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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-10 Fire Commission Regular Minutes HAWAI‘I COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES OCTOBER 10, 2012 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM HILO, HAWAI‘I CALL TO ORDER Chair Toby Taniguchi called the meeting to order at 10:08 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Toby Taniguchi, Chair Laurie Bass, Commissioner Gregory Henkel, Commissioner Kimo Lee, Commissioner Byron Moku, Commissioner Excused: Carol Kitaoka, Commissioner Luahiwa Namahoe, Commissioner Kaloa Robinson, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Wayne Krug, Volunteer Fire Chief Lincoln Ashida, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Henkel moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Bass seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2012 Commissioner Lee moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Henkel seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. FIRE CHIEF’S REPORT HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION Hiring and Promotions: Fire Chief Rosario presented three new fire dispatchers and eighteen fire fighter recruits. Each person introduced themselves to the commission. The Chief also introduced his training staff. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes October 10, 2012 Page 2 Chief Rosario summarized items on his written report: BUDGET 2012-13 Budget: First quarter, expenditures are at 29%. They strive to be around 25%, but this includes monies encumbered and may have not been spent yet. Overtime is high, but they are running with 27 vacant positions, twelve of which is unfunded fire fighter positions, and six are fire medical specialist positions. That is where the bulk of their overtime is occurring. However, they have 10 fire fighter students in MICT School projected to graduate in January. 2013-14 Budget: The budget is due on November 1. They were given a directive for no changes from last year, so they could not make any major changes. They could move things around in the budget, but the bottom dollar figure had to remain the same. All departments were asked to look at ways to cut their budget. They had no room to cut other than services. He was allowed to submit supplemental budget requests for two additional 3,000 gallon tanker apparatus and resubmittals for an additional fire mechanic and 12 unfunded positions. They were declined last year, but they will continue to resubmit in hopes that they will eventually be able to finance some of those. If the supplemental budget item is approved, the funding is placed into the operating budget. ALTERNATIVE FUNDING AND GRANTS FY 2011 CDBG Grant for Pahoa Apparatus: Chief Rosario, Deputy Victorine, and Chief Glenn Honda of Support Services went to Appleton, Wisconsin last week to inspect the apparatus along with two additional apparatuses. Minor discrepancies from their bid specifications were noted and are being addressed. Once they are done, they will get a shipment date. The apparatuses are for Pahoa, Kaumana, and Kawailani. FY 2012 CDBG Grant for Pahoa Tanker: They applied for a 3,000 gallon tanker for the Pahoa district. The bid proposal is currently open until October 17. FY 2012 SAFER Grant: They have not yet received notification on whether the grant was approved or declined. FY 2012 Assistance to Fire Firefighters Grant Application: They have not yet received notification on whether the grant was approved or declined. Capital Improvement Projects Makalei Fire Station: The contractor is still doing electrical testing. They are working on two dates for the blessing, October 22 or 27 at 9:00 a.m. Ka’u Public Safety Package: The slabs for the volunteer garages in Naalehu and Pahala were laid down. Both garages are almost completed. Inspections Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes October 10, 2012 Page 3 and approvals need to be done before they occupy them. This project has taken several years. Hpuna Water Safety Tower: The tower is at Station 14, but they are still waiting for legal opinion from Corporation Counsel as to whether they can place the tower on the beach. The intent of the tower was to place a water safety officer overlooking the north end of the beach that fronts the Hpuna Beach Resort. If they were to place it on County/State shared property, it would be right up against the existing tower which would not be feasible. The problem is with easement. Corporation Counsel Ashida will follow up. HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION Hiring and Promotions: Recruitments are still ongoing. They are now focused on their support services and ocean safety areas. They rank positions for fire operations are nearly 100% completed. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION Special Operations Hazmat: Battalion Chief Kosaki, who is part of a joint task force formed by the Mayor’s Office to address the community’s concern with the Puna Geothermal Venture site, attended a Leilani community meeting with Mayor Kenoi, Civil Defense, and PGV personnel. People walked away from the meeting more comfortable about the Fire Department’s capabilities. Rescue: They are looking for a blue link capabilities for their helicopter radio system. This is a low item cost that would allow them to use the helicopter’s headsets to speak directly to a person on a cell phone. Ocean Safety: They continually get requests to formulate an ocean safety jet- ski program. BC Kosaki met with personnel from the Kauai Fire Department who has a very successful ocean safety jet-ski program to get information to present to Council and community members. A jet-ski with the minimum requirement geared for rescue capabilities costs $12,000. According to the Kauai Fire Department, equipment for a safe, successful program would cost about $20,000. The Sayre Foundation has been a proponent to get the jet-ski program going. They support this program, but they have to get out of the financial downturn that the county is at. The most significant thing about the program is training and appropriate manpower. When the jet ski goes out, it should have two people, an operator and a grabber. The Hpuna Beach and Isaac Hale areas would benefit the most. They would have to create new positions, but the Mayor and the Council are not creating new positions. Three lifeguard towers were again vandalized and broken into. However, they had already taken steps to remove the equipment on a daily basis. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes October 10, 2012 Page 4 SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION EMS Bureau: They continue their partnership with community groups such as the Hawaii Island Workforce and Economic Development Ohana (HIWEDO) for funding, trading opportunities, and grants. Training Bureau: At the beginning of the meeting they met the first official fire fighter recruit class under his administration. The Hawai‘i County Fire Department hosted the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Safety course in Hilo. This is the national organization that certifies and licenses their Emergency Medical Technicians. Fifty-two people from across the state attended. Volunteer Training Bureau: Volunteer Fire Chief Wayne Krug reported that their fire prevention demonstration will be held this weekend at Bayfront. The volunteers will setup a recruitment booth. They will also have some of their apparatuses and equipment for the public to view. They are planning a multi- company wet drill in November. The next association meeting will be in Miloli’i at the community center on November 17, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. Chief Rosario reported that they met with the Anekona, Ouli, Kanehoa (AOK) Association regarding a site for a volunteer station. The locked gate is an issue. In attendance were subdivision members, Corporation Counsel, Volunteer Captain Shattack, Guido Gaicometti head of the AOK, and their attorney Alan Okamoto. AOK is looking at putting up the building with its own funds. Chief Rosario reported that they continue to work with the Four Seasons and Kukio Resorts. They still need to meet with all the people involved and come to a resolution to form one company. Four Seasons is allowing their employees to assist on property but not off property. Prevention Bureau: They continue to assist the Department of Liquor Control with large parties and events where liquor is served. They help to ensure that the occupancy load does not exceed the safe limits and assist with enforcement. They are working with the County’s Office of Housing for the elderly in getting their life safety and fire protection appliances up to code. A big part of the fire department is prevention. The elderly is one of the highest targeted prevention areas. In their EMS Division, they have a program called “Injured Prevention Program” in which when they recognize things in the homes of the elderly that can be corrected, they get agencies involved so they can do home visits and provide them information for prevention. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes October 10, 2012 Page 5 In response to questions, Chief Rosario stated that the fire in Kona was contained on the first day. The problem was with the Kiawe trees that continue to burn, so they have a daily crew out there to work on hot spots. The fire was small, but it was in a dangerous location. Some residents had to be evacuated. NEW PROJECTS/BUSINESS 2013 Grant Opportunities: For the CDBG 2013 grants, they were able to submit their proposals to the Department of Housing for the Mayor’s approval. For this year, the districts of Ka’u, lower Puna, and Keaukaha fell into a CDBG applicable area. Some of the proposals are for a fire pumper quint for the Keaukaha district. Quint is a newer type of fire truck with a straight ladder of about 75 ft. on the top. It is applicable for multi-story structures in Keaukaha. It will also assist in Downtown Hilo. General cost is upwards of $800,000 to $850,000. They have also put in a proposal for brush trucks for the Ka’u district for off-road fire fighting activities. They will continue to apply yearly for the CBDG grant EMPLOYEE/PUBLIC RELATIONS Fire Prevention Week: Activities will be on Saturday at 10:00 in the Hilo Bayfront area. The usually do it in Hilo and Kona, but the Ironman Competition is in Kona. Ironman Competition: They work closely with Ironman who has been very giving of the Fire Department. They are providing two chief officers to assist with two aspects, fire and EMS. Ironman is pretty much self-sustained as far as EMS, but there have been times where they had to transport to Kona Hospital. The will also be assisting with their rescue boat. Chair Taniguchi inquired about the feasibility of a secondary mechanic shop in Leeward Hawai‘i. Chief Rosario stated that the previous administration looked into doing more repairs on the west side. There was talk about integrating their mechanics back into the Department of Public Works. However, they were not fully supportive of that because Public Works prioritizes all its repairs. Being in public safety, they strive to be self- sustaining. They have been submitting supplemental budget requests for additional mechanics. It was declined last year. The current staffing is the same as back in 1990. Some of the added costs to the maintenance shop have been a strong argument for purchasing new equipment. Chair Taniguchi inquired about social media. Chief Rosario stated that they were given approval to use and amend the Police Department’s guide to social media. It is being reviewed by Corporation Counsel. They want to be sure they do not step on a person’s right to freedom of speech. Also, EMS is bound to HIPPA regulations. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance (Committee Chair Taniguchi): No report. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes October 10, 2012 Page 6 Office Management and Staffing (Committee Chair Taniguchi). 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. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Moku moved to meet in executive session to discuss the annual evaluation of Fire Chief Rosario to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai‘i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Lee seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:10 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 11:25 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Taniguchi announced that the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., at the North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, 67-1125 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela. Hawai‘i. Items for next monthly meeting agenda: No discussion. Collection of files and documents: Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: TOBY TANIGUCHI, CHAIR