Meeting Minutes

March 11, 2021


MINUTES

REGULAR MEETING

NORTH BANNOCK FIRE DISTRICT


NBFD FIRE STATION - 444 E Chubbuck Road

March 11, 2021, 7:00 PM



Meeting was opened by Commissioner Curtis at 7:03 PM.


Roll call –Commissioner Alan Curtis, Commissioner Deb Shell, Fire Chief JR Farnsworth, Assistant Chief Mark Brood, Jim Devenney from the Firefighters’ Association; Commissioner Roy Allen, June Heilman, Secretary, by Zoom


ACTION ITEMS:

  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to approve the agenda. The motion passed unanimously.


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Shell and seconded by Commissioner Curtis to approve the minutes of the February 11, 2021 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.


TREASURER REPORT:

The following balances were reported by Alan Curtis:

ICCU checking account - $396,801.44

ICCU savings account - $40,081.35

ICCU credit card balance - 0

Connections Credit Union checking account - $96,884.89

Connections Credit Union savings account - $25.00


The payments to PERSI will be adjusted as a parttime employee (Mark Brood) cannot participate in PERSI.

Chubbuck Fire Department was paid for the fire inspections for 2019.

Funds will be moved from the ICCU checking account to Connections Credit Union to ensure the balance in the ICCU account is below the FDIC maximal allowance for coverage.


FIRE CHIEF REPORT

Chief Farnsworth reported there were 3 calls in February. Two were fire calls with one in an unattached garage and the second in a tent like structure. Twelve burn permits were issued. There were 5 final building inspections and 2 site inspections. Command 1 is having lights installed and graphics will be installed next week.

The radios are being programmed with IDs issued by the state to implement the 700 MHz system and will be installed soon. Fifteen sets of turnouts have been ordered for the top responders at a total cost of $23,846.70. Three SCBAs with masks and bottles have been ordered for a total cost of $13,650. As these were demo sets from MSA, the discounted price resulted in a $3,822 savings. Five wildland shelters and 3 training shelter have been received from the IDL Cache for a total cost of $2,210.53. The total amount for all purchases was $39,707.23 which came out of the fire department budget for PPEs. Multiple grant requests have been submitted. There were several community activities including Chief Farnsworth giving a presentation to the School District 25’s First Responder Orientation class to recruit for the Firefighter Explorer post. The department will host the Idaho State University’s Junior Firefighter Camp in June.


ACTION ITEMS:

  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to approve the Vehicle Storage agreement with Bannock County Search and Rescue. The motion passed unanimously. Rescue 1 will be parked in the fire department parking lot. The agreement is a release of liability.


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to allow the fire chief to seek legal counsel as needed without prior authorization. The motion passed with Commissioner Allen voting no.

TRAINING REPORT

Assistant Chief Brood reported there are 31 volunteer firefighters. All 9 FF1 candidates passed their psychomotor (hands on skills) testing; 6 of the 9 passed the written test and the other 3 will be retested. The final phase for the IFSAC FFI certification will be the live burn portion which will be held in April. The 4 new recruits have successfully completed their initial firefighter training and will be allowed to start responding to calls.


FIREFIGHTERS’ ASSOCIATION REPORT

Jim Devenney thanked the commissioners for their continued support. He gave each of the commissioners, the fire chief and the training officer a NBFD t-shirt as a token of their appreciation. The association has been selling t-shirts as a fundraiser. They raised $1,500 at a spaghetti dinner for the family of one of the firefighters who had been involved in a car crash. Their next project will be the sale of street signs which they will install.


ACTION ITEMS:

  • A motion was made by Commissioner Allen and seconded by Commissioner Curtis to approve Resolution No. 2021-01 Ordering a Special Election to be Held on the Question of Authorizing a Permanent Tax Levy Override in the Amount of $316,073.00 Beginning with the Fiscal Year Commencing on October 1, 2021; Establishing the Date of the Election; Providing for the Notification of the Call for Special Levy Election to the Bannock County Clerk to be Held on the Third Tuesday in May 2021; and Approving the Form of Ballot and authorizing any expenditure necessary to publish it. The motion passed unanimously.


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to accept the lease agreement with Vicky Warner for the house on the property with a rent of $400 per month. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Curtis will meet with the tenant to discuss the agreement.


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to table until the June meeting the decision regarding the purchase of additional PPEs for the fire fighters. The motion passed unanimously. Chief Farnsworth had presented information on the cost of acquiring new PPEs for all firefighters to ensure the equipment meets NFPA standards. The total cost of the PPEs and SCBAs would be $74,143.85. The commissioners are intent on providing the firefighters with the best protection possible. However, this expenditure will not be possible if the levy in May does not pass.


Commissioner Shell reported on the February meeting of the Outreach Committee. A video program that the commissioners produced answering questions is on the website and Facebook. Another letter is being drafted.


The fire district has set up a fire district email service. This will keep all emails in the fire district domain.


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to authorize the payment of the fire district invoices as listed below. The motion passed unanimously.


White Peterson (Attorney) $1,462.75

ICRMP (Insurance) $786.50

State Insurance Fund (Workers’ comp) $729.00

Deaton & Company (Professional services: accountant) $230.00

  • A motion was made by Commissioner Shell and seconded by Commissioner Curtis to authorize the payment of the fire department invoices as listed below. The motion passed unanimously.


L.N. Curtis (PPE) $135.77

Office Depot (Office supplies) $6.69

Ft Hall Irrigation (Facilities: water) $111.15

Federal Surplus Property (Equipment: truck) $37.13

City of Chubbuck (Facilities: water/sewer) $112.78

Commercial Tire (Vehicles: maintenance) $2,210.00

Idaho Department of Lands (PPE) $2,210.53

  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to approve the payment of the bill pay invoices as listed below. The motion passed unanimously.


Intermountain Gas (Natural gas) $384.32

Sparklight (Internet) $72.24

Idaho Power (Electricity) $152.43


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to approve the fire department credit card charges as listed below. The motion passed unanimously.


Amazon (Equipment: truck) $164.19

City of Chubbuck (Facilities: water) $200.00

Advance Auto (Supplies) $61.41

Home Depot (Facility: fixtures/supplies) $161.28

Gem State Paper (Facility: fixtures/supplies) $244.32

Amazon (IT/supplies) $60.53

Idaho Department of Transportation (Vehicles: license/registration) $23.69

Little Caesar’s Pizza (Fire event: food) $20.13

Common Cents (Vehicles: fuel) $89.76

CARiD (Paypal) (Vehicles: maintenance) $34.75

First Net (Facility: phone) $104.28

Shell – Jackson’s (Vehicles: fuel) $57.30

NEW BUSINESS

There will be an agenda item on subsequent meetings to allow public input.


The next regular meeting will be April 8, 2021 at 7 PM.


  • A motion was made by Commissioner Curtis and seconded by Commissioner Shell to adjourn the meeting at 8:28 PM. The motion passed unanimously.


Respectively submitted,



June Heilman, Secretary



APPROVED at the APRIL 8, 2021 MEETING