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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 06-01 FC Draft Minutes COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of OPEN SESSION TELECONFERENCE MEETING Board/Commission Kaua‘i Fire Department Meeting Date June 1, 2020 Location Teleconference Start of Meeting: 2:00 p.m. 2:40 p.m. Present Chair Alfredo Garces Jr.; Vice Chair Jen Chahanovich; Commissioners: Alfred Levinthol, Michael Martinez, Linda Kaauwai- Iwamoto 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; Kaua‘i Fire Department: Acting Fire Chief Solomon Kanoho. Public Testimony: Felicia Cowden, Paul Marshall testifying on item KFC 2020-07 specifically the budget for the CERT Program, both testifiers were informed by Chair Garces about the three (3) minute limit to testify. Absent Commissioner Thomas Nizo SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order At 2:00 p.m. Chair Garces called the teleconference Open Session meeting to order. Roll call ascertain quorum A roll call ensued with six (6) Commissioners present to conduct business. At 2:05 p.m. Chair Garces called for five (5) minute recess to give Ms. Ching some time to contact Deputy County Attorney Jenna Tatsey to have her join the teleconference meeting. At 2:07 p.m. Chair Garces called the meeting back to order with Deputy County Attorney Tatsey present. Chair Announcements Next regular teleconference meeting Monday, July 6, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Executive Session to follow. Subject to Change. Public Testimony Mr. Marshall voiced his concerns about cuts being made to the CERT Program’s budget. He urged the Commissioners to reconsider their decision and asked them to continue funding the program. He stated that the CERT Program has many benefits one of which includes training community volunteers on how to respond to disasters, emergencies and to be self-reliant. He shared that despite of the pending budgetary cuts to the Kaua‘i Fire Commission Minutes Of June 1, 2020 Meeting Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION program, the Princeville CERT Program will continue to meet to solidify their abilities and plans and although they will no longer be able to provide the necessary training for community volunteers they will be able to provide some resources to pay for supplies and perhaps do away with the CERT name all together and give themselves a new name where they will be able to still operate without proper training outside of the commanding control system. Which essentially means that they would have to create root operating groups (not by desire) because they will not be designed into the CERT system. He added that he would like the Commission to at least consider a budget for some training for integration into the overall commanding control system, even if it means, they would have to do their own fundraisers to purchase materials and supplies etc. Maylette Garces testified in support of the CERT Program and like Mr. Marshall she also believes that the program is in integral part of the community’s resiliency on a hyper local perspective which is comprised of volunteer residents to handle basic disaster response such as doing damage assessments, search and rescue, as well as other skills to supplement and assist professional responders in the event of an emergency, disaster or a big crowd event to assist in traffic control. She stated that the program needs more volunteers and although they do have a fair amount of active volunteers in Princeville, they still need more volunteers to go through the training and for those who are already certified in basic training they would need refresher training to keep their skills relevant so they will be able to participate in disaster responses. She asked the Fire Commission to consider any type of funding for the program, even if it’s just for initial training, annual refresher training and supplies. Chair Garces thanked Mr. Marshall and Ms. Garces for taking time to provide testimony in support of continuous funding for the CERT Program. With no further testimony, Chair Garces moved on to the Kaua‘i Fire Commission Minutes Of June 1, 2020 Meeting Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION approval of the meeting minutes. Approval of Minutes of the Open Session and Executive May 4 meeting. Mr. Pacheco moved to approve both sets of minutes as circulated. Ms. Kaauwai-Iwamoto seconded. A roll call ensued with all six (6) Commissioners present voting to approve the minutes as circulated. General discussion on Change of Command Ceremony for Fire Chief Steven Goble Acting Fire Chief Solomon Kanoho reported that the change of command ceremony is scheduled for July 1, 2020. As for time of the event it will be contingent upon Chief Goble’s completion of HR’s paperwork on hiring. He added that the Department has secured the use of the Convention Hall to practice social distancing and to make sitting arrangements as well as the audio equipment and a sound person to run the equipment. Business KFC 2020-05 Update on the audit that’s being conducted on the Kaua‘i Fire Department to address overtime usage. Acting Fire Chief Kanoho reported that he contacted Certified Public Accountant Tyler Kimura and was told that the audit is completed and that they will be sending a draft of the final audit report to the Fire Department for review and to provide input, no later than June 15, 2020. He noted that once his team has reviewed the final draft audit he will report back to the Commission on the audit findings. KFC 2020-07 Update on the meeting with Playgroup Consultant Leslie Mullens related to the Kaua‘i Fire Department’s Five (5) Year Strategic Plan. Acting Fire Chief Kanoho reported that a workshop meeting is set for June 8, 2020 with Ms. Mullens at the Līhu‘e Neighborhood Center from 9 a.m. to noon. He needs to follow-up with Acting Assistant Fire Chief Jason Ornellas to get the names of the participants who will be attending the Kaua‘i Fire Commission Minutes Of June 1, 2020 Meeting Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION workshop which to his knowledge will include Commissioners Martinez and Kaauwai-Iwamoto. Arrangements to social distancing will be arranged for all of the workshops. In response to Ms. Kaauwai-Iwamoto’s question on the state’s intent not to fund the Kē‘ē Lifeguard Tower fourth quarter payment and who is covering the cost, Acting Fire Chief Kanoho stated that the County is covering the cost with funds from the CARES ACT; however, the County will have to reimburse the government for utilizing the funds which will essentially put a financial burden back on the County. He stated that a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 p.m. with himself, Ocean Safety Chief Kalani Vierra as well as his statewide counterpart to talk about the state’s willingness to continue funding the towers, but to be quite honest, he has no idea the type of funding the state will agree too, but he’s optimistic. In response to Mr. Martinez’s two-part question about filling the vacant positions due to people retiring and what plans that are in place if there are no new hires in 2021, Acting Fire Chief Kanoho stated that the Department has been very fortunate to have in place the 33rd Recruit Class which consist of five (5) new firefighters who will be coming online in December 2020 plus an additional three (3) new firefighters from crash fire who are already in the process of going through training. But at the end of the year when the retirements are finalized, the Department will still be faced with a few vacancies and finding the funds to cover those vacancies for next year will be a financial challenge for the Department due to COVID-19. In response to Mr. Martinez’s third question concerning monetary cuts to the CERT Program; if there’s any leftover money available would the Department consider funding the program, Acting Fire Chief Kanoho explained that due to the financial hardships the ocean safety bureau is Kaua‘i Fire Commission Minutes Of June 1, 2020 Meeting Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION going through to find funds to cover the cost for four (4) more lifeguard positions for Wanini and Po‘ipū, no matter how hard he tries to work the numbers it has been very difficult, but he is not giving up hope and filling those positions is KFD’s top priority. In response to Mr. Pacheco’s question about the possibility of getting federal funding to keep the CERT Program up and running, Acting Fire Chief Kanoho stated that he is working on having a discussion with the KEMA INT team in regard to the CARES ACT funding on the possibly of utilizing some of those funds to train new personnel in the event another pandemic situation should occur; it is possible, but it will only cover one year. In response to Mr. Pacheco’s question about what the normal staffing guidelines are for a fire house, Acting Fire Chief Kanoho stated that at the minimum four (4) personnel are stationed at the fire houses and the reason behind that is there is a national standard two-on-two rule but in dealing with the proximity of each of KFD’s fire stations the bare minimum they can go down for three stations would be three (3) personnel for a total of thirty-three (33) personnel on duty. Mr. Pacheco asked in the past, has KFD ran with three/four personnel at each of the individual fire stations to which AFC Kanoho replied yes. At this point of the meeting, Chair Garces opened the floor for more public testimony. Councilmember Felicia Cowden stated that the CERT Program is vital to the well-being of the community and in watching the CERT team in non- emergency events, the citizen volunteers who are part of the program hold their responsibilities dear to themselves and so without any training it would be bad for the community in general. Kaua‘i Fire Commission Minutes Of June 1, 2020 Meeting Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION She also stated that she has not had the opportunity to see what the five (5) year strategic plan entails and asked if she would be given an opportunity to be able to see the plan because anything that can help the community receives will be appreciated. Ms. Ching pointed out that if any of the Commissioners have questions about the five (5) year strategic plan now would be the time to ask their questions. Hearing none, Chair Garces stated that because the Commission does not have any items to discussion in executive session, he called for a motion and a second to adjourn the meeting. Adjournment Vice Chair Chahanovich moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Pacheco seconded. A roll call ensued with all six Commissioners present voting to adjourn the meeting. At 2:40 p.m. the adjourned. Submitted by: Mercedes Omo, Support Clerk. Approved by: Alfredo Garces Jr., Chair Kaua‘i Fire Commission__________________________ ( ) Approved as circulated on ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of ___________ meeting.