encouraged to recruit people to apply. C Bowles would like to have a member of the Charter Commission do a briefing of the community. Commissioner Bowles would like to review Charter Commission minutes. Fire Chief Evaluation - The same format will be used to evaluate Martha will send evaluation forms to all commissioners with the January meeting packets. Deadline for submission to Chair Brazier is February, compile data into one report that Martha will type. Commissione feedback from Commissioner BrazierÓs discussion with Chief Oliveira. The HFC would prefer to hear Chief OliveiraÓs status update of his strategic plan before completing the evaluation. Chief Oliveira would like to give the HFC as much info as possible to evaluate him. Evaluation forms will be sent earlier Wallace & Kaoiwi. PUBLIC STATEMENTS Commissioner Wallace thanked everyone for service as a Fire Comm asked the HFC to continue to support the Fire Chief in the futur ANNOUNCEMENTS 6 The next meeting is to be held on Wednesday, January 14, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. at the Liquor Control Conference Room, Hilo Lagoon Centre. Set agenda for January 14, 2004 meeting. Strategic plan update. Former chairman of charter commission Î give a briefing of their intent of their Commission. Fire Chief Evaluation. Commissioner Kaoiwi thanked the HFC. If he can be of help in the future, please call on him. The HFD has come a long way with Chief Oliveira. Noni Sanford announced that the next volunteerÓs meeting is January 10 in Naalehu. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: __________________________ MARTHA A. RODILLAS Secretary B&C:Fire Commission:Regular Session Minutes 9-10-03 LSA/mr 7