Ed Coleman, Chairman NFD Board of Directors Nutrioso Fire District P.O. Box 74 Nutrioso, AZ 85932 Fire Station 41765 Hwy 191 Nutrioso, AZ 85932 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE NUTRIOSO FIRE DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 At the NUTRIOSO FIRE STATION APPROVED, October 17, 2017 I. CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order at 5:01 p.m. II. III. IV. Travis Noth, Chief Nutrioso Fire District ROLL CALL - Present: Clerk Carol Glasgow, Treasurer Angela DeWitt, Member David Jones, Member Don Lykins. Chair Ed Coleman is excused. A Quorum is present. Clerk Glasgow will conduct the meeting in Chair Coleman s absence. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - August 15, 2017. No errors were noted in the minutes. A motion was made by Member Jones, seconded by Member Lykins to approve the minutes. The motion passed by unanimous vote. FINANCIAL REPORT Attachment A - Treasurer DeWitt provided the August, 2017 financial summary. Treasurer DeWitt noted that there was a large transfer ($20,000) from the Special Revenue Account to the Warrant Account. This is the time of year when the Board does not get levy monies until the end of September or later, even into November. Rather than run the Warrant Account in the red, funds were transferred, Funds will be transferred back to Special Revenue as they become available from incoming Apache County Tax Levy monies. A motion was made by Member Lykins to accept the financial report; seconded by Member Jones and passed unanimously. V. FIRE CHIEF S REPORT- CHIEF NOTH to provide monthly report. The chief went through his written report. Acting Chair Glasgow asked if he would expound on topics listed later on the agenda as they are discussed. Regarding the repeater system which is in poor condition, to repair the system where it is located would cost about $6,000. The Chief talked to Cellular One about relocating the system/antennae to their cell tower at the fire station Cellular One is willing to waive the application fee for the antennae to put the repeater/antennae here. The Chief has been working on the application. After conducting tests and analyzing costs the Chief feels that for minimal amount of money, the repeater/antennae could be relocated to the Fire Station tower, the reception would be sufficient P a g e 1 10
for a public safety radio and the move would provide better access when the system needs maintenance. It was suggested that this matter be put on the next agenda for action. A motion was made by Treasurer DeWitt to accept the Chief s report as stated; seconded by Member Lykins and passed unanimously. VI. VII. COMMITTEE UPDATE A. Bylaws, Policy and Procedure No meetings have been held since the last meeting. CALL TO THE PUBLIC - There were no comments from the public VIII. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATE/DISCUSS/ACT: Letter from County Attorney dated June 30, 2017 re: Response to requests for legal advice - There has been no response from Attorney Criss Candelaria to our letter to him terminating all contracts and agreements; no response from the Apache County Attorney to the letter we sent notifying him that the Board has no other legal representation and requesting the County Attorney s office to represent the Board. The letters were mailed to both parties on August 5, 2017. This item will be continued on future agendas until a response from the County Attorney is received. B. UPDATE/DISCUSS/ACT: Amend NFD Bylaws to require Board members to be current on property taxes; status of legal opinion from County Attorney s office. We have NOT received a response to our letter to the Apache County Attorney s office regarding this issue. This item will be continued on future agendas until a response from the County Attorney is received. C. UPDATE/DISCUSS/ACT: What action(s) should be taken regarding the whereabouts of the folder allegedly given to ex-chair Leo Witkowski by his predecessor Paul Richardson containing personnel files and other information - We have NOT received a response to our letter to the Apache County Attorney s office regarding this issue. This item will be continued on future agendas until a response from the County Attorney is received. D. UPDATE/DISCUSS: Open Meeting Law Compliance and Consent Agreement letters from Denton Casey, Assistant Attorney General of the State of Arizona, dated May 19, 2016 [sic] and June 19, 2017 In the June 27, 2019 NFD Special Board Meeting, the Board agreed on the wording of a response letter to the Assistant Attorney General regarding the above named letters from that office. On June 29, 2017 the Response letter was mailed to the AAG via Certified Mail. The return receipt was delivered to Chair Coleman at the July 8, 2017 Open House. We have NOT received a response to our letter to the Arizona Assistant Attorney General s office. This item will be continued on future agendas until a response from the Assistant Attorney General s Office is received. E. UPDATE/DISCUSS/ACT: Burn Pit for Nutrioso - In the August 15 Board meeting, Chief Noth volunteered to contact the District Forest Service Ranger for Nutrioso and see if the Forest Service would be willing and able to designate federal land for this purpose and assist in setting up the burn pit. The matter was tabled until this Board meeting. P a g e 2 10
Chief Noth mentioned in his report earlier in the meeting that the District Forest Ranger stated the Forest Service does not agree with going forward with a burn pit for Nutrioso at this time. Even if the Forest Service supported a burn pit, once a parcel of land is identified a study would need to be conducted regarding the effect on wildlife in the designated burn pit area. This study might take several years to complete. County Supervisor Shamley does not want to sponsor efforts to obtain/designate county land in the Nutrioso area for a burn pit. If land were donated by a private individual, it would need to be a significant amount of land like the area in Alpine. In addition to a study on the effect on wildlife, it would need to be determined who would maintain and monitor use of the burn pit. Member Lykins noted that only three members from the community are in attendance at this meeting. Since there appears to be little community interest in this matter; he suggested we make it known to the community that we will be discussing the Burn Pit for the last time during the next regular meeting, if anyone in the community is interested, they should attend and state their support and help address the issues mentioned. This item will be continued for one more agenda, if no community support is displayed no further discussion will be scheduled. F. UPDATE/DISCUSS/ACT: Speed limit reduction through Nutrioso In the August 15 Board meeting, Chief Noth volunteered to discuss this matter with several people he knows in law enforcement to see if they could assist with this issue. Also, Chair Coleman was to compose letters to members of the various law enforcement entities at the county and state level asking for assistance and support. The matter was tabled until this Board meeting. Update by Chair Coleman: I have not yet composed or sent those letters; my time was instead mostly spent addressing OML complaints and composing the Response letter to the A.G. s Office. Update by Chief Noth: In discussion with DPS, it was indicated that DPS feels it is a waste of time and money to assign an officer to monitor the intersection County Road 2018 at SR180. DPS has a vast area to cover, and insufficient officers to add more responsibilities. It was mentioned that a new study of speed limits on SR180 might be needed. To encourage involved agencies to go forward with a new study, with the goal of lowering the speed limit to 55 miles per hour around Nutrioso, petitions have been made available to community members Mr. Paul Richardson was recognized at this point. Mr. Richardson took on the responsibility of collecting the signed petitions several months ago. Mr. Richardson stated that about 8 SIGNED PETITIONS HAVE DISAPPEARED from the Post Office. The signed petitions that can be located will be forwarded to Supervisor Shamley by Chief Noth. Supervisor Shumley has more resources and authority to encourage the matter going forward for review and change. P a g e 3 10
Member Lykins made a motion that the signed petitions are forwarded by Chief Noth to the proper authority and this matter be tabled until a response is received; seconded by Treasurer DeWitt and passed unanimously. G. UPDATE: Lighted sign for Nutrioso fire station In the August 15 Board meeting, the Board passed a motion to authorize installation of lighting under the direction of Chief Noth through NEC. Chief Noth stated that an NEC technician came to the Fire Station to locate property markers for the lighting the technician recommended that since there is electricity to the current Flag Pole, it would be cheaper to install one light off the electricity from flag pole than have several lights installed by NEC. The light would be an LED, dusk to dawn light. Chief Noth was asked and agreed to look into the cost of an electrician to perform the modified plan and go ahead with the installation if the cost is under $2,000. Chief Noth will update the Board on the progress during the next meeting. H. UPDATE: Put circulation fans in the equipment bay at the Station In the August 15 Board meeting, the Board passed a motion to table this item until this meeting to allow Chief Noth to complete his research on the circulation fan installation. Chief Noth determined that a simple timer could be installed to control the fans effectively and for less expense than a thermostat. The chief is still looking at other fire stations to learn how they heat their bays. To enable the installation of the fans, it will be necessary to locate and rent a scissor lift and have an electrician do the electrical work needed. The Chief recommends we wait for any action on this item for another month until more levy money comes in. This item will be placed on the October agenda for action. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. ANNOUNCEMENT/DISCUSSION: OML violation by Chair Coleman Announcement by Chair Coleman: (Read by Acting Chair Glasgow for Chair Coleman) This is notice that I committed an Open Meeting Law violation, A.R.S. 38-431.01(D), by failing to make a recording of the August 15, 2017 NFD Board meeting available for public inspection within three working days after that meeting. The recording was not uploaded until August 22, and the CDs were not made available at the Fire Station until August 23. There was no discussion. B. DISCUSSION/ACTION: Response to New OML complaints On Friday, August 25, 2017, Chair Coleman received a letter from Denton Casey, Assistant Attorney General, and dated August 16, 2017 (it had been signed for and picked up by Chief Noth and left in P a g e 4 10
the Chair s file folder at the Fire Station). The letter contained several new Open Meeting Law complaints regarding the Nutrioso Fire District Governing Board of Directors. Chair Coleman duly shared the letter from the Assistant Attorney General via email with the other Board members the following day, summarizing the new OML complaints against the Board and notifying them that: (1) Clerk Glasgow would prepare copies of the AAG s letter and its five Attachments and deliver them to each member, (2) Clerk Glasgow and Chair Coleman would work to gather the requested documents and compose a written Response to the allegations set forth. The Response and requested information are to be received by the A.G. s Office no later than 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 22, 2017. (The Response letter is Attachment B, due to its length, it will not be part of the minutes, but a separate document attached to the minutes.) All board members stated they had reviewed the Response letter. Only one change was requested. On page 3, fourth paragraph, Treasurer DeWitt stated that Chief Noth, not Treasurer DeWitt, was the chair of the Budget Committee. Treasurer DeWitt was a member of the committee not the chair. This page will be corrected before the Response letter is sent. It was decided that all members present will sign the Response letter after this meeting. The corrected page 3 will be inserted. Chair Coleman will sign the Response letter on Wednesday, September 20 th. The signed Response letter and attachments will be sent via FedEx Overnight to the A.G. s Office so that it arrives before the deadline of 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 22, 2017. A motion was made by Member Lykins that we make the one change (pointed out by Treasurer DeWitt) and submit the signed Response letter to the Assistant Attorney General s office; seconded by Member Jones and passed unanimously. C. DISCUSS/ACT: New policy for making CD recordings of Board meetings available to Public Requested by: Chair Coleman Reason(s): In the past few months, the Board has been making CD recordings of Board meetings available to the public here in the Fire Station on an honor-based system of filling out a sign-out sheet and borrowing and returning the CD(s). Unfortunately, one or more of the CDs have been taken from the Fire Station without filling out the sign-out sheet, and not returned. A new policy for making those CDs available to the public is needed. Possible action(s): 1. Only allow the CDs to be checked out via one of the Fire Department personnel. 2. Only allow the CDs to be available via Public Records Request. 3. Other suggestions? After discussion, it was agreed that the NFD Board should return to the policy set on April 19, 2016 by the previous board. Therefore, all public records of the Nutrioso Fire District Board will be made available to community members who first fill out a Public Record Reproduction Request and pay appropriate fees. CD s will no longer be left in the Fire Station to be checked out on an honor system. A recording of NFD meetings will still be available on the NFD website for review. P a g e 5 10
A copy of the Public Record Reproduction Request, form is available/may be printed from the NFD website. Additionally, copies of the form will be left on the table in the public area of the Fire Station. Those wishing copies of records may either leave the completed form at the Fire Station or mail the form directly to Clerk Glasgow at the NFD PO box. If a person wants to just inspect (listen to) the record at the Fire Station, that can be scheduled with the Clerk, or if the Clerk is not available, the Clerk will arrange for another Board member to make the CD available for listening at the Fire Station. Motion was made by Member Lykins that if anyone wants a copy of a CD, we will make it and they will have to pay for it; seconded by Member Jones and passed unanimously. D. DISCUSS/ACT: Policy/Procedure for using USB Thumb Drives Requested by: Clerk Glasgow Reason(s): In the last meeting, all Board members were provided USB thumb drives for distributing documents especially lengthy ones in preparation for upcoming meetings. This was intended as a paper-saver. But no procedure was defined for returning the USB drives to the Clerk so she could prepare them for the next meeting. Proposed procedure: 1. Board members pick up their meeting packets, including the USB drives, in preparation for the upcoming meeting. 2. Members copy the relevant documents off the USB drives onto their computers. 3. Members return their USB drives to the Clerk within one week after the meeting. 4. Other suggestions? After discussion, it was felt that normal agendas and back-up documentation can continue to be sent to Board Members via e-mail. When Lengthy documents, such as the Policy Manual, are revised, the Board Members will be asked to give their thumb drive to the originator of the document for downloading. Motion was made by Member Lykins; seconded by Treasurer DeWitt and passed unanimously that this item be tabled until the Procedures Committee produces a procedure for use of thumb drives. E. DISCUSS/ACT: Re-approve Changes to Board Meeting Minutes Requested by: Clerk Glasgow Due to the Clerk's need to indicate on each set of minutes the date upon which that document was APPROVED by the NFD Board (or indicating UNAPPROVED if they have not yet been approved, as was the case of the August 15, 2017 Minutes), the formatting (page numbering) has changed. For each Minute document, the Clerk reviewed the content, grammar and spelling of the text and in one case found an error and corrected it. (The spelling of Don Lykins name was corrected in the 7-18- 2017 minutes). The following NFD Board Meeting Minutes need to be re-approved: December 06, 2016, December 20, 2016, January 24, 2017, February 7, 2017, February 21, 2017, March 21, 2017, April 18, 2017, May 16, 2017, May 18, 2017. June 06, 2017, June 20, 201, June 27, 2017. July 18, 2017. P a g e 6 10
Motion was made by Member Jones and seconded by Member Lykins to table this matter until next month s meeting to give each board member time to review the listed minutes. The motion passed unanimously. F. DISCUSS/ACT/APPROVE - Purchase GoDaddy upgrade GoCentral Requested by: Clerk Glasgow The existing GoDaddy website software being used by the Board is no longer supported. It has many minor problems and lacks certain necessary features, such as being able to determine (and prove) when files were uploaded or modified. Some of the current problems the Clerk is having when posting to the website have been fixed in the latest software. While working with a technical support person through GoDaddy, the tech stated that some of the problems would be resolved by the recently In March 2017 the Board paid GoDaddy an annual fee of $119.00 for one year. The upgrade would cost an additional $114.21 but would pay the annual fee for 2018 and 2019. There is a 30-day trial period with a full refund if the product is not satisfactory for our needs. We would keep the current version for the duration of the year, to allow the Clerk (with help from volunteer website supporter, Laurie Herring) to transfer all information to the new version. There is supposedly no GoDaddy magic to make this transfer the tech says the transfer is simple and easy! We would also obtain a new domain. Besides the benefit of fixing known problems and providing new features and capabilities, the NFD will not have to pay for GoDaddy for two years a savings of $228.42. Motion was made by Member Lykins and seconded by Member Jones that we go ahead with the upgrade. The motion passed unanimously. G. DISCUSS/ACT: Ratify all Actions and Motions approved in the June 20, 2017 NFD Board meeting Requested by: Chair Coleman Reason(s): One of the OML violations set forth in the A.G. Office s August 16, 2017 letter alleged that the meeting time was not included in the Notice/Agenda for the June 20, 2017 meeting, and that therefore the meeting was not properly noticed and consequently all business conducted in that meeting [is] null and void, per A.R.S. 38-431.05. Proposed action(s): Although the A.G. Office has not yet determined whether or not the NFD Board violated any OML statutes, the Board should preemptively make certain that all Actions and Motions approved during the June 20, 2017 meeting are legal and proper. It is proposed that the Board should do so during the next regular monthly meeting, according to statute. The cited statute states: 38-431.05. Meeting held in violation of article; Business transacted null and void; Ratification A. All legal action transacted by any public body during a meeting held in violation of any provision of this article is null and void except as provided in subsection B. B. A public body may ratify legal action taken in violation of this article in accordance with the following requirements: 1. Ratification shall take place at a public meeting within thirty days after discovery of the violation or after such discovery should have been made by the exercise of reasonable diligence. P a g e 7 10
2. The notice for the meeting shall include a description of the action to be ratified, a clear statement that the public body proposes to ratify a prior action and information on how the public may obtain a detailed written description of the action to be ratified. 3. The public body shall make available to the public a detailed written description of the action to be ratified and all deliberations, consultations and decisions by members of the public body that preceded and related to such action. The written description shall also be included as part of the minutes of the meeting at which ratification is taken. 4. The public body shall make available to the public the notice and detailed written description required by this section at least seventy-two hours in advance of the public meeting at which the ratification is taken. A motion was made by Treasurer DeWitt and seconded by Member Jones that this item be tabled until the next meeting; passed unanimously. X. NEXT MEETING: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn was made by Member Jones; seconded by Member Lykins and passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:19 p.m. on September 19, 2017 Dated: September 28, 2017 Revision Posted: October 12, 2017 NFD BOARD OF DIRECTORS By: Carol Glasgow Carol Glasgow, Clerk P a g e 8 10
ATTACHMENT A Deposits Expenses TOTALS Apache County Warrant Account starting balance $ 6,758.34 Apache County Tax Levy $ 1.78 temporary transfer of funds from special revenue account $ 20,000.00 1000- Equipment Replacement $ (2,484.56) 301.1 Fuel (June & July) $ (343.69) 301.2 Repair & Maintenance $ (1,718.78) 302.2 Building Utilities $ (239.40) 304 Non-Capital Equipment $ (434.30) 403 Insurance $ (9,161.00) 405 Accounting Fees $ (565.00) 501 Management Services $ (2,550.00) 602 Postage, shipping, delivery $ (49.00) 603 Telephone $ (281.56) 606 Supplies $ (356.98) ending balance $ 8,575.85 National Bank - Payroll Acct starting balance $ 2,462.36 Transfer Funds from Special Revenue Account $ 1,000.00 AZ Withholding Tax July 2017 $ (22.66) Federal Taxes (941/944) for July 2017 $ (137.17) 400 Administrative Expenditures $ (583.62) ending balance $ 2,718.91 National Bank - Special Revenue Account starting balance $ 30,447.75 Rental Income $ 1,000.00 Sale of Promotional Items $ 6.00 temporary transfer of funds to warrant account $ (20,000.00) Transfer Funds to Payroll Account $ (1,000.00) ending balance $ 10,453.75 TOTAL LIABILITIES & NET ASSETS $ 1,018,105.28 Checking/Savings Apache County Warrant Account $ 8,575.85 National Bank - Payroll Acct $ 2,718.91 National Bank - Special Revenue Acct $ 10,453.75 Total Checking/Savings $ 21,748.51 The full detailed budget is available at: http://www.nutriosofire.org/budget---financials.html P a g e 9 10
ATTACHMENT B please see separate document attached P a g e 10 10