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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9-4-12 Approved Minutes COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Approved as circulated 10/01/2012 Board/Committee: FIRE COMMISSION Meeting Date September 4,2012 Location Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B Start of Meeting: 2:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:42 p.m. Present Chair Linda Ka'auwai-Iwamoto; Vice-Chair Darnney Proudfoot; Members: Basilio Fuertes,Jr.;Mike Nagano; Jesse Fukushima; Jimmy Miranda Also Fire Chief Robert Westerman; Deputy County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask; Boards &Commissions Office Staff Support Clerk Lani Agoot; Administrator Paula Morikami; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura Excused Guy Croydon Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Ka`auwai-Iwamoto called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. with 6 members present which constituted a quorum. Approval of Regular Open Session Minutes of August 6, 2012 Mr. Fukushima moved to approve the minutes as Minutes amended. Mr. Fuertes seconded the motion. Chief Westerman made 2 small corrections to the minutes on pages 2 and 3. Motion carried 6:0. Communications ■ KFC 2012-14 Email dated 7/23/12 to Chief Westerman from Jeff Serpa,thanking the Koloa Fire Station for providing medical assistance Received for the record/filed during an incident involving a minor. Chiefs Monthly ■ Overview for the month of July 2012 and pertinent updates Report Chief Westerman highlighted departmental activities as noted in his report dated August 21, 2012. The Fire Department spent approximately one week working on the Hikimoe fire in Koke`e. The Summer Day of Fun event at Lihue Court was held to educate youth and their families regarding fire prevention and safety. Mr. Fukushima asked the Chief for clarification regarding the definition of "MOA" ertaining to a lease for the Ka a`a Armory space and the cost of Kauai Fire Commission Open Session September 4, 2012 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION the lease. Chief Westerman clarified that it stood for Memorandum of Agreement and that the agreement is still in negotiations at this time. The Chief went on to say that it was space at the Armory to store the Fire Department's water safety equipment so it is out of environmental impacts. He explained that currently the equipment is kept outside at the Kapa`a Fire Station and has less protection from the weather. The Chief said there wouldn't be any cost involved in the lease agreement with the Kapa`a Armory. He said they would also be leasing some office space at no cost as well. Mr. Fukushima asked for clarification regarding the SAFER(Staffing for Adequate Firefighters Emergency Response) grant. Chief Westerman explained that currently the Fire Department has a SAFER grant,the NFPA 1710 and 1720 that he mentioned at the last meeting. He said if you are struggling economically you can apply for this grant which helps you staff your firefighters. He said that the current SAFER grant allowed the department to hire 15 firefighters for the Kaiakea Station and they are in the 0 year of the 5 years of that grant. The Chief explained that the SAFER grant mentioned in his report was to apply for 3 firefighters for the Lihue Station. He said the Lihue Engine Company was the station they didn't staff 5 years ago when they were improving the staffing capabilities of each station because it had the Rescue Company. The Chief said that the Rescue Company is so busy now that they are unable to assist the Lihue Engine Company like before, leaving the Lihue Engine Company understaffed. He said this would be a 2 year grant covering 100 percent of the cost. There are no matching funds required and it also pays for benefits. The Chief said the application was submitted approximately one month ago and they are waiting for approval. Mr. Fukushima asked the Chief what will happen when the 2 years are up and the funding is no longer available. The Chief replied that the County I Kauai Fire Commission Open Session September 4, 2012 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION would then fund the positions that were covered under the grant. Mr. Fukushima said that at one of the previous Commission meetings he had requested information regarding current grants within the Fire Department, when they expire, and how much it will cost the County in the next 3 to 5 years to continue the positions or programs once the grants expire. Chief Westerman explained that this particular grant is for staff positions so it will be a continued cost to the County. He said what the Fire Department is trying to do is fund the first 2 years through the grant; and it was the same for the grant funded positions at the Kaiakea Fire Station. Mr. Fukushima commented that he thought the Fire Commissioners were unaware of the cost factor to the County once these grants expire and wanted more information regarding this matter. The Chief said he would get the requested information for the Commission. Ms. Proudfoot asked that this item be put on the October 1st agenda. Mr. Nagano asked for more information regarding an item on the report having to do with a kitchen fire in Moloa`a, to which the Chief said he would get him a copy of the incident report. Operations Bureau: Calls this year were approximately 200 to 300 ahead of last year and overall they were over the 5,000 threshold that existed over the last few years. July reported an average call load for the month. Apparatus Status: The equipment with the inoperative air conditioners have been repaired and are now in operation. Station highlights: There was a rubbish fire and a house fire which only counts as one incident because the Fire Department doesn't count rubbish fires. The Chief reported that the front bay doors at the Lihu`e Station were still not operational and they were trying to obtain parts to repair it. Kauai Fire Commission Open Session September 4, 2012 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Training Bureau: There were 7 on-island training sessions and no off-island sessions. The Chief highlighted several of the training sessions including the MDT (Mobile Data Training)through the Prevention Bureau,the Water Survival/Helicopter Egress training, and the CERT training session held at Fire Headquarters. Preventions Bureau: Chief Westerman reported that the building permit plan reviews were starting to increase. There were 6 certificates of occupancies awarded as construction projects and are completed. There were 2 fireworks display inspections for the 2 events on the 4t'of July. Mr. Fukushima asked for clarification regarding an item in the Chief s report under Miscellaneous pertaining to the Up-to-Date Cleaners fire. Mr. Fukushima said that it was his understanding that once a commercial building is constructed, fire prevention is required and in this case sprinklers. However if it is an old building there is no way to enforce this. Chief Westerman responded that in most cases grandfathering to old fire codes is acceptable. When you have to update to new fire codes is when you do a major reconstruction on the facility at which point you would be required to comply with the new fire codes. The Chief went on to say if you were just renovating a bathroom or putting on a small addition normally that doesn't require a change. He said that determination was generally made by the Building Division. Ocean Safety Bureau: Chief Westerman reported there was training held in Hanalei and Kalapaki for the Jr. Lifeguard Program. There was one drowning in the month of July. One WSO (Water Safety Officer)returned to work while one WSO (Water Safety Officer)was still awaiting clearance to return to full duty. Administrative Bureau: There was one resignation in July and 2 employees Kauai Fire Commission Open Session September 4, 2012 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION were notified of promotions; Corey Sakai and Ron Bush, effective September 1St Travel: Chief Westerman reported that the Deputy Fire Chief, the Administrative Officer and he traveled to Oahu for the HFFA(Hawaii Firefighters Association) negotiations. They sent several Water Safety Officers to Oahu for the Jr. Lifeguard State Championships. They sent Fire Chief Ornellas, Firefighter III J Pablo, and Firefighter II Mills to Live Fire Training on Maui. Chief Westerman reported that the Deputy Fire Chief and a Battalion Chief attended the PATC Administrative Investigations & Firefighter Discipline seminar in Las Vegas regarding disciplinary action in social media and how it affects not only the Fire Department but the County as a whole. He also highlighted the Deccan International Users Group conference in San Diego; it was attended by Fire Chief Metivier,Firefighter III Smith, and Garcia as well as members of the County IT Department. ■ Budget Report as of July 31, 2012 Chief Westerman reported the department spent 8.6% of salaries and 8.33% overall for the month. He reported that vacation payouts were a new line item in the budget and to date they have spent$12,000 on vacation payout monies. He highlighted the fact that the travel account has been broken down into specific line items within each bureau giving greater expense detail to each account. Mr. Fukushima asked the Chief for an explanation of Unassigned Appropriation. The Chief clarified that it is an estimate of their surplus or over expenditure to date. He directed the Commission to page 9 of his report showing an estimate of$89,000 left at the end of the year. He further pointed out on the report under"Budgeted but not expended"was $166,504.80, and that the reason for that was because several of the Kauai Fire Commission Open Session September 4, 2012 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION expenditures were large equipment items. They estimate the expenses over the year however they are usually spent within the first 90 days of the year. At that point they are taken out of the equation and they are factored in "Budgeted but not expended"because the true equation across the month doesn't apply to those items. Mr. Fukushima asked about the small amounts within certain accounts. The Chief clarified that because budgets are not created with dollars and cents but expenses are that the actual expenditures minus the account balance will sometimes leave you with a small unassigned appropriation; for example 79 cents in the Building account for the month of July. Chief Westerman pointed out that Operations was their largest bureau and that the monthly expenses were affected by such things as overtime and holidays. He pointed out that the Prevention Bureau, Training Bureau, and Safety Bureau were all currently showing a positive balance and the Fire Mr. Fukushima moved to accept the Chief's Commission was showing a negative of$76.00 due to prepayment of travel Monthly Report. Mr. Fuertes seconded the expenses. The Chief said that overall they have expended 7.62% of the motion. budget and the budget year is at 8.33%resulting in an under expenditure for Motion carried 6:0 the year to date. Executive Deputy County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask read Session the Hawaii Revised Statues as described on the agenda that would take the Board into Executive Session for item ES-8 and ES-4: KFC 2012-09 The Commission moved into executive session at 2:34 p.m. Return to Open Mr. Fukushima moved to return to open session. Session Mr. Fuertes seconded the motion. Kauai Fire Commission Open Session September 4, 2012 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Motion carried 6:0 Mr. Fuertes moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Miranda seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Mr. Fukushima moved to reconvene the meeting in open session. Mr. Fuertes seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Ratify Commission actions taken in the Executive Session for item: Mr. Fuertes moved to ratify the Commission's ES-8 and ES-4 KFC 2012-09 actions taken in the Executive Session. Mr. Fukushima seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Announcements Next Meeting: Monday, October 1, 2012—2:00 p.m., Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/B Adjournment Mr. Fuertes moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:42 p.m. Mr. Miranda seconded the motion. Motion carried 6:0 Submitted by: Reviewed and Approved by: Lani Agoot, Staff Support Clerk Linda Ka`auwai-Iwamoto, Chair (X) Approved as is. ( ) Approved with amendments. See minutes of 10/01/2012 meeting.