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Home My WebLink About2016-08-17 Fire Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES AUGUST 17, 2016 WEST HAWAII CIVIC CENTER, BUILDING G CONFERENCE ROOM 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HIGHWAY, KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair De Luz called the meeting to order at 9:12 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: David De Luz, Chair Robert Becker, Vice Chair Marcella St. Ambrogio, Commissioner Scott Susman, Commissioner Mapuana Waipa, Commissioner Ralph Yawata, Commissioner Absent: Kimo Lee, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Darren Rosario, Fire Chief Gantry Andrade, Assistant Fire Chief Glen Honda, Assistant Fire Chief Paul Lakin, Volunteer Commander William Brilhante, Assistant Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chief Rosario reported that the promotions process presentation will be rescheduled. Commissioner Waipa motioned to approve the agenda with that change. Commissioner St. Ambrogio seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None) APPROVAL OF MINUTES • July 20, 2016, regular session: Commissioner Susman motioned to approve the minutes. Vice Chair Becker seconded, and it carried unanimously. • July 20, 2016, executive session: Commissioner Susman motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner St. Ambrogio seconded, and it carried unanimously. DISCUSSION ON FIRE CHIEF'S WRITTEN REPORT Chief Rosario highlighted items from his written report: • Budget and Finance: The 2016/17 budget is status quo other than S & W increases. The 2017/18 budget will probably be status quo also, except for S & W. Things will probably change with the new administration. Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes August 17, 2016 Page 2 • Alternative Funding and Grants: The 2015 CDBG Pahoa Brush Truck is expected to arrive on August 31. The 2016 CDBG for a Wildland Pumper Apparatus should be going out to bid in a couple of weeks. They received notification of award for the 2015 AFG replacement of Self -Contained Breathing Apparatus. This is a $1.5 million FEMA grant, 90% funded by the Federal Government and 10% by the County. This grant is for 211 units, and they will bid for an upgrade. They continue to work on the 2016 Office of Aging Grant for a new position that identifies people of need who call them often for non -emergencies. Vice Chair Becker suggested they look for fire equipment grants through the Department of the Interior. • Human Resources Division: They are moving forward on the temporary Fire/EMS Specialist Ill position for West Hawaii. They have been busy working on documentation for pay adjustments for all employees. • Emergency Operations Division ✓ Operations: They responded to smoke in a cockpit at the Hilo International Airport. They did an aircraft rescue of two adults who were swept to sea from the Hakalau River. They participated in the Volcano Village Independence Day Parade. They responded to eight brush fires in West Hawaii. ✓ Special Operations: Two Hazmat personnel will attend the Response to Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies training in Nevada and the Prevention and Response to Suicide Bombing Incident training in New Mexico. Three personnel will attend the Hazmat Continuing Challenge Conference in California. ✓ Rescue: They held the Jr. Lifeguard Island Championships on July 30th with 80 participants. They will take 12 participants to the State Championships on Maui on August 6th • Support Services Division ✓ Training: They had 100% recruit graduation. Twenty-four out of twenty-five recruits completed the National Registry EMT testing. ✓ Volunteer Training: Volunteer Commander Paul Lakin reported that training continues. They have been very busing fighting fires on the west side. Recruitment is going good. Equipment is aging, but the Chief does his best. The batteries for their new radios drain quickly. They would like to have a spare battery and charging system for their vehicle. Chief Rosario stated that this would be new equipment, and it has to go through their supplemental budget. Their concerns have been referred to AC Honda. The next captains' meeting will be on November 19. Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes August 17, 2016 Page 3 ✓ EMS Bureau: Six out of eight MICT class personnel completed their MICT internship assignment. They are scheduled to take the final exam on August 8 and will receive their temporary State MICT license upon successful completion. They will be reimbursed for their costs when they get their State license. They coordinated the medical tent at the third annual Hilo Triathlon. They assisted with the coordination of resources for the annual RIMPAC exercise. ✓ Prevention Bureau: They investigated eight fires. The arson K9 was used in two structure fires with positive alerts on both. They participated in a public safety event at the Hilton Waikoloa. They continue with the Smoke Alarm Home Inspection Program. Chair De Luz suggested they contact the Boy Scouts, as an Eagle Project, to assist them with this. They destroyed approximately 7,415 lbs. of old, damaged, and unwanted fireworks. ✓ Auxiliary Services: BC Kazuo Todd is working on their Sharepoint site for online forms and tracking of repairs, hydrant usage, equipment supply, etc. They are working with the EMS Bureau for Warehouse Management System programs to track stock and processing orders. ✓ Dispatch: Meetings are planned for the Spillman CAD System. They received $60,000 for new dispatch terminals from the E911 Board. They are pushing for a Police and Fire Dispatch Center. When calls are made to 911, police dispatchers answer and route the calls. Fire is independent of police. ✓ Warehouse: A contract for the new site has been delayed until September 1. • New Projects: They want the new Haihai Station to be done right, so they don't have an immediate need to finish by the anticipated date. • Employee/Public Relations: The met with the unions to discuss concerns. • Other Departmental Activities: They are having daily face-to-face meetings with their office supervisors. His staff has been asked to come to him directly rather than sending emails. When they meet, they follow-up with an email summary of their discussion. He will update his Program of Work at the next meeting. In response to questions about EMS, Chief Rosario stated that his team did an excellent job in trying to get an additional EMS in Puna, but it came down to politics. The Department of Health has been very much on their side, but they can't do anything without funding. Our island has a large demographic with no transportation. They have a contract with AMR to handle those type of calls. Hawaii Fire Commission Regular Session Minutes August 17, 2016 Page 4 COMMITTEE REPORTS (There were no reports.) • Budget and Finance • Office Management and Staffing (De Luz) • Rules and Policies • Public Relations (Lee) • Training and Education (Waipa) • Rules and Regulations Review Committee Chair De Luz stated that at the last meeting he suggested two people on each committee and suggested people for the committees. The committees should work with Chief on his Program of Work. EXECUTIVE SESSION (Closed to the public.) Commissioner Yawata 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 liabilities; and to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawaii County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Waipa seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:50 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 2:02 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS • Chair De Luz announced that the next meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2016, 9:00 a.m., Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, Hawaii. • Collection of files and documents. (Done.) ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Susman motioned to adjourn. Commissioner Yawata seconded, and it carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 2:08 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: DAVID DE LUZ, JR., CHAIR