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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-03-19 Fire Commission Regular Minutes HAWAI‘I COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES MARCH 19, 2013 PUNA CONFERENCE ROOM HAWAI‘I COUNTY BUILDING CALL TO ORDER Chair Toby Taniguchi called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Toby Taniguchi, Chair Laurie Bass, Commissioner Gregory Henkel, Commissioner Kimo Lee, Commissioner Luahiwa Namahoe, Commissioner Kaloa Robinson, Commissioner Excused: Byron Moku, Vice Chair Carol Kitaoka A quorum was present. Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Victorino, Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Krug, Volunteer Fire Chief William Brilhante, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary David De Luz, Jr., Incoming Commissioner Recess was called at 10:05 a.m. to acknowledge commissioners Henkel and RobinsonÓs years of service on the commission. This was their last meeting. The meeting reconvened at 10:08 a.m. APPROVAL OF 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 OF FEBRUARY 13, 2013 Commissioner Bass moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Robinson seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 19, 2013 Page 2 FIRE CHIEF’S REPORT Chief Rosario highlighted items on his written report. BUDGET Fiscal Year 2012-13: They are 8 months into the fiscal year. Expenditures should be about 66%. Total spending is at 68.51%. Overtime is at nearly 100% of budget, 100% for fire protection and 80% for EMS. The main causes for the overtime were the Kona brushfires, shortage in MICT positions, and fire equipment maintenance. The mechanics are required to take two furlough days off during the month. In order to do necessary repair and maintenance of equipment, they have to work overtime when they return to work. Compensatory time off is also a reason for overtime. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, when an employee requests compensatory time off, the department must grant the comp time unless it creates an operational deficiency. Overtime pay cannot be used for as a reason for operational deficiency. They get a large amount of comp time requests and have to fill positions with overtime. The EMS overtime is primarily due to shortage in MICT positions. All nine fire fighters are back from the MICT Program. They have been placed in vacant positions on a temporary assignment basis. They should see a reduction in overtime in that area. They were able hire another mechanic. They are adjusting shortfalls by transferring accounts as allowed by the County Charter. Fiscal Year 2013-14: They received their budget proposal back from the MayorÓs Office and the Department of Finance. Funding for 15 unfunded f positions, apparatus replacement for HonokaÒa and KeaÒau, as well as a tanker apparatus for the second battalion was not approved. Their budget increase proposals to cover continuous shortfalls in salaries and wages and equipment and apparatus maintenance were also not approved. They have their budget hearing on April 10 where they will be asking the Council to amend their budget to include the requested items. The Finance Department informed him that the fiscal situation of the county is still very tight. They were given a directive to submit a status quo budget, but he put in a strong argument that their status quo budget is continually being shorted, especially areas of fire maintenance and salaries and wages. They will make presentation to the Council and Mayor again to justify the importance of their proposals. ALTERNATIVE FUNDING AND GRANTS FY 2012 CDBG Grant for Pahoa Tanker: This is for a 3,000 gallon tanker. The chassis is being built by Peterbuilt, and Freedom Fire Equipment in Marietta, Georgia will do the final assembly. They anticipate completion in June. FY 2012 SAFER Grant: The grant was not approved for funding. The information they received was that they did not see the justification on why the positions could HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 19, 2013 Page 3 not be funded or filled by other means. They were notified earl due to the federal sequestration, they would see impacts to their programs but not to prior awards. FY 2012 Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Application: This is for the fire fighterÓs safety SCBA course as well as additional ambulance for Ocean Vie not received word yet. FY 2013 CDBG Grant for Waiakea Quint Apparatus: The grant proposal was approved for the full $800,000. They must wait for appropriatio HawaiÒi County. They will be having community meetings to discuss the grant. Capital Improvement Projects: A current overview of ongoing projects may include but not limited to: Kawailani Fire Station Replacement: No update. Hpuna Water Safety Tower: Chief Kosaki attended the DLNR board hearing last month. They were granted approval to place the tower on the north side of the State protected area of the beach. They are still waiting for building permits and then assembly on the beach. This is a longstanding project in which they have had to wait for action by other agencies. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES UPDATE : Chief Rosario reported that last month he met with Council Members Ilagan, Onishi, Poindexter, Yoshimoto, and Kern. He gave them an introduction to the Fire Department. They wanted to know what fire service is like in their districts and what they are looking for in the future. He informed them that they would like full staffing of the stations and upgrades to the four stations that are currently understaffed Î Waikoloa, Laupahoehoe, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, and Hawaiian Paradise Park. These stations have only two person equipment operator and a fire fighter. The Ocean View and Waikoloa station have two assigned medics. He visited two stations this month. There were no major negative concerns. They completed a draft of their application selection procedures the Department of Human Resources. The County made changes to its own application procedures, so changes were made to their draft. They are moving on with the Fire Fighter Recruit class in May and are looking at options for paying the last two months of the year. They have not been able to meet with Corporation Counsel to go over the volunteer requirements and liabilities of the County. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 19, 2013 Page 4 HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION Recruitments Internal recruitment: A Fire Rescue Specialist promotion will be effective March 1. A Battalion Chief assessment center is scheduled for May 24 for three candidates. Open-competitive recruitment: A Fire Radio Dispatcher I was hired on February 19. A Fire Fighter recruitment has been initiated with a targeted hire date of May 1. Two Water Safety Officer I recruitments have been initiated, with one for a temporary summer hire. Labor Relations: A Water Safety Officer termination arbitration hearing is scheduled for May. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION Operations: Thirty personnel participated in dive rescue training conducted by Deputy Chief Victorine. This is in addition to their basic training. Personnel will be participating in a dive rescue instructor training on Oahu paid for by the Sayre Foundation. They conducted hydrogen emergency response training for a new UH project. Special Operations Hazmat: Hazmat Company 21, B Platoon, won a statewide award in which they scored 100%. Hazmat equipment is very expensive, and they conducting research to identify outside sources for funding. Rescue: They continue with monthly mandatory rescue drills for regular rescue and temporarily assigned personnel. They are working with HCOA to procure more equipment for the Project Lifesaver Program. Ocean Safety: The HFD Aquatics Certification Program Policy was sent to HGEA for consultation. They had to be made to understand that they were not being down graded. They are aquatics certified under USLA within the fire department. Safety Committee: There were concerns for PPE cleaning, respir protection program, AAR at all multi-company incidents, reviewing of IA and accident reports, staffing, health, and safety. Makalei does PP the west side and Hawaiian Linen does east side cleaning. There was an EMS incident caused by carbon monoxide at a private residence at the Mauna Kea Fairways. A summary of the event will be dispersed to members of the department to make them aware of possible hazards when responding to incidents. Safety committee minutes will be available for viewing by members. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 19, 2013 Page 5 SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION EMS Bureau: Eight MICT students passed the National Registry Cognitive exam. The final step is the National Registry written exam is scheduled for early March. The EMT class started on February 25. They are undergoing a new EMT basic training curriculum. Two new ambulances were delivered to Pahoa Chris Honda is conducting an ongoing ÐHands on CPRÑ program at Waiakeawaena School. st Training Bureau: The 41 Fire Fighter Recruit class completed all fire related training. They are currently in EMT training and are scheduled to finish in early May. Graduation is scheduled for mid-May. Captain Okinaka and Assistant Chief Arbles participated in a brainstorming meeting with members of the Joint Training Facility at KMR and other community first responders. The objective was to give attendees an orientation of the facility and its capabilities, offer its use, and prepare for future training. Volunteer Training Bureau: Training continues. They continue to work on the volunteer SOGs. Volunteer Chief Krug reported that they continue to have problems with their pagers with toning and messaging. He is working with Chief Honda to have Pacific Wireless come to their meeting at the training room at Central Station. The date of the next meeting has not yet been confirmed. Meetings have been well- attended. Prevention Bureau: Captain Todd and BC Andrade satisfactorily completed the courtroom preparation and testimony course on Oahu. They have two vacancies in the Prevention Bureau which are currently filled with temporary assignments. Their prevention staff is working simultaneously with five very large UHH projects to ensure they are being built properly and to code. Dispatch: Installation of the new Intrado system should be completed by March 13. A new dispatcher trainee started on February 19. Auxiliary Services/Warehouse: They continue with the T/A program for the vacant Battalion Chief of Auxiliary Services. They have three candidates. Maintenance Shop: Chief Rosario stated that he would like to thank Chief Mechanic Glenn Maesato and his staff for their hard work in the maintenance shop to ensure the equipment is properly repaired and put out. They are almost finished with the volunteer trucks that they bought from California. They continue to work with Public Works on the roofing project for the maintenance shop. It is a large ongoing project. During the last heavy rains, they had to stop work in the maintenance shop and cover the equipment and helicopter with tarps. The roof is HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 19, 2013 Page 6 scheduled for replacement, but they have to work with Public Wor Internet connection is still an issue. EMPLOYEE/PUBLIC RELATIONS: Fire Fighter recruits conducted community projects. They did vital sign checks and assisted in a heart attack and stroke awareness presentation at the Kamana Senior Center. They did the same thing at Life Care Center of Hilo, mostly for family visiting the patient Chief Rosario gave his sincere mahalo to Commissioners Greg Henkel and Kaloa Robinson for their vote of confidence in selecting him as Chief, their participation on the commission, their friendship, and the time they put in as volunteers. COMMITTEE REPORTS Budget and Finance (Committee Chair Taniguchi): No report. Office Management and Staffing (Committee Chair Taniguchi) Î 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. Recess was called at 11:02 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 11:13 a.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Namahoe moved to meet in executive session to consi charges of employees where consideration of matters affecting privacy would be involved and a closed session is requested, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commissionÓs powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and HawaiÒi County Charter Section 13- Complaint No. HCFC 13-01 20(b). Specifically, they would be investigating in which the complainant alleged that an off-duty lifeguard drove recklessly by him and then yelled at him in trying to provoke a fight, harassed, slandered, and threatened him. Commissioner Henkel seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:15 a.m. Open session reconvened at 12:35 p.m. HawaiÒi County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes March 19, 2013 Page 7 Commissioner Robinson moved to defer Complaint HCFC 13-01 to the allow them more time to research and study the evidence of the complaint. Commissioner Bass seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Taniguchi announced that the next meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 12, 2013, 10:00 a.m., Puna Conference Room, Suite 1501, HawaiÒi County Building, 25 Aupuni St., Hilo, HawaiÒi. Chair Taniguchi announced that items for the next monthly meeting agenda should be directed to him or Ms. Pelayo. Collection of files and documents Î Done. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Henkel moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Robinson seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 12:40 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: TOBY TANIGUCHI, CHAIR