Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-01-11 Fire Commission Minutes HAWAI‘I COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JANUARY 11, 2012 THE HILO LAGOON CENTRE CALL TO ORDER Chair Taniguchi called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Toby Taniguchi, Chair Laurie Bass, Commissioner Gregory Henkel, Commissioner Byron Moku, Commissioner Luahiwa Namahoe, Commissioner Excused: Kimo Lee, Commissioner Kaloa Robinson, Commissioner Scott Stabo, Vice Chair Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Renwick Victorino, Deputy Fire Chief Tom Brandt, Volunteer Fire Chief Michael Udovic, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL AGENDA Commissioner Namahoe moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Î None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES November 9, 2011: Commissioner Namahoe moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Henkel seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. December 14, 2011: Commissioner Moku moved to approve the regular session minutes with a correction to Commissioner NamahoeÓs name. Commissioner Henkel seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. The executive session minutes was deferred to the next meeting. CHIEF’S REPORT Fire Chief Darren Rosario highlighted activities within the Fire Department. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 11, 2012 Page 2 Budget: County Finance reviewed their budget. There were few changes which dealt with separating EMS and Fire. Alternative Funding and Grants FEMA FY 2009 Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant: They are worki and training issues. The next application period is due June 15. FY 2010 CDBG for Pahala Tanker (Community Development Block Gra Delivered to Pahala in December. A representative provided trai FY 2011 CDBG for Pahoa Apparatus (Community Development Block Grant): $600,000 grant awarded for new pumper for the area. Another vendor submitted a protest for the apparatus in Pahoa, Kawailani, and Kaumana. Capital Improvement Projects Makalei Fire Station: ItÓs currently running two months ahead of schedule, and they may move into the area in June. During construction, fiber optics were built into the infrastructure. It cost $18,000 from their budget. KaÒ Public Safety Package PunaluÒu Ocean Safety Tower: They have temporary power on site. Bid specs for a new tower is at County Purchasing. It will take abo months to build. NÒlehu and Phala Volunteer Garages: Bids specs are being handled by Public Works. Some items were missing from the package. They have not been able to get a timeline from Public Works. Pohoiki Radio Relocation: Project completed. Promotions and Hiring Internal Recruitments: Assessment requirements for two Assistant Chiefs have been completed. They will be put into temporary assignment while waiting for a permanent position. Promotions will be from in-house. They are working on assessments for two vacancies for Battalion Chiefs. There is a vacancies following promotions of the Assistant Chiefs. Promotions are very competitive. They are looking to make decisions by February 1. promotions will be done on January 16. Subsequently, the promotions could create vacancies. The fire equipment operator positions will be filled on February 1. They received approval for promotion of the fire rescue specialist. The human resource technician was filled from in-house. They are looking to replace the mechanic soon. They are in the process of applying for fire fighter recruitment in May. Emergency Operations Bureau Special Operations HazMat: They completed baseline screening. All personnel are scheduled for screening annually. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 11, 2012 Page 3 Rescue: The Sayre Foundation purchased equipment for rescue officers. Marker buoys were purchased to mark areas during water rescues. The equipment will make work safer for the water safety officers. Ocean Safety: They are trying to integrate personnel to be a part of the Fire Department. The PunaluÓu tower is being erected, and they are very happy with it. The tower for Hpuna is in the northern section of the beach. UV PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is being provided to personnel. Masks, snorkels, and fins were purchased for the water safety officers. They sent to HGEA procedures and policies for approval. Discipline will be more in line with fire personnel and will be progressive. Support Service Division EMS Bureau: They have gotten a lot of grant support. They are working with the HawaiÒi Island Fall Prevention Projection with Hilo Medical Center. ItÓs a grant that ties in the injury prevention side of EMS to try to assist people who are prone to fall within their home. th The 40 recruit class started advanced EMT training in December and will be graduating on January 28. EMS Section is dealing with a community paramedicine joint project with public health nurses to assist t they go out in the public with such things as flu shots and educ national trend is to move EMS to being proactive and trying to get the community active. EMS Bureau put out for the Beacon Grant. HawaiÒi County won 17 areas of money. The State Department of Health EMS Director does not look at this favorably because they wanted to keep it statewide. Thousands o applied, and HawaiÒi County was earmarked. They are very proud of this, and they donÓt want the State stepping in. This deals with their electronic care reporting system. Instead of handwriting charts, itÓs electronic. The State is tied in with another contractor, and they want to keep it the same. Commissioner Bass stated that the State is concerned that HawaiÒi County would be the first to pull away. This is for newer software/hardware. They will be receiving Assistance to FirefighterÓs Grant for seven Zoll EKG monitors. They conducted their Fire Medical Specialist II assessments. Four personnel qualified. Fourteen personnel will be starting the MICT program on January 17. Training Bureau: The training officer position is vacant. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 11, 2012 Page 4 Prevention Bureau: They are still conducting investigations, school reviews, and plant reviews. They also do fire investigations. Five of them are very busy. Auxiliary Services: They county is going through a mandated $80 million FCC radio system upgrade. They are looking for sites. Volunteer Training Section: Volunteer Fire Chief Tom Brandt reported that they will be having their quarterly volunteer firefightersÓ meeting on Saturday, January 14, at Waiki`i Ranch. Chair Taniguchi encouraged the co to attend this meeting. New Projects/Business: They are coming up with an arson task force which will tie in early with the police and prosecutor. This will help them collect evidence properly and ensure they are doing an investigation the right way. Employee/Public Relations: They are going through grievance and disciplinary processes for several employees. North Kohala had an incident i attacked an acting fire captain. The captain has since returned to work. The suspect was issued a no trespass notice. Additionally, Chief Rosario reported that they had only five documented fire works incidents which were small grass fires. They are short on maintenance due to the departure of a mechanic. Concerning a firefighter who was terminated, the arbitrator upheld the termination. They are looking very closely at the overtime budget for EMS. He could provide the commission with quarterly budget reports. Chair Taniguchi asked Chief Rosario to submit his monthly report to them before the meeting so they could read it ahead of time. At the meeting he could review a few important issues. The Chief agreed, but pointed out that some items relating to Employee Relations would be confidential. NEW BUSINESS Selection of Chair and Vice Chair of the Fire Commission for 2012: Commissioner Moku nominated Scott Stabo as Chair and Kimo Lee as Vice Chair. Since both were absent, Deputy Corporation Council Udovic suggested they keep the same Chair and Vice Chair until the next meeting. Commissioner Namahoe moved to keep the same Chair and Vice Chair in place until the next meeting. Commissioner Moku seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Namahoe tha Taniguchi for doing a fine job as Chair for the past year. The motion carried unanimously. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 11, 2012 Page 5 COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance (Committee Chair Taniguchi): No report. Office Management and Staffing (Committee Chair Stabo): No report. Rules and Policies (Committee Chair Lee): No report. Public Relations (Committee Chair Henkel): No report. Training and Education (Committee Chair Namahoe): No report. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Taniguchi announced that the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., at the North HawaiÒi Community Hospital Conference Room, 67-1125 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, HawaiÒi. Items for next monthly meeting agenda: No discussion. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Moku moved to adjourn. Commissioner Namahoe seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: TOBY TANIGUCHI, CHAIR