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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 3-15 FC APPROVED Open Session Minutes.docx MO 3-29-22.docx 2.pdf COUNTY OF KAUAI OPEN SESSION MEETING MINUTES Board/Commission Kauai Fire Commission Meeting Date March 15, 2022 Location Microsoft Teleconference Teams Meeting Start of Meeting: 2:00 p.m. 3:35 p.m. Present Chair Chad Pacheco ; Vice Chair Jen Chahanovich ; Commissioners: Alfredo Garces Jr., Linda Kaauwai-Iwamoto, Alfred Levinthol, Michael Martinez (joined the meeting at 2:33 p.m.), and Rodney Yama. Also present: Board & Commissions Office Staff: Support Clerk Mercedes Omo; Administrator Ellen Ching; Office of the County Attorney: Deputy County Attorney Jenna Tatsey; Kauai Fire Department: Fire Chief Steven Goble and Chief’s Secretary Soncy Tamashiro. Excused Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order At 2:00 p.m. Chair Pacheco called the March 15, 2022, Fire Commission meeting to order. Roll Call to ascertain quorum Chair Pacheco called for a roll call to ascertain quorum. All six (6) Commissioner’s present verbally indicated that they were present and alone to conduct business. Approval of Agenda Chair Pacheco called for a motion to approve the agenda as circulated. Vice Chair Chahanovich moved. Mr. Levinthol seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 6:0. Chair’s Announcement Chair Pacheco announced that the next regularly Fire Commission meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. Public Testimony Chair Pacheco asked staff if there were any registered speakers who wanted to testify on any of the agenda items to which Ms. Omo replied that no one from the public have registered to testify. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Approval of Minutes Chair Pacheco called for a motion to amend or approve the minutes of the February 15, 2022, meeting. Mr. Garces moved. Ms. Kaauwai-Iwamoto seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 6:0 to approve the minutes of the Fire Commission’s February 15, 2022, meeting as circulated. Chief’s Monthly Reports CHIEF’S MONTHLY BUREAU REPORTS AND PERTINENT UPDATES a) Fire and Ocean Safety, Partnerships, Covid 19 and Resources Highlights b) Administrative Bureau/Budget Update & Fire Operations c) Fire Prevention & Training d) Ocean Safety e) Goals and Objectives f) Kauai Fire Department’s five (5) Year Strategic Plan update g) Quarterly update on the Utilization Study due March 2022 Fire Chief Goble highlighted items from his written report: Fire and Ocean Safety Highlights: • FY 22/23 Budget was submitted to the administration’s budget team to review and to make recommendations and forwarded to council. • Doctor Kyle Perry of the Queens Medical Hospital was named the new Medical Director. He will oversee the RMS and the AED Programs for first responders and emergency medical technicians. • Fire Mechanic Lance Gonsalves and Ocean Safety Officer John Carmack are the Kauai Fire Department’s Outstanding Employees of the Year. • Fire Captains held their quarterly virtual meetings with ocean safety staff. • Ocean Safety is moving to a Records Management System. The move KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION will give staff the ability to extract data for reporting purposes and identify what their OS needs are. Partnerships Highlights: • Revitalization of the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Program. • Work is continuing with the Department of Water to address the water flow. Chief Goble reported that the group have shared valuable information to give them a better understanding for future planning. • KFD has applied for Firefighters Grant to provide Health & Wellness opportunities for the fire fighters and a CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) to replace Engine 5 in Kalāheo. • KFD is tracking three legislative bills. The first bill would increase the maximum fines for illegal fireworks; Second bill is to conduct an audit of harbor inspection procedures of state departments and federal agencies for shipping containers to prevent the importation of illegal fireworks into the state; the Third bill is to protect lifeguards/first responders from civil lawsuits for actions taken in the course of their duty; Fourth bill relates to EMT licensure for non-ambulance EMT’s to be extended to the neighboring islands. Currently, the licensure is limited to O‘ahu and counties with a population over 500,000. COVID 19 Highlights: • The county’s emergency rule on group size limitations ended on March 1, 2022. • The state Safe Travel Program, vaccine attestation or negative testing for county and state employees ends on March 25, 2022. • Daily confirmed Covid cases, rolling 7-day average. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION • Covid positivity rate on Kauai is 3.9%. • 72% of Kauai residents are fully vaccinated, 77% initiated and 38% received their booster shots. Resource Highlights: • The 31st Recruit Class is on track to graduate in May. • The start date for Firefighter trainees who transferred from the other counties is March 16, 2022. • Bargaining Units 11 and 15 are in arbitration. • Request to hire seasonal staff to support extended hours was denied . • Requisition to replace Truck 6 is in progress. • Procurement for two outboard motors for Radon boat is still in process. • Request to replace engine six, purchase new SUVs for the department’s battalion chiefs, and new service truck for maintenance personnel were approved. • The architect to design Air One helicopter hanger has been selected and is now working the design and engineering phase. • Procurement for state grant resiliency equipment center is being processed. Administrative Bureau: FY 2021-2022: Chief Goble reported that the Department is continuing to under spend. Most of their expenses are payroll related. Overtime costs are being managed well by staff is on track. As for FY 2022-2023 budget, based on budget projections they have submitted a flat budget and although they will have to do more with less, they will stick to their principles in the strategic plan on service delivery operational readiness and risk reduction. As for the overarching goals on planning and budgeting recommendations that came from the utilization study it gave KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION them some specific targets to shoot for to address the budget requirements. As the department moves forward with their training models overtime costs are occurring so they must continue to adjust. This year, the department was able to save $90,000 which will be used towards other important initiatives. The request for an administrative battalion chief position did not make the grade so they are working on refining the role from an administrative standpoint. Support staff vehicles was another request which is part of the Department’s overall inventory replacement schedule for vehicles/apparatus as they reach the end of their useful lives. FY 2023 Budget Proposals that will be presented to Council as part of the Department’s budget package: Fire Chief Goble referred to a copy of the Department’s FY 2023 Budget Proposal Report (which was distributed to the Commissioners prior to the meeting) reflecting fire & ocean safety proposals, exceptions to the administrative, fire operation, fire prevention, fire training, and ocean safety bureau; a list of the operational and payroll budget priorities related to service delivery, operational readiness, risk reduction, a breakdown of the bureaus current account budgets and FY 2023 requests; a list of capital improvements priorities which includes a bay extension design and construction for Fire Station 3, lifeguard towers at Keālia and Lydgate beach parks, addition SCBA/PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and storage for Fire Station 6, office space for the east district supervisor at the Kapa‘a Armory, reroof Fire Station 4, fire training facility and fire hydrant for training purposes and a pad to store the high water vehicle. Deferred items to FY 2024-2027 include addition for vehicle storage/equipment/PPE and replace old air conditioning system for Fire Station 1 (alternate funding has been identified), relocate Fire Station 2, addition for PPE and storage for Fire Station 5 , and design and construct Fire Station 9 on the northeast side of the island – land has been dedicated. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Fire Chief Goble said that there was a modest increase in the overall budget largely due to benefits. Although the operating budget stayed flat the payroll cost went up well over a million dollars to support the fire department in the coming fiscal year. With the number capital improvements on the horizon the department is working with the mayor’s office to fund those improvements. The Utilization Study recommends relocating the Kapa‘a Fire Station 2 inland and a build an additional fire station between Anahola and Princeville . At this juncture, Chair Pacheco opened the floor for questions. Chair Pacheco asked if the proposed site to relocate Fire Station 2 is still on the table or has the site changed. Fire Chief Goble stated that from what he understood there is a plot of land near the park in Wailua homesteads that was being proposed, but that idea was rejected by the community as a potential site. With no further questions, Fire Chief Goble continued with his monthly reports. Fire Operation Bureau Highlights: The bureau has several thermal imaging equipment, hazardous material equipment on warranty. The department was successful in obtaining a new SCBA filling station used to fill the firefighters breathing air cylinders. In addition, the department applied for a grant to purchase a new response vehicle for the west side of the island (which became evident during the rockslide that occurred in Waimea), and two outboard zodiac motors to replace the aging motors. Service calls were up due to an uptick in visitors to the island with medical calls being one of the biggest. Fire crews responded to a couple of residential fires in the last 2 KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION or 3 months. Fire Prevention Bureau Highlights: The bureau reviewed the new NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) fire codes and standards and as a result managed to clean up some revenue pieces. Also, with the implementation of the county’s online payment system the bureau can collect fees and make sure that staff is applying the fees accordingly. In February, the bureau saw an increase in the amount of construction and conducted 464 service calls compared to 105 in FY 20/21. Fire Captain Makepa and his team are working closely with various contractors and fire protection companies to identify any potential problems. Fire Training Bureau Highlights: Adjustments are continuing to being made to the bureaus on-duty training model shifts. Trainings include helicopter rescue equipment training; part of the is to create a cache for equipment that can be easily accessible to help rescuers be timelier in their response. Other training includes live fire training using environmental shipping containers. The bureau is looking at purchasing additional shipping containers that are very costly but with the help of good partnerships on island they were able to do so. The trainers and the trainees have been capitalizing in first quarter training 2022 plan. Each crew must go through a checklist of expectations in which their performance is being monitored and track to help them improve in the areas they need to improve on. Best practices are being shared amongst the different crews which ultimately will move the department forward in the level of skills to deal with emergencies. Overall, the trainings are on track and the crews are getting positive feedback, everyone is appreciative of this new standardize approach to reach a common goal. *Note – Commissioner Michael Martinez joined the meeting at 2:33 p.m. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 8 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Ocean Safety Bureau Highlights: OS staff created a replacement schedule for its aging ATV equipment. With the record management system in place staff can conduct meetings out in the field using their county issued iPads. Some of the challenges staff is facing is having to pick-up their gear from the Hanalei Base yard and then transport all their gear to their work location which causes a bit of a time lapse in coverage, so the department is looking at obtaining a storage container to place at ‘Anini Beach Park. In addition, the department is looking for solutions to cover the extended beach hours from dusk to dawn. The department’s request to hire fulltime coverage during those hours were denied and as a result they must utilize their existing staff to cover those shifts. Fire Chief Goble reported two near drownings one at Benneke’s Beach in Po‘ipū and another at Keālia Beach. Bystanders performed CPR on the two individuals up until the fire crews and AMR personnel arrived to continue treatment. Both individuals were transported to the hospital with a positive outcome. Ocean safety staff efforts to reach out the community are continuing which is largely driven by their partnership with the Kauai Lifeguard Association. The Junior Lifeguard Program will be in full swing this summer. Goals and Objectives: Fire Chief Goble reported that the working group have completed work on the promotional process for this period. Made recommendations on refining the promotional process one of which is to implement promotional opportunities. At this juncture, Chair Pacheco asked the Commissioners if they had any questions for Fire Chief Goble regarding his report. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 9 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION With the contract arbitrations between the union, state and county in full swing, Commissioner Garces wanted to know what group of employees are composed of bargaining unit 11 and what group of employees are composed of bargaining unit 15. Fire Chief Goble stated that BU11 is composed of firefighters and are presented by the Hawai‘i Firefighters Association. BU15 is a new bargaining unit composed of state and county ocean safety and water safety officers (lifeguards). Relative to the CERT Program being revitalized, Commissioner Yama wanted to know if the department had any concerns on liability by bringing community volunteers to a disaster area. Fire Chief Goble replied that CERT Program is made up of volunteers who are trained in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search, and rescue, and they also create neighborhood teams and train them to deal with all types of emergencies. AS far as liability concerns, the fire department know that those volunteers are out there and would kind of turn a blind eye because those volunteers are doing the work they were trained to do. Those volunteers help with the liability issues as opposed to being detrimental to it. The CERT Program is a nationwide program that trains people to a specific standard that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. With no further questions, Fire Chief Goble moved on to the next item. Utilization Quarterly Update Fire Chief Goble referred to a list of recommendations by the ESCI consultant along with a narrative for each short-, mid- and long-term recommendations. One short-term recommendation that was made by the consultant was to conduct annual pump testing to verify that the apparatus KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 10 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION is performing at its related capacity. Chief Goble explained that the Department already has certified and trained personnel so they will be asked to train the rest of the employees. The only challenge is finding a place where they can draw a considerable amount of water from. Typically, PMRF (Pacific Missile Range Facility) uses their rec-center swimming pool but from what he understands things didn’t go as smoothly as they had hoped it would, so that location is no longer a resource for the department. Another option that was talked about was to draw water from the ocean, but because of the challenges with salt water, they will continue to look for the right solution. Regarding the Strategic Plan, Chief Goble stated that the plan is a framework that needs to be developed in terms of a planning process to guide the Department in the right direction. He noted that having high-level strategies in place will help to keep the Department going forward; it just needs a little bit of refinement. Regarding Air-1 helicopter hanger staff are allowed in the hanger because of its condition, plans are moving forward to resolve the issues, but he cannot give an exact timeline of completion. Chief Goble continued and stated that the recommendation to do ground maintenance was initially contracted out but that ended because the Department felt that it wasn’t a good use of their resources, so staff at each of the fire stations are maintaining their own grounds. Other maintenance issues included that all smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in the different fire stations are working properly and that eyewash stations were placed in the right locations on the floor. With the help of the maintenance crew cable wiring within in each fire station is up and running. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 11 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Regarding, the Confined Space Awareness Training, the training was designed to educate fire crews working in confined spaces on key safety hazards and methods of controlling those hazards. The Department has a training platform in place and are getting ready to schedule trainings for fire crews. The Department is reviewing its emergency response system for fire and non-fire to determine which calls they should be responding with lights and sirens on, and which calls they shouldn’t respond to with lights and sirens on from a responder safety and community safety standpoint. Once that has been determine they will set the necessary guidelines, and then meet with dispatch. Preliminary discussion on revitalizing the Kauai Fire Department Safety Committee have begun. The Department has meet with the union to get their short-term recommendation off the ground. It’s just a matter of identifying the people in the various stations who are going to be responsible for reporting and conducting inspections to eliminate any safety hazards. As for constructing a helicopter hanger for Air One because it’s a long-term recommendation it is going to take time to come to fruition. At this juncture, Chair Pacheco called for a motion to accept Fire Chief Goble’s Reports. Vice Chair Chahanovich moved. Mr. Levinthol seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 7:0. KFC 2022-2 Discussion and decision-making on Fire Chief Steven Goble’s Goals and Objectives for FY July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023. (Deferred on 2/15/2022) Vice Chair Chahanovich stated that the Chief has a lot of goals and Vice Chair Chahanovich moved to adopt Fire Chief Steven Goble’s Goals and Objectives for FY July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023. Mr. Garces seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 7:0. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 12 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION objectives. Fire Chief Goble stated that at the last meeting, there was talk about incorporating some of his goals and objectives into the strategic plan that captured the fiscal responsibility of the budget management. Specifically, the overtime costs. Chair Pacheco thanked Fire Goble for including a financial plan in his goals. He asked Ms. Ching if he would need to call for a motion to adopt the goals and objectives. Vice Chair Chahanovich moved to adopt Fire Chief Gobles Goals and Objectives as presented. Mr. Yama seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 7:0. KFC 2022-3 Discussion and decision-making on establishing a policy on time limit for public testimony. Ms. Ching requested that the Policy be amended to reflect the term “Commission” rather the term “Board”. She explained that by doing so would clarify that the policy is specifically related to the Fire Commission. She further explained that by law all boards and commissions must afford all interested parties the opportunity to submit their views or arguments in writing or orally on any agenda item. Usually, all boards and commissions would give all testifiers three-minutes to testify; however, her office was informed just recently that a board or commission would need to adopt a rule or policy to address oral testimony. In the Fire Commission’s case, having a policy would address that need which is presented to the Commission for approval. In addition, staff included a footnote which basically states that Office of Information Practices does not interpret rule in the statute as a rule under HRS , 91, but rather a formal policy adopted by the rule which is what Policy No. 1 is about. The second paragraph is in accordance with HRS 92-3 revised policy. Chair Pacheco thanked Ms. Ching for clarifying the matter, and then called for a motion. Mr. Garces moved to revise Policy No. 1 on Oral Testimony by replacing the term “Board” with the term “Commission, and include the footnote in the policy as presented, and then adopt Policy as amended. Mr. Levinthol seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 7:0. KFC Open Session Minutes Of March 15, 2022, Meeting Page 13 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Executive Session None. Adjournment With no further business to conduct, Chair Pacheco called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Vice Chair Chahanovich moved. Ms. Kaauwai-Iwamoto seconded. Hearing no objections. The motion carried 7:0. At 3:35 p.m. the meeting adjourned. Submitted by: __________________________________ Reviewed and Approved by: _________________________________________ Mercedes Omo, Staff Support Clerk Chad Pacheco , Chair (x ) Approved as circulated on April 19, 2022. ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of ___________ meeting.