ALFALFA FIRE DISTRICT
WORK SESSION/BUDGET HEARING MEETING
Alfalfa Community Hall, 21655 Willard Rd, Alfalfa, OR
May 24, 2017—6PM
MEETING MINUTES:
The May 24, 2017 work session/budget hearing meeting of the Alfalfa Fire District Board of Directors was brought to order by VP Nate Starr in the absence of President Bob Kathman.
ROLL CALL:
Fire Chief, Ron Thompson
Board of Directors:
VP, Nate Starr
Treasurer, Rowan Hollitz
Director, Gary Hughes
Secretary, Carolyn Chase
Board of Director absent:
President, Bob Kathman
Visitors in attendance:
Ole Olsen
Melodie Holliday
Rex Hurd
Mike Lake
RJ Hurd
Chad LaVallee
Jason Benza
TREASURER’S REPORT:
TREASURER Rowan Hollitz reported that there were no current bills to be paid and the balance in the bank account stands at $166,121.36.
CHIEF’S REPORT:
Chief Thompson stated there has been a total of twenty-three emergency calls to the fire district so far in 2017.
A new addition to the AFD fleet is a 1999 Chevy Tahoe donated to the Alfalfa Fire District from the Amity Fire Department. It will be used as the EMS response vehicle and will be undergoing a fresh logo change and will be vehicle #962. There is a pending donation from the Gresham Fire Department of a 1995 Pierce 1500 gpm/500-gallon tank fire engine. It is in excellent condition is awaiting the paperwork required for the donation.
The AFD firefighters received their wildland safety and fire behavior training the weekend of May 20-21, 2017 that was taught by BLM. There will be continued wildland and interface fire training.
Chief Thompson is preparing for a spring wildland fire safety event to promote fire safety in the community. The AFD is going to participate in the OSFM smoke detector program. The application will be filed in June and this program will provide the AFD with 25 free smoke detectors that the firefighters can install on a case by case basis.
Chief Thompson advised the Board that he had ordered the SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) equipment for the firefighters consisting of six packs, masks and five spare bottles at the price of $6,180.00.
OLD BUSINESS:
VP Starr gave an overview of the building plan and Hughes stated that he had presented the final building plan, engineering plans and drawings to Deschutes County last week. There was considerable discussion on who and how the overseeing of the project willbe handled. Hollitz moved to create a construction committee to oversee the project consisting of two board members, Gary Hughes and Nate Starr and Chief Thompson and his designee when he is unavailable. The motion was seconded by Chase and all agreed. The committee will meet as needed to oversee the project and report to the Board on their progress. With much discussion, Hollitz suggested having attorney Steve Bryant review the limitations of the committee and Hughes and Starr will meet with the attorney Thursday or Friday of this week.
The Board received three bids for the steel construction of the fire station and discussed the merits of each company. The competing companies for a steel shell are Pacific Building Systems of Woodburn, Oregon quoting $62,200.00, R & M Steel Company of Caldwell, Idaho quoting $72,500.00 and Sierra Buildings of Grass Valley, California quoting $50,855.07. The main concern was the delivery time, which the Board would like to have a fire station in place before winter. A lengthy discussion ensued and it was determined that PBS had the most qualities the Board required in the bidding process. Hughes made a motion to accept the bid from PBS and it was seconded by Hollitz and all agreed.
After several attempts, Hughes is still waiting for a call back from Central Electric Co-Op to set a date for installation of the electrical power and the price for installation. The fence on the road frontage has been removed and the permits are ready for the septic and the apron off the main highway.
NEW BUSINESS:
The 2017-2018 fiscal budget was approved by the Budget Committee on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 and was reviewed by the Board at this meeting. There were no public objections or complaints to the final budget and a motion was made by Gary Hughes to adopt the 2017-2018 budget and was seconded by Carolyn Chase and all agreed.
Rowan Hollitz moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:30PM and was seconded by Gary Hughes and all agreed.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting is a business meeting on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 6PM and the work session meeting is Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 6PM.
______Carolyn Chase, Secretary