DeForest Area Fire Protection Board Meeting

Tuesday, October 11, 2016 5:30 PM
DeForest Fire Department, 305 E. Holum St.
Training Room

Minutes

1)Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Wipperfurth.

In attendance were: Bob Wipperfurth from the Village of Windsor, Ron Rupp from the Town of Vienna, Dave Tuschen from the Town of Hampden, Jim Foley from the Town of Leeds, Chief LaFeber, Fire Inspector Yaskal and Administrative Assistant Preston.

Judd Blau from the Village of DeForest arrived at 5:45 p.m. Attorney Leslie Sammon arrived at

2)Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance – Led by Rupp

3)Announcements –

  1. Pursuant to Section 19.85(1)(e) of the Wisconsin Statutes for the purpose of deliberating or negotiating the purchase of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session (review and discussion of bargaining proposals and status of negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement).

4)Appearances Before the Board – None

5)Comments/Volunteer Association – None

6)Approve Minutes:

  1. September 12, 2016 –Motion by Foley to approve. Seconded by Rupp. Motion carried 4-0.

7)Finance:

  1. Review and Approve Invoices Paid: 9/1/2016 – 9/30/2016Foley asked about the invoice for Squad 1 repair. LaFeber explained this was for brakes.
    Motion to approve by Foley, seconded by Tuschen. Motion carried 4-0.
  2. Review and Approve Fund/Account Balances –Wipperfurth stated that the Impact Fee monies may be used towards a future satellite station in Windsor. More information will follow. They are just beginning to explore this option. Motion to approve by Rupp, seconded by Foley. Motion carried 4-0.

8)Chief LaFeber’s Monthly Report/Action Items:

  1. Call Update –Busy month in September. Response times continue to be very good. Wipperfurth asked if he has found that there is a “competition” amongst the members to try and get out the door in good times? LaFeber stated that he feels that people just know that the trucks need to get out and they are making it happen. Wipperfurth said that the Board is really happy with the times.
  2. Call Response Data/WARDS Report – Preston let the Board know that the updates that were requested for the zone breakdowns were completed. Parkside Circle is now included in Windsor Proper, and Gray Road was broken down into East and West.
  3. Another grant was won. 50/50 with the DNR for approximately $4500.00 total. This will be used for red suits for extrication and foam.
  4. Regarding the EMS grant monies, there are funds that have to be spent on items that were not budgeted for. Some of the ideas that are being looked into are EMS coats (hi-visibility), ballistic vests, and training props.
  5. Danecom is less than 30-days out. Scheduled to go live 11/01/2016. We will need to get public works channels for the municipalities to have on hand.
  6. Interviews will take place for paid on-call members over the next couple of weeks.

9)Fire Inspector Report – Yaskal just returned from two weeks of fire investigation training in Maryland.

10)Old Business:

  1. Intergovernmental Agreement – Blau stated that the two Villages have worked out most of the issues regarding the intergovernmental agreement. A draft copy of a contract for Vienna was distributed to the Board so that it can be reviewed. Wipperfurth asked that Rupp, Tuschen and Foley take this draft document back to their respective Town Boards for review. He stated that he hopes that they will be able to come to next month’s meeting with authorization to advance this process to the next stage.

Wipperfurth went on to speak about the annual charge, stating that (as an example), the budget number in 2017 would be used as the “baseline” amount for the first year of the agreement, and there would be a small escalator for the second and third years of the three-year contract. The escalator could be 2% or 3%, he is unsure at this time.

There is also the value that the Towns have in the equipment that has been purchased over the years. Wipperfurth stated that he would like to enable the contracting townships to use those monies towards their 50% of their annual fees. Example: if they owe $10,000.00 for 2017, they could use $5,000.00 of their equipment value towards the 2017 payment.

Wipperfurth would like to get these agreements in place by the end of the year, if possible.

In regards to the makeup of the Board, there will be two members from the Village of DeForest, and two from the Village of Windsor. In the event of an impasse, the highest ranking Circuit Court Judge will appoint a retired judge to act as a mediator. And if needed, an arbitrator.

The name of the department will be DeForest Windsor Fire & EMS District.

  1. Budget – LaFeber briefly covered the where the department is year-to-date for the 2016 budget.

The equalized values have been obtained from the municipalities and entered into the current budget spreadsheet which was distributed to the Board. Wipperfurth stated that there will be additional discussion of the budget after closed session. At this time, Wipperfurth asked if the Board had any additional questions. There were none.

*Budget discussion resumed after closed session. Wipperfurth asked if there were any additional questions on the budget. There were none. Blau motioned to approve the budget. Seconded by Rupp. Motion carried 5-0.

  1. Billing for Fire Inspections – The Board asked that any person/business who receives a reinspection fee and doesn’t pay, that the issue be referred to the municipality, not the county. Motion by Foley, seconded by Rupp to approve with the above provision. Motion carried 5-0.
  1. Acknowledge Grant Writers – LaFeber and Preston have worked on options for a gift for this. Foley indicated that it would need to be clear as to why the money was spent on this type of item. Wipperfurth indicated that he is in full support of spending these funds given the results that were obtained. Preston stated that we have press releases and other documents. Foley motioned for $500.00 towards this gift, seconded by Tuschen. Motion carried 5-0.
  1. Hiring Process for Full-Time Opening – LaFeber told the board that first interviews had been done, and second interviews will be next week.
  1. Engine 1 Repairs – The total bill came to $11,020.00 after an initial estimate of $13,000.00. Motion by Blau, seconded by Rupp to pay this bill out of sinking fund savings. Motion carried 5-0.

11)New Business:

  1. Length of Service Award (LOSA) Program Change – Preston informed the Board thatLincoln Benefit Life currently administers the funds in the Village’s Service Award Program annuity contract. Recent developments with how these annuities are handled and administered, has prompted The Horton Group to offer our Service Award Program clients another option with MassMutual. MassMutual holds annuities for Service Award Programs around the country, and their minimum lifetime interest guarantee is 3%, which is the current rate you are receiving with Lincoln Benefit Life. There will be no loss of funds or tenure for any program members.

The information that Preston received will be forwarded to the Board for their review. This will be on the agenda again for next month.

  1. Future Planning – LaFeber wanted to bring to the Board’s attention that there are many things that will need to be replaced in the next few years. From appliances in the dayroom kitchen, to trucks.

12) Convene into Closed Session – Motion to convene into closed session by Foley, seconded by Rupp. Motion carried 5-0. Closed session began at 6:30 p.m.

  1. With Reference to the Announcements

13) Reconvene into Open Session – Motion to reconvene into open session by Rupp, seconded by Tuschen. Motion carried 5-0. Open session resumed at 7:20 p.m.

  1. Action Items Resulting from Closed Session – If Any

14)Schedule for Upcoming Meeting(s) – November 16, 2016 with a tentative start time of 3:30 p.m.

15) Adjournment – Motion to adjourn by Foley, seconded by Blau. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:23 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Kay Preston
Administrative Assistant