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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012_0305_Minutes Open_APPROVED COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Approved as circulated 4/2/12 Board/Committee: FIRE COMMISSION Meeting Date March 5, 2012 Location Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/213 Start of Meeting: 2:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:45 p.m. Present Chair Linda Kaauwai-Iwamoto; Vice-Chair Darnney Proudfoot; Members: Basilio Fuertes, Jr. (2:02 p.m.); Jesse Fukushima; Wayne Mukai Also Fire Chief Robert Westerman; Deputy County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask(2:25 p.m.); Boards & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Barbara Davis; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura Excused Members: Jan Rudinoff; Guy Croydon Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Kaauwai-Iwamoto called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. with 4 members present which constituted a quorum. Approval of ■ Regular Open Session Minutes of February 6, 2012 Ms. Proudfoot moved to approve the minutes as Minutes circulated. Mr. Mukai seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:0 Chief s ■ Overview for the month of January, 2012 and pertinent updates Monthly Report The Chief reported there were two AED (Automated External Defibrillator) saves; last year's budget put AEDs in every vehicle. 2 kayakers were rescued off Maha`ulepu. Dr. Downs extended a commendation to the Lifeguards at Hanalei Pavilion for helping a young boy caught in a rip current. Operations are running at the same pace as last year. The mechanic is now on staff and familiarizing himself with the Department vehicles; he will be sent to a training conference on the mainland to learn about the pumps. Hanalei again tended to an injured hiker, vehicular accidents and the closure of the Hanalei Bridge. Reports of false fire alarm calls continue to be tracked since there is no nuisance call law on the books yet. Kauai Fire Commission Open Session March 5, 2012 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Station 3 participated in a drill with the Coast Guard focusing on towing a vessel that was dead in the water. Air 1 rescued two hikers. The Chief explained there is a County ordinance and a State law regarding which rescue services can be charged to an individual. If someone has intentionally put themselves in harm's way that call information has to be turned over to the County Attorney to make the determination of whether or not the charges could be recouped but basically none of the counties in Hawai'i charge for rescue services. Training is minimal at this time of year but the annual trainings are scheduled to start soon. The Prevention Bureau worked on the changes for the missing sections of the Fire Code; after the Code was passed it was discovered that 2 1/2 pages were missing. The Fire Code has now been updated and approved. The Bureau has been working with Kaua'i Family Magazine and Tutu&Me on a photo shoot to target fire prevention. The Department hopes to fund a 1/a page ad 3 or 4 times next year to get their message out. Ocean Safety held 32 hours of first responder and swimming pool training with the new recruits. There were a couple of near drownings on New Year's Eve. The Junior Lifeguard meetings have started and a new program has been added to the budget for the Menehune Guards which is for the age group of 8 to 13. Mr. Mukai noted Mr. Vierra's attendance at the Japan Tsunami Marine Debris workshop and asked if it was anticipated that the marine debris would be an ocean safety issue. Chief Westerman said not necessarily but it was thought that Ocean Safety personnel might be the first to see it. The Chief briefly spoke of the vacancies in the department, the Workman's Comp claims and grants before quickly outlining the workload of his Office Personnel. Kauai Fire Commission Open Session March 5, 2012 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Chair Kaauwai-Iwamoto questioned the Chief about the meeting with DPS (Department of Personnel Services) regarding the Fire Department purchasing tests for DPS. Chief Westerman said there were a couple of issues with the way the old testing was done on the promotional and hiring exams. There can be disparateness impact in testing where someone can be biased against someone else for any number of reasons. The Department has been encouraging DPS to hire professionals to do the exams because they are defensible in court and are based on national standards with study curricula. When you cannot tell the applicants what to study in order to take the test, it creates difficulties with grievances. The Department would give DPS material to base the test on but that overworked DPS because they had to have someone literally write the test. Also if the grading of the exams were done externally, it would eliminate influence with the scoring. The Chief said he would like DPS to put it in their budget to pay for the testing but if not, he would put it in the Department's budget because it was reasonable to do the testing in this manner. ■ Budget Report as of January 31, 2012 Current budget is at 58% of the year. Administration is 47.90% (sic 57.90%) spent because of major funding that has been encumbered but not yet spent. Operation Bureau is running at 56.89%. Prevention at 53.81%. Training is 63.26%which is contributable to salaries and overtime as part of the last recruit class. Ocean Safety is at 55.86%. Fire Commission is 41.52%but there is still the conference registration to be charged out. The budgeted but not expended total to date is 1.46%which is comparable to where the budget was last year. ■ Update on Budget Meetings for Fire Department's Proposed Budget for 2012 The Chief reported they are waiting for the Administration's final Kauai Fire Commission Open Session March 5, 2012 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION cut/review on the budget. Ms. Proudfoot moved to receive the Chief's monthly reports. Mr. Fukushima seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Business KFC 2012-05 IAFC/FRI Conference—August 1-4, 2012—Denver Colorado Mr. Fuertes moved to nominate the Commission ■ Selection of Commissioner to attend Conference Chair,Linda Kaauwai-Iwamoto to attend the 2012 Conference. Mr.Fukushima seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Announcements Next Meeting: Monday, April 2, 2012—2:00 p.m., Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/B Ms. Davis asked the Commission to express their appreciation to Mr. Mukai for his 6 years and 3 months (90 day holdover) service to this Commission. Mahalo, Mr. Mukai, and we will miss you! Adjournment Mr. Fukushima moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:45 p.m. Ms. Proudfoot seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Barbara Davis, Staff Support Clerk Linda Kaauwai-Iwamoto, Chair O Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting.