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Home My WebLink About2013-09-11 Fire Commission Regular Minutes HAWAI‘I COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 WEST HAWAI‘I CIVIC CENTER CALL TO ORDER Chair Toby Taniguchi called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Toby Taniguchi, Chair Byron Moku, Vice Chair David De Luz, Jr., Commissioner Carol Kitaoka, Commissioner Kimo Lee, Commissioner Mapuana Waipa, Commissioner Excused: Laurie Bass, Commissioner Luahiwa Namahoe, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Renwick Victorino, Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Krug, Volunteer Fire Chief T. J. James, Volunteer Fire Captain Margaret Masunaga, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner De Luz motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Waipa seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF AUGUST 14, 2013 Commissioner Waipa motioned to approve the regular session minutes. Commissioner De Luz seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Commissioner De Luz motioned to approve the executive session minutes. Commissioner Waipa seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Minutes of September 11, 2013 Page 2 FIRE CHIEF’S REPORT BUDGET STATUS Fiscal Year 2013/2014 expenditures are on track at 19.88% with the payroll lag. The department is tracking salaries and wages, overtime, and equipment maintenance. A budget workshop will be held on Thursday where they will get direction from the Mayor’s Office. ALTERNATIVE FUNDING AND GRANTS FY 2012 CDBG Grant for Pahoa Tanker: It arrives in Hilo today (9/11/13), but they will not be able to get it until Friday (9/13/13). FY 2012 Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Application: Still waiting for Council approval. FY 2012 Assistance to Fire Fighters Prevention Grant Application: Still waiting for Council approval. FY 2013 CDBG Grant for Waiakea Quint: This an $800,000 grant for a ladder truck. Bid specifications were finalized and sent to the purchasing department. Capital Improvement Projects Kawailani Fire Station Replacement: AC Honda will attend the DLNR Board meeting on Oahu to provide testimony in support of land acquisition. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES UPDATE Chief Rosario reported that he wants to improve communication by continuing to go out to the stations. Department personnel are appreciative when he shows up to talk with them, and he does not put a time limit on his visits. The volunteer SOGs are still being worked on. HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION Recruitments Internal recruitments within the Department: There was no interest in the full- time positions for Punalu’u. They will recruit for WSO II first. If they do not get any applicants, they will then recruit for WSO I. (Commissioner Kitaoka arrived at 10:23 a.m.) Internal recruitments within the County: Selection of the Human Resources Assistant is pending approval by the SRC. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Minutes of September 11, 2013 Page 3 Open-competitive recruitments: The temporary WSO I summer hires ended on August 15. The Accountant IV hire date is September 1. Labor Relations: The termination of a WSO II was sustained. Arbitration of a WSO’s two suspensions is pending. A Step 3 grievance for a Fire Fighter is pending. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION Operations: The Daniel Sayre Foundation dinner was held on August 31 at the Fairmont Orchid. It was a sold-out event that honored numerous personnel for various incidents throughout 2012 and 2013. The Foundation gifts equipment to the Fire Department. Special Operations Ocean Safety: Two WSO summer hires ended in August and another will end in September. Recruitment of two full-time WSOs for Punalu’u is being processed. HGEA’s new BU 14 for Ocean Safety passed. The procurement process has begun to purchase five new lifeguard towers for Hilo and Puna. st Training: The 41 Fire Fighter recruit class is finishing its criteria for nd reallocation to Fire Fighter status. The 42 Fire Fighter recruit class finished their fire essentials curriculum, driver training, and swimming requirements. FEO Chris Carvalho is the new driver trainer and is working on updating the training program. The First Responder recertification was completed for West Hawai’i, and additional classes will be conducted in Hilo. Volunteer: Chief Rosario reported that they received the 5-ton truck for HOVE volunteers. Chief Mechanic Glenn Maesato is working on retrofitting it for the department. Public Works checked the Volcano water tanks for safety concerns. Volunteer Station 7A notified them that they will be shutting down their operations on September 17. 7A’s tanker will be transferred to another location where it is needed. The volunteer SOGs and district boundaries are being reviewed. Volunteer Fire Chief Krug reported that the meeting in Pahala was well- attended. He thanked Chair Taniguchi for his attendance. A number of topics were discussed. The use of cameras was clarified. Problems with the pagers have improved, but it is still not quite right; calls are being cut off. It could be a programming issue. They are still working on brush boots. They are doing driver assessment training.He is working on a volunteer call-out log. Chair Taniguchi stated that having a volunteer incident call-out log would help the department when making decisions on providing equipment. Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Minutes of September 11, 2013 Page 4 Chief Rosario stated his schedule occasionally conflicts with the (Saturday) quarterly volunteer meetings. He stated he was willing to meet on other days/hours if that would help. SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION EMS Bureau: Over 500 people within the community have been trained in Hands Only CPR. Training will continue throughout the island with high school th seniors being first. The 13 Annual EMS Fun Run was held in Hilo on August rd 3. HFD was awarded an $11,400 Highway Safety Grant to allow them to conduct child passenger restraint inspection stations and to provide replacement child safety seats to the public as needed.Six personnel started MICT training in August at the KCC EMS Training Center in Hilo. This is a year-long training, part of which will be done on Oahu. Prevention Bureau: They met with the Public Works Building Department, Department of Water Supply, and the Planning Departments with regards to policies that affect the Fire Code. They also met with the County Council to explain changes that will affect their constituents. They started coordination efforts for the Fire Fighter Safety Guide Program to teach basic life safety skills and dealing with emergencies for Keikis grades K-6. They started coordination for Fire Prevention Week scheduled for October 5 in Hilo and October 26 in Kona. Dispatch: The change to the Intrado System has been completed. Training on the system continues. Three new dispatchers continue with their extended probationary training. Auxiliary Services/Warehouse: They received the Draft Commander Mobile Apparatus that will enable the department to perform annual pump (“draft”) testing of the department’s apparatuses. Maintenance Shop: F-1, AC-2, and Chief Mechanic traveled to Florida for a preconstruction meeting and to observe how a pumper is built. They are still having computer connectivity issues. They need to replace the computer, but they do not have a budget for it. Commissioner De Luz will look into donating a computer. In response to Commissioner Kitaoka’s inquiry about a maintenance person for Kona, Chief Rosario stated that they received approval to fill the position and will do an internal recruitment first. NEW PROJECTS/BUSINESS HFD will be hosting the Hawai‘i Fire Chiefs’ Association Conference November 8-9, 2013, at the Mauna Lani Resort. Prestigious educators and administrators in fire Hawai‘i County Fire Commission Minutes of September 11, 2013 Page 5 service will be participating in the conference. This conference will be attended by leaders of fire service from throughout the United States. COMMITTEE REPORTS/UPDATES Budget and Finance (Committee Chair Taniguchi): No report. Office Management and Staffing (Committee Chair Taniguchi): No report. Rules and Policies (Committee Chair Lee): No report. Public Relations (Committee Chair Moku): No report. Training and Education (Committee Chair Namahoe): None. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Taniguchi announced that the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 9, 2013, 10:00 a.m., at the North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, Mauna Kea-Mauna Loa Conference Rooms, 67-1125 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, Hawai‘i. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPOVED BY: TOBY TANIGUCHI, CHAIR