UPPER CAPTIVA FIRE & RESCUE DISTRICT Board of Commissioners Meeting Friday, December 14, 2018 10:00 a.m. 1. Call to Order Chairman Bill Byrnes called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Roll Call Those present were: Commissioners Public On the Phone Staff /Firefighters Bill Byrnes Tom Jenkins Steve Sward A.J. LaVallie Bill Fry on phone David and Teresa Bolme, Rick Fox, Chris Bergin, Jackie Byrnes, Travis Parker Joann Beirmeister Chief Jason Martin 2. Minutes Commissioners asked the Secretary to identify commissioners voting to abstain or no vote in future minutes. A motion to accept the Meeting Minutes of the November 16, 2018 meeting as read, corrected and approved was made by AJ La Vallie, second by Tom Jenkins, passed 4-1, (Fry, No). 3. Treasurer s Report: The Treasurer s Report was unavailable due to the District Accountant s marriage and honeymoon. Financial reports will be sent out on the 19 th. Commissioner Byrnes stated Attorney Pringle advised that no treasurer s report is mandated at the monthly meeting. 4. Chief s Report Chief Martin reported 91 calls to date. Chief has spent time building Pine Island liaison relationships which would lend 4-5 firefighters in an island emergency. The officers have been working to improve response times during their training. The ceiling hole and exterior wall repairs were completed. HVAC needs to be cleaned and serviced (unit has mold). A recommendation of a ridge vent for the roof is being considered. Chief stated he had suspended the contract with Culligan water and replaced it with a water cooler with filter system at a $2000 savings to the District. The District has purchased a Sam s Club membership to purchase fuel at a 50% less than marina prices. The Chief stated he had procured new furniture donated from the Florida Latino Chamber of Commerce. The renovation project will be discussed later. Fleet the mechanical work has been completed on the 5-ton truck and is now headed to paint. Inspections were done on 12/3/18 of the 2.5 ton truck. The mechanical checked out, the paint marking and lighting needs to be brought up
to standard. The 5-ton truck is in order. Chief is working on a plan to liquidate the 6x6 and 4x4. He will ask Kelley Blue Book value for both units and sell to parties on the island. Personnel: 12/1/18 Craig Dennison was added as Assistant Chief, giving 2 paramedics on each shift. Workman s Comp provision was made through current insurance carrier, Stewart and Sons. This makes the District compliant on that issue. PPE Repairs and service. Cylinders will be returned this coming week. Chief s Personal goals Fire 2, completed, Paramedic, completed, Fire Officer Exam waiting to be scheduled. The old engine was barged off the island to Tomlin in lieu of Paint and Body work. The chief stated that by law the District is not bound by DOT standards, but from an insurance standpoint the equipment needs to meet weight, light, and signage requirements. The Forestry Administration says the equipment does need to meet standard since they can be called back into service on the mainland at any moment. Questions or Comments from Commissioners: Byrnes stated that Marine fuel will still be purchased at Pineland Marina, Fleet gas from Sam s/costco. Suggested reinforcing roof vents. Jenkins, no comments. Fry requested specs on fabricated unit, skid mounted, difference in weight of aluminum bed versus steel. Chief Martin is to check on weight of new truck regarding DOT requirements. Chief stated the 2.5-ton truck still has steel bed. Fry asked if the light package was up to DOT standards and if the cost will be added to the grant. Martin stated the vehicles need warning package. Fry asked if the engine traded to Tomahawk Construction for painting work included in the grant? Chief responded that 50% can be made up any way per Caloosahatchee. Sales or barter agreements are to be itemized and proof of value shown. Fry asked how much paint job is expected to be with Martin responding $4000 total for paint jobs. Steve Sward suggested looking into a new conference call box. 5. Additions/Changes/Deletions to Agenda AJ LaVallie requested 7B be listed as Access Way Maintenance Report Bill Fry made a motion to add to New Business (A) add Budget Amendment. Byrnes stated the action is not necessary. The proper process for budget amendment was to submit information to the Treasurer and District Accountant for review. A call was made for a second to the motion, none given, motion fails. Chairman Byrnes suggested to add to New Business, a review of Section 191 as it pertains to the District, for January meeting agenda. A motion was made by Steve Sward, second by Tom Jenkins, motion passed 5-0. 6. Public Input on Agenda Items No Public Comment 7. Old Business
A. Station Renovation Project Tom Jenkins. Two estimates were received. Exclusive Custom Homes at $64,900 and NCIC Construction at $17,526 + some for flooring. The commissioners request specifics on what is covered in estimates. Jenkins asked for a timeframe to begin the work. Fry stated that commissioners had not seen the specifics of estimates and would the documents be emailed to the commissioners? La Vallie suggested pushing the vote to January with estimates available for review. Byrnes requested Jenkins to get detailed proposals for January meeting. B. Accessway Maintenance Report LaVallie reported on the work done on Spanish Gold, E. Seair and N. Airstrip roads. Mark Justice has purchased a Bobcat 750 to be used on the island pathways. LaVallie stated that Justice gave us one extra day of work for N. Airstrip (2 days for the price of 1) and extended the work to Kingfisher. The commissioners had previously allotted $2000 for work on N. Airstrip. Justice would normally charge $4200 for 2 days work and accepted $2000. Maintenance on the roads are contracted at $42/hr through Safety Harbor Club and NCIC. Mark Justice has purchased machines to maintain the roads ($1200). La Vallie reported that Travis Parker and/or Mark Justice are interested in purchasing the 4x4 or 6x6 from the District to do the roadwork maintenance. KBB value is between $2-3,000. They are still considering if they will each buy one of the vehicles. There will be fence replacement on the North side of Airstrip creating a swale on the airstrip and creating drainage for the road. Rick Fox stated the Bobcat blade would be necessary periodically to maintain the roads. LaVallie estimated two times per year. Going forward: LaVallie stated the next project would be to purchase and fill N. Airstrip road. He estimates needing 20 barge loads of fill to do the project properly at a cost of approximately $40,000. The project could start 2/1 and end by end of spring break. Steve Sward suggested postponing additional work on N. Airstrip and continue working on roads 8, 9 and so forth on the priority list. Tom Jenkins asked about the cost to date, to maintain the roads. Travis Parker stated that there have been four work orders = $160. Rick Fox stated that was a small bill for the value to the roads. AJ La Vallie asked if the board was comfortable continuing the process for the next quarter. Jenkins suggested getting numbers from Renee Lynch, District Accountant. Steve Sward suggested move the discussion to January as part of the budget issue. Road Trimming The contract for road trimming was awarded to Tortuga. Duncan Rosen agreed to additions of use of Garlon and trim weeds. Chair Byrnes reported a Brazilian Pepper removal test area was being conducted on an area on Coral Circle to determine the most effective way to eradicate the tree. Rosen volunteered to remove existing brush piles on the island. He estimated working a 5-day work week with a 4 man crew (has been working 7 men). Work on the south end of the island should begin next week. He has requested payment be made at the end of the project. Commissioners and Chief have been supervising the work. Rosen hopes to be complete by the end of the year, weather permitting. Chairman Byrnes stated the Lee County Code regarding the eradication of Brazilian Pepper by 1/1/2021. AJ LaVallie suggested a communication initiative for Pepper Tree abatement. C. Repair of 5-ton truck Previously discussed.
D. Assistant Chief Status Craig Dennison was offered and accepted the position. Compensation package ($65,000 salary, $6500 Retirement (10%), $2,100 Medical = $73,600) E. Fun Run Jenkins reported the shirts are in and will be on sale at the Fire Department and NCIC entrance beginning Christmas eve (24 th ), 26 th, and 27 th. He stated the need for Fire Department help on the state land. There are to be no carts on the roads during the Fun Run. Jenkins reported that a lot of donations have come in. F. Website status David Bolme addressed the Commission and stated the new website is in place at www.uppercaptivafire.org, hosted by Bluehost. He reported on the security of the site and the multiple levels of backup in place. He has included a plug-in to back the site up on Google Drive as well as a plug-in to notify of any activity threatening the security of the site. Bolme called attention to the Compliance page, Archive Documents page, links to important documents required by statutes, Donate button work is done when the district wants to use it. Steve Sward expressed his thanks and acknowledged the cost savings to the District. Bill Fry expressed his thanks and moved to accept www.uppercaptivafire.org as the official District website, second by AJ LaVallie, motion passed 5-0. The tab on www.ucca1.com menu option is to be removed or forwarded to the new site. David Bolme introduced the proposed Document Retention Policy to guide which documents needed to be retained on the website and for how long. A motion to adopt the policy was made by Steve Sward, second by Tom Jenkins, motion passed 5-0. G. Resolution Absentee Policy Steve Sward presented the proposed Absentee policy with a suggestion to remove #4, Personal Reasons as an approved reason to miss a meeting. A motion was made by Bill Fry to accept the Absentee Policy as written, a second by Tom Jenkins, the motion passed 5-0. 8) New Business A) Chairman Byrnes introduced a document from Attorney Pringle for the commissioners to review (FL-191 statute governing Independent Fire Districts). The document outlines new points adopted in Florida law; 1) allows for the board to make valorem an ad valorem assessments, 2) change in the law concerning Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (BLS, ALS), and 3) A donation of $3,500 is required by the District. Byrnes stated the item will be discussed at the January meeting. No discussion at this time. A copy of FL-191 changes were given to all commissioners. 9) Public Input on Non-Agenda Items: Public Citizen, Bill Fry, raised repeated calls for documentation to be on the District website. If he was not satisfied, he would enlist the attention of the State Attorney General s office since his previous attempts to discredit the District were not fruitful. The commissioner s response was that every effort is being made to comply with the spirit of the Florida statutes. 10) Next Meeting Date: January 18, 2019 11) Adjourn: A motion to adjourn was made by AJ LaVallie, second by Tom Jenkins, motion passed 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 12:10 pm. Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Sward, Secretary SS:tjb