Board of Fire Commissioners
Windsor Locks Fire Department
Minutes – Wednesday, January 11, 2012
1. Call to Order
-The meeting of January 11, 2012 was called to order by Commission Chairman Dan Riley at 7:35 p.m.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
-Commissioners present: Dan Riley, Steve Brown, David Montemerlo and Pat Courtney
4. Public Input – None
5. Secretary’s Report
Commission Chairman Dan Riley entertained a motion to approve the Secretary’s Report for the meeting on December 14, 2011. Motion was made by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Courtney to approve the minutes as submitted. All Commissioners voted in favor of the motion.
6. Report of Officers
-Fire Marshal report –
-There were 14 inspections, no investigations and 3 plans reviews (2 construction and 1 site).
-The FMO contacted the Senior Center to set up public education programs for the Town’s seniors for fall and fire prevention. Our goal is to deliver 3 programs during January and February.
-On January 5, 2012 Deputy Fire Marshal Donahue and FM Sinsigalli attended an awards ceremony at the High School to present Citizenship Certificates to Nathan Seaha and his fellow students for their work on fire hydrant identification.
-The Donut Kettle is vacant and the building is being renovated.
-Chief report
-There were 33 alarms and 2 drills during December.
-The Departments 2012-2013 Capital Improvement Budget was approved by Chairman Riley and delivered to Town Hall as Directed.
-Worked on Departments portion of the Tropical Storm Irene Disaster preparation, providing additional information and documentation to FEMA. Work is progressing putting together documentation for the Departments portion of storm Alfred. Due to the volume of the storm, the paperwork is significantly greater.
7. Standing Committees-
Purchasing – Ongoing.
Training-Ongoing
Human Resources- No report.
Budget – Will be addressed later in the meeting.
Training – Ongoing. The Department was just notified that the Firefighter 2 training is cancelled until summer. We had one member scheduled to attend.
Building Committee – No report.
Town Ordinance – No report.
Truck Committee –
-Commissioner Riley and Chief Ruggiero appointed Frances DeBella as head of the Truck Committee. Discussed some pros and cons of purchasing a new engine versus having our ladder truck refurbished. If we do purchase a new engine, it would most likely occur in 2013 so there is time to explore all the options. Tommy Strempfer from Fleetmasters will be coming to the Fire Commission meeting in February to give a presentation on refurbishing.
-After following the Towns posting rules for selling an engine, we did not get any bids on engine 3. Barbara from Town Hall contacted Chief Ruggiero and wants to advertise it. All Commissioners and Chiefs agreed this was a good idea and will advise Barbara to proceed.
Town Ordinance – No report.
Building Committee – No report.
Truck Committee – No report.
8. Old Business – None.
9. New Business – None.
10. Appointments and Promotions – None.
11. Correspondence – None.
12. Public Input – None
Budget –
-Chief Ruggiero explained the proposed budget changes to the Commissioners. The Chief is requesting a 10% increase. In 2012 there will be some mandatory purchases, repairs and testing the Department will need to do in order to be compliant. The Fire Department has not requested an increase to the budget in at least the last 3 budget cycles.
Commission Chairman Dan Riley entertained a motion to approve the Windsor Locks Fire Department 2012-2013 Proposed Budget in the amount of $404,535. Motion was made by Commissioner Brown and seconded by Commissioner Courtney to accept the budget as submitted by Chief Ruggiero. All Commissioners voted in favor of the motion.
13. Commission Comments – None
14. Announcements – None
15. Adjournment
Commission Chairman Dan Riley entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Motion made by Commissioner Montemerlo and seconded by Commissioner Courtney. All Commissioners voted in favor.
Respectfully Submitted by Susan Urso,