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Home My WebLink About2015-01-21 Fire Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII COUNTY FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JANUARY 21, 2015 WEST HAWAII CIVIC CENTER, BUILDING G CONFERENCE ROOM 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HIGHWAY, KAILUA-KONA, HI CALL TO ORDER Chair De Luz called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: David De Luz, Jr., Chair Kimo Lee, Vice Chair Carol Kitaoka, Commissioner Toby Taniguchi, Commissioner Mapuana Waipa, Commissioner Absent: Carol Ignacio, Commissioner Byron Moku, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Paul Lakin, Volunteer Commander Craig Masuda, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Taniguchi 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 DECEMBER 10, 2014 Commissioner Taniguchi motioned to approve the regular session minutes. Commissioner Kitaoka seconded, and it carried unanimously. FIRE CHIEF'S REPORT Fire Chief Rosario briefly reported on items from his written report: • BUDGET STATUS ➢ Fiscal Year 2014-2015: They are on track with budget spending despite expenditures in Pahoa. Arbitrated salary increases have not yet been funded, so they have a 12% and 15% variance. Some expenditures are due to the new Pahoa station. Services have not been cut. Hawaii County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 21, 2015 Page 2 ➢ Fiscal year 2015-2016: They had their initial budget meeting with the Finance Director. A supplemental request was submitted to purchase another tanker which will go to Kona. They have two tankers in Puna and one in Ka'u. A tanker for Waikoloa is being built. The AC of Operations is almost finished with the apparatus aging report. The Waikoloa apparatus will be replaced. • ALTERNATIVE FUNDING AND GRANTS ➢ Assistance to Fire Fighters Prevention Grant Programs: Chief Rosario was selected to be on the peer review committee. Over 5,000 grants were evaluated. Their grant request is to upgrade the helicopter with night vision capability, but he cannot review his own grant request. ➢ Community Development Block Grant Programs: This is for brush trucks. ➢ Capital Improvement Projects: Work on the new Haihai station continues. • HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION ➢ Recruitments ✓ Open -competitive recruitments: A fire mechanic retired, and the position will be filled in February. A paramedic promotion is being processed. ✓ Internal within department recruitments: Going through the process for Fire/Emergency Medical Services Specialist II, Fire Rescue Specialist, and Fire Prevention Captain. • EMERGENCY OPERATIONS DIVISION ➢ Operations: They have been doing a lot of public relations work. The lava flow is about .4 miles directly above the new Pahoa fire station. As a contingency plan, they have two containers in which they can pack up the station and move it to the new -old Pahoa fire station. The flow keeps stalling and moving north towards Ainaloa, and there were some brush fires in the area. Fire breaks were put in, and they requested to put in more, but the request was denied by the Federal Fish and Wildlife because of Hawaiian bats in the area. Chair De Luz pointed out that the Fire Department had a plan, but it was prohibited by the Federal Government. In East Hawaii, they participated in an Active Shooter and Weapons of Mass Destruction exercise at Hilo airport. They conducted search and rescues in Waipi'o Valley, Waimanu Valley, and in Puna. Orientation and training was conducted with Lifelight Helicopters in Leilani Estates. Lava assessment, surveys, and response protocols continue. In West Hawaii, they conducted search and rescue at Hapuna Beach which ended in recovery. Flash flood mitigation was done involving damage and closure of the Akoni Pule highway bridge. They continue to monitor the repair of the main water line feeding the community north of the Makapala/Niulii area. Hawaii County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 21, 2015 Page 3 Alternate water sources have been identified in case of structure and/or brush fire in the area. ➢ Special Operations ✓ Ocean Safety: The lifeguard tower at Honolii was installed by a private vendor who used a very large helicopter. Notice was placed in the newspaper that the beach would be closed during the installation. For the most part, the public did a great job of clearing the area. They did a lot of preparation and tried to minimize the impact to the community. Hats off to BC Kosaki who spear headed the project. They are now replacing the tower at Carlsmith Beach. The only one left to be replaced is at Kahului Beach Park. • SUPPORT SERVICES DIVISION ➢ Volunteer Training: Volunteer Commander Paul Lakin said new volunteer training started. Two companies in the Pahoa area have been helping with the brush fires. Most recruits received their three -in -one boots, and new recruits will be fitted later. Chief Rosario reported that the boots were funded by the County Council. The captains' meeting will be on February 21 at the Ainaloa Longhouse. Chair De Luz asked for a tentative schedule of the meetings and emphasized the importance of commissioners attending the meetings. ➢ Training Bureau: The 43rd Fire Fighter recruit class will graduate in May. The seven EMS licensed personnel will be going out to various medic units to start their evaluation period. 130 personnel have gone through the Fire Ground Survival Training. 20 personnel have gone through the Dive Rescue Specialist training in November and December. ➢ EMS Bureau: Chief attended the HEMSIS conference on Maui that focused on improving cardiac arrest survival rates and pre -hospital high performance CPR. ➢ Prevention Bureau: They had a small number of fire due to fireworks on New Years. ➢ Auxiliary Services: Three dispatchers recently resigned. It is a very difficult position to keep. Many of the dispatchers are young with families. Generally, they have three dispatchers at work. Police and fire dispatch systems are very different. • EMPLOYEE/PUBLIC RELATIONS: BC Lance Uchida was received the County of Hawaii Supervisor of the Year Award for 2014. COMMITTEE REPORTS/UPDATES • Budget and Finance (Committee Chair De Luz): No report. Hawai'i County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 21, 2015 Page 4 • Office Management and Staffing (Committee Chair Taniguchi): No report. Commissioner Taniguchi suggested that new committee members be appointed when new commissioners are appointed to the Fire Commission. • Rules and Policies (Committee Chair Kitaoka): No report. • Public Relations (Committee Chair Lee): No report. • Training and Education (Committee Chair Waipa): No report. APPROVAL OF EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES OF DECEMBER 10, 2014 Deputy Corporation Counsel Masuda stated that the minutes are very extensive and suggested the commission review the minutes further. Commissioner Taniguchi motioned to table this until the next meeting. Commissioner Waipa seconded, and it carried unanimously. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Revisions to the Fire Commission's Rules and Regulations: Chair De Luz stated that the rules have not been reviewed since it was originally written. There are some areas that need discussion. Since Commissioner Kitaoka is on the Rules and Policies Committee, he asked her to chair the committee on reviewing the rules. Since new commissioners will be coming on board, he will check with them about being on the committee. Commissioner Taniguchi motioned to appoint the committee now. There was no seconded, and the motion died. Chair De Luz appointed an ad hoc committee chaired by Commissioner Kitaoka. He also appointed Commissioners Lee and Waipa to be on the committee. He asked them to come up with recommendations within 6 months. Deputy Corporation Counsel Masuda stated that the committee members may meet anytime, anywhere without a meeting notice. They are to review the rules and regulations of the Fire Commission, but changes do not need to be made. They will work on it as a body. When it is done, they will have a public hearing prior to a meeting and vote on any recommendations. Chair De Luz stated that the commissioners are to forward their recommendations Ms. Pelayo who will then forward them to the committee. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Taniguchi motioned to meet in executive session to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities and to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai'i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Waipa seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:59 a.m. Hawaii County Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes January 21, 2015 Page 5 Regular session reconvened at 12:04 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair De Luz announced that the next monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 11, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. in the North Hawaii Education and Research Center (NHERC) Conference Room, 45-539 Plumeria St., Honoka`a, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:06 a.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: DAVID DE LUZ, JR., CHAIR