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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 08-03 FC Approved Min FIRE COMMISSION OPEN SESSION MINUTES Board/Commission Kaua‘i Fire Commission Meeting Date August 3, 2020 Location Microsoft Teams Teleconference Meeting Start of Meeting: 2:01 p.m. 3:07 p.m. Present Chair Alfredo Garces Jr.; Vice Chair Jen Chahanovich (joined the meeting at 2:12 p.m.); Commissioners: Linda Kaauwai-Iwamoto; Alfred Levinthol, Michael Martinez and Chad Pacheco. Also present: Board & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Mercedes Omo; Administrator Ellen Ching; Office of the County Attorney: Deputy County Attorney Jenna Tatsey; Fire Department: Fire Chief Steven Goble; Assistant Fire Chief Solomon Kanoho and Chief’s Secretary Soncy Tamashiro. Excused Absent Commissioner Thomas Nizo SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Garces called the teleconference meeting to order at 2:01 p.m. Ms. Omo noted that Vice Chair Chahanovich was in a work related meeting and would be joining the meeting in progress. Roll Call to Ascertain Quorum A roll call ensued with five (5) Commissioners present to conduct business. Chair’s Announcements Chair Garces pointed out that because the Commission’s September 7 meeting fell on Labor Day holiday the meeting would have to be rescheduled to Monday, September 14, 2020. Public Testimony None. Approval of Open Session Minutes of July 6, 2020 meeting Chair Garces called for a roll call vote. Ms. Iwamoto moved to approve the minutes of July 6, 2020 meeting as circulated. Mr. Levinthol seconded the motion. A roll call ensued with all five (5) Commissioners voting unanimously to approve the minutes as circulated. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Chief’s Monthly Reports for July 24, 2020 1. Chief’s Activities 2. Bureau & Training Reports 3. Fiscal Report 4. Air One Daily Flight, Maintenance and Alarm Data hours 5. Pertinent Updates and Announcements Chief Goble expressed his sincere gratitude for the opportunity; what he has seen and experienced thus far on Kaua‘i has been tremendous. He feels very fortunate to have landed in the Fire Chief position where he has great people surrounding him and great community support. He also extended his appreciation to members of his executive staff and the men and women in the Kaua‘i Fire Department for giving him such a warm welcome. As for his Monthly Report, Chief Goble shared with the Commissioners that both he and his managerial staff have been working daily with the Incident Command Team as well as other agencies to address issues that have risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other departmental activities include working with the equipment and grant committees whose focus is to search for grant opportunities to help with the fiscal challenges triggered by the pandemic. Funding for the Department’s new modular training facility at the old Honsador site is on track; the Department has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the state to ensure that all of the appropriate approvals are being met. With the help of the Mayor Kawakami’s Emergency Declaration, KFD will be able to recover cost as a result of COVID-19 and the March 2020 rain event. Collective Bargaining Unit 14 was awarded a pay increase that was approved by the County Council. The increase will bring the ocean safety officers in line with other public safety entities. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Internally, Chief Goble shared that his goal for the next 30 days was go out to the different fire stations to meet with the various fire crews as well as all of the ocean safety personnel stationed at the life guard towers across the island. As of today, he only has two (2) more visits to make which he will be doing tomorrow. KFD’s community event will include assisting the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank with its food drive throughout the month of December. Chief Goble announced that Battalion Fire Chief Solomon Kanoho has officially accepted the position of Assistant Fire Chief. He added that over the course of last month, A/C Kanoho has been great mentor to him and that the Department is lucky to have him. He has a wealth of knowledge and has a great working relationship with people across the county and the team. He also acknowledged Battalion Chief Jason Ornellas and Assistant Fire Chief Gary Hudson for their can do attitude, wealth of knowledge and their willingness to dive in to help anywhere possible. Operational wise, the amount of calls for service have decreased due to the lack of tourists on the island which has not diminish the Department’s lack of response, but it has given them an opportunity to be able to conduct refresher trainings for their fire fighters to hone down on their skills and work on being innovative thinkers to address any challenges they may have to face in the future. Chief Goble reported that A/C Kanoho and the Department’s budgetary team has done a great job to stay within the Department’s fiscal restraints, especially during the last quarter of the fiscal year. Although they faced a lot of challenges with the pandemic as well as other issues that presented itself in the last quarter, they were able to return some monies back to the county’s general fund. Rolling into fiscal year 2020/2021 due to the effects of Covid-19, the Department was asked by the Mayor’s Administration to cut their training and travel budgets and as a result of that request, the Department cut $360,000. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION In response to Ms. Iwamoto’s question on whether the $360,000 budget cut would eliminate some of the ocean safety positions. Chief Goble explained that because his staff was able to secure funding with the help of the Administration through the Cares Act through fiscal year 2020/2021, the ocean safety bureau will remain fully staffed and that a couple of the part-time positons will be converted to full-time positions to help support the roving patrol at Wanini and the Nukumoi life guard tower at Po‘ipū beach park. In response to Mr. Martinez’s question about the Fire Operations budget being in the red, Chief Goble stated that it’s not uncommon to close out the year in the red due to some unexpected costs; however, in other areas the Department was able to remain in the green which makes up for being in the red. With no further questions or comments, Chair Garces called for a motion to receive the Chief’s Monthly Reports for the record. Mr. Pacheco moved to receive the Chief’s Monthly Reports for the record. Mr. Levinthol seconded the motion. A roll call vote ensued with all six (6) Commissioners voting unanimously to receive the Chief’s Monthly Reports for the record. KFC 2020-5 Update on the audit that is being conducted on the Kaua‘i Fire Department to address overtime usage. (On-going) Chief Goble reported that the Auditors are still waiting for information from the State Employees Retirement System (ERS) to complete the report. He noted that he does not have a hard date as to when the report will be completed. But once the Department receives the report, he will review it and if there are any disputes they will have to address those issues with the auditors. He added that to address some of the concerns that were brought forth by the audit, the Department have already taken action to address those concerns by making policy changes and conducting a utilization study to give KFD a roadmap as to what KFD’s operational posture should look going forward. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION KFC 2020-7 Update on the meeting with Playgroup Consultant Leslie Mullens relating to the Kaua‘i Fire Department’s five (5) Year Strategic Plan (On-going) Chief Goble reported that he’s been fully engaged with the process and complimented his team who has worked hard with the vendor to reach the point where they are today in terms of identifying some of the key areas. Plans are being made to hold an in-person meetings with Ms. Mullens the first week in September. In response to Mr. Martinez as to why he and Ms. Iwamoto was not yet involved in the process. A/C Kanoho stated that he’ll follow-up with Battalion Chief Ornellas since the process has changed due to Covid-19 and he will try to get back to him as soon as possible. KFC 2020-8 Discussion on the Commission’s Goal setting for Fire Chief Steven Goble for FY 2020/2021 Ms. Ching stated that the Commission could form a working group to address the item, but for now having a general discussion with Chief Goble would be a good start. Mr. Martinez stated that he would like Chief Goble to provide some of his own goals as it pertains to what he would like KFD to accomplish within that period. Mr. Levinthol agreed with Mr. Martinez. Ms. Ching stated that because the item coincides with the Department’s five (5) year strategic plan somewhere along the line it would integrate with the Chief’s goals as well so as a suggestion the Commission could leave on the agenda for continued discussion. Chief Goble stated that the Department’s five year strategic plan will definitely point out what the goals are going to be as a Department going forward. He added that he is still in the mist of doing an initial assessment of the Department and Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION agrees with Ms. Ching to keep the item on the agenda for continued discussion and if the Commission agrees to form a working group he would be willing to work with them to come to a conclusion. KFC 2020-9 Discussion on scheduling individual appointments to meet and talk story with Fire Chief Goble. The Commissioners were advised by Ms. Ching to contact Chief Goble’s Secretary Soncy Tamashiro by email to schedule their individual meetings with Chief Goble. Staff was instructed to email Ms. Tamashiro’s email address to each individual Commissioner so they can set-up their individual appointments with Chief Goble. KFC 2020-10 Discussion on changing the Chief’s Monthly Reports to a summarized report. Chief Goble stated that knowing what the Department’s goals are going to be based on the completion of the Department’s five (5) strategic plan would give him an idea as to how he should present his Monthly Reports in the future. After the discussion, Chair Garces called for a motion to authorize Ms. Ching to work with Chief Goble to draft a format of the Chief’s monthly reports to use in the interim. Mr. Pacheco moved to that the Commission authorize Boards and Commission’s Administrator Ellen Ching to work with Chief Goble to come up with a draft summarized report for use in the interim while the strategic five plan gets completed and present to the Commission at next month’s meeting. Vice Chair Chahanovich seconded the motion. A roll call vote ensued with all six (6) Commissioners voting unanimously to approve the motion. KFC 2020-11 Briefing by Fire Chief Steven Goble on his plans for the Department for the first 100 days. Chief Goble stated that he views his first 100 days as an assessment period for the Department before moving forward. He noted that he would like the time to really understand who the people are, who the key players are in the Department and what the general attitudes, thoughts and perceptions are within the Department and outside of the Department. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION He would also like to have the opportunity to be able to break down the various categories to know what the indicators are; who the stakeholders are and what they expect the level of engagement the Department and those who work in the Department should be. He would also like to take a hard look at all of the existing facilities, programs, polices, guidelines to see how they are implemented and get to know what KFD is all about inside and out. He noted that at the ending of his 100 days, he would be providing the Commission with his findings and an outline of his plans for the Department going forward. KFC 2020-12 Discussion on the process to conduct a six (6) month job performance review for Fire Chief Steven Goble for the period of July 1, 2020 to December 1, 2020 and to revise the Chief’s job performance evaluation form to mirror the Police Commission’s job performance form for the police chief. After a brief discussion, the Commissioners decided to authorize Ms. Ching to work on a draft JPR form for the Commissioners to review and consider at the next meeting. Chair Garces called for a motion to that effect. Mr. Pacheco moved to authorize Boards and Commissions Administrator Ellen Ching to draft a new job performance evaluation form and present it at the Commission’s next meeting in September. Ms. Iwamoto seconded the motion. A roll call vote ensued with all six (6) Commissioners voting unanimously to approve the motion. Executive Session KFC 2020-004 Pursuant to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes 92-4, 92-5 (a) (2) and (4), the purpose of this Executive Session is for the Commission to consult with its attorney on issues pertaining to the Commission’s powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and or liabilities as they may relate to matters concerning the Fire Chief’s performance evaluation. No Executive Session meeting was held. Adjournment With no further business to conduct, Chair Garces called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Iwamoto moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Levinthol seconded. The motion carried 6:0. At 3:07 p.m. the meeting adjourned. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Open Session Meeting Minutes of August 3, 2020 Page 8 Submitted by: __________________________________ Reviewed and Approved by: _________________________________________ Mercedes Omo, Staff Support Clerk Alfredo Garces Jr., Chair (x ) Approved as circulated on September 14, 2020 ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of ___________ meeting.