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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIRE 07-03-17 OPEN SESSION-DA APPROVED COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Board/Committee: Kaua‘i Fire Commission Meeting Date July 3, 2017 Location Mo`ikeha Building – Meeting Room 2A/B Start of Meeting: 2:00 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:30 p.m. Present Chair Michael Martinez; Members: Linda Kaauwai-Iwamoto, Clifton (Jimmy) Miranda and Chad Pacheco Also present: Board & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Mercedes Omo; Boards and Commissions Administrator Paula Morikami; Office of the County Attorney: Deputy County Attorney Teresa Tumbaga; Fire Department: Fire Chief Robert Westerman; Deputy Fire Chief Kilipaki Vaughan; and Secretary Eve Domingcil. Excused Vice Chair Thomas Nizo and Commissioner Alfredo Garces Jr. Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Martinez called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. with 4 Commissioners present constituting a quorum. Approval of Minutes Regular Open Session Minutes of June 5, 2017. Ms. Kaauwai-Iwamoto moved to approve the meeting minutes as circulated. Mr. Pacheco seconded the motion. The motion carried 4:0. Chief’s Monthly Reports 1. Fire Commission Reports for the Month of May 2. Fiscal Report 3. Daily Flight Hours and Alarm Data 4. Chief’s announcements and other pertinent updates Mr. Miranda asked what part of the island is Fire Engine 1 stationed at to which Deputy Fire Chief Vaughan replied Fire Engine 1 is stationed on the Northshore at the Hanalei Fire Station and then went on to thank Chief Procurement Officer Ernest Barreira for helping with the procurement process, Captain Solomon Kanoho for doing most of the legwork, and Battalion Chief Albert Kaui Kaua‘i Fire Commission Regular Open Session Meeting Minutes of July 3, 2017 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION for his leadership. Deputy Fire Chief Vaughan shared that the fire that broke out adjacent to Bucky’s Liquor Store in Waimea Town was auspicious in a sense that every time it was the Fire Prevention Bureau’s turn to teach their portion of the training, a report of a fire would come in which provided the new firefighter recruits an opportunity to gain hands-on experience. He credits the firefighters from the Waimea Fire Station for doing an outstanding job by taking the lead to contain the fire from spreading to the surrounding areas until help from the Kalāheo and Hanapēpē Fire Stations could arrive. Deputy Fire Chief Vaughan stated that discussion on the Ocean Safety Bureau tort liability is still on-going even though the veto from Governor Ige lingers. Their hope is that the bill will continue to make headway when it’s reintroduced in the 2018 legislative session. Fiscal Report The Department is expected to end the fiscal year in the black. Any last minute spending that tends to happen at the end of each fiscal year has been curbed. Fire Operations With the retirement of ten (10) to fourteen (14) personnel expected in the month of December, the Department will be faced with fiscal challenges relating to salaries and overtime; however, training began on May 1st to get all five (5) recruits ready to hit the line by December 1st to assist with the staffing. Mr. Miranda asked with the pending retirements why were there only five (5) positions filled to which Deputy Fire Chief Vaughan explained that at the time of the hiring, only five (5) positions were available. The Department went ahead and interviewed all thirty-five (35) candidates and out of the thirty-five, the top five (5) candidates who scored the highest were selected. Fire Chief Westerman added that by doing all of the interviews ahead of time, the Department will have everyone all lined up so come January 1st, they (Department) can put in a request to the Department of Human Resources for the amount of vacancies that needs to be filled. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Regular Open Session Meeting Minutes of July 3, 2017 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Chair Martinez asked what’s the optimal group size to have in a training class to which Deputy Fire Chief Vaughan replied eight (8) to ten (10) people was an ideal group size because it would allow everyone to finish their repetitions all at once without having to wait turns versus having fifteen (15) people in a class where one would have to sit out two (2) reps before getting back into the first one. Chair Martinez asked in regard to recruitment, if the Department had ever experienced people transferring from another part of the country. Fire Chief Westerman explained that the Hawai‘i Civil Service rules dictate how they do their hiring. Anyone who is not an inter-governmental transfer would have to apply and then go through the same hiring process as everyone else; however, considerations are made based on the person’s work experience which could help to move them forward in the process. He shared that in the past, the Kaua‘i Fire Department has hired a few higher rank firefighters from the other counties, but regardless of their high rank, (based on the civil service rules) they had to start as a basic recruit and then work their way up to Firefighter I status. Chair Martinez asked how much notification is a person required to give before they plan to retire from the County to which Fire Chief Westerman replied, anyone who plans to retire from the County on any given month must retire at the end of the month and should give the Hawai‘i ERS (Employee Retirement System) at least sixty (60) days’ notice so they can start the retirement process. But if a person wanted to retire today, they could but the down side to that is they would have to wait a little longer before they start seeing any retirement benefits as opposed to someone who gave their sixty (60) days’ notice. In some cases, if a person is scheduled to retire on a certain date but changes their mind a day or two before their scheduled date, they can retract their retirement, but it can only be done twice. He noted that anyone who plans to retire must retire at the end of their chosen month, except for the month December. Anyone who wants to retire in December can retire either on the first of the month or at the end of the month. As for the succession planning, the Department is looking into promoting certain individuals to fill the top positions which will open up the lower rank positions and so forth. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Regular Open Session Meeting Minutes of July 3, 2017 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Lastly, Deputy Fire Chief Vaughan announced that a letter of commendation was received from DOCARE Branch Chief Francis Mission and DOCARE East District Supervisor Kippy Akana who wrote to thank Lifeguards David Duncan and Kainoa Numazawa for being instrumental in assisting their officers in recovering a net and freeing sea life. Because of their knowledge and expertise, it made their job easier and safer. With no further questions or comments, Chair Martinez called for a motion to receive the Chief’s Monthly Reports. Mr. Miranda moved to receive the Chief’s Monthly Reports. Mr. Pacheco seconded the motion. Motion carried 4:0. Business KFC 2017-02 Report from the Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) on the criteria for the Fire Chief’s new job description which will be instrumental in the recruiting and hiring of a new Fire Chief in the future. (On-going) There was no report available. Announcements Next meeting – Monday, August 7, 2017 at 2:00 p.m., Mo’ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B. Adjournment With no further business to conduct, Chair Martinez called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Miranda moved to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Kaauwai-Iwamoto seconded the motion. The motion carried 4:0. At 2:30 p.m. the meeting adjourned. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Regular Open Session Meeting Minutes of July 3, 2017 Page 5 Submitted by: __________________________________ Reviewed and Approved by: _________________________________________ Mercedes Omo, Staff Support Clerk Michael Martinez, Chair ( x ) Approved as circulated on August 7, 2017 ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of ___________ meeting.