5b Hanover Area Fire and Rescue Commission

Minutes Hanover Area Fire and Rescue Commission Meeting Held Thursday, October 20, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. Hanover Borough Office Present at the meeting: • HAFRC Chairman Bertram Elsner • Penn Township Commissioners Michael Brown, Mark Elksnis, and Mgr. Kristina Rodgers • Hanover Borough Councilman William Reichert • HAFR Chief Anthony Clousher, Executive Assistant Vanessa Larson • HAVFR Volunteers Jeffrey Spielman and alternate George Zimmerman • EMA Coordinator Jeff Waltman and Solicitor Iannacone Chair Elsner called the meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. Secretary Larson completed a roll call; five voting members present for a quorum. Announcement of Executive Session: No Executive Sessions have been held. Public Comment: None Consent Agenda Approval: o Members Spielman and Brown moved for the approval of all three items on the Consent Agenda. Motion carried unanimously. Treasurers Report: o Chief Clousher reported in the absence of Steve Otis. o As of September 30, income is 7% over budget; the fourth quarter installments from the municipalities have been invoiced. o Expenses overall are down by 3% although Insurance, Professional, and Contracted Services are over budget. o Chief Clousher mentioned the Borough’s 2022 Sutphen billing, we received and paid that invoice on 10/17/2022. Committee Reports: o Finance & Personnel reported by Chief Clousher o Due to the joint Civil Service list created earlier this year being exhausted and Penn Township wanting to hire a 16th firefighter, Chief Clousher asked for a motion to create a new joint hire list. Motion made by members Brown and Spielman. Motion carried unanimously. o Solicitor Iannacone stated that Penn Township should take this to their board to approve the hire. o Standard Operating Procedure moving forward is to always maintain a valid list. October 20, 2022 Meeting Page 1 of 4  o Facilities & Apparatus: See report sent with agenda. o Fire Chief’s Report: o In addition to the report sent to commission members, Chief Clousher reported that EMS will be on standby at the Snack Town Fest, the Halloween Parade and Trick-or-Treat. o We have been in the process of promoting a replacement captain at Penn Township. A selection has been made for the position who will be sworn in at the November Commission meeting. o EMS Report: o EMS responded to 410 calls in September with 411 patients. o We are currently conducting interviews for full-time Paramedics and are in need of EMT’s as well. o EMS is still following CDC recommendations for COVID. A slight increase is expected with cold weather ahead. o Currently there is a heavy spike in the RSV virus. Doctors are recommending people with cold symptoms stay home to help stop the spread. o Business Administrator Report: o Referencing the Medical Standby Agreement template provided by Mr. Poland, discussion ensued as follows: o This topic has come to light as we have received complaints from parents when our ambulance leaves a football game to answer a call. Also, Mr. Poland talked about the fact that we could earn income from this service; a new income line would be created in the Commission general ledger. o Rates shown in the document were garnered from the East Coast area, which is a comparable rate to cover OT pay, equipment and vehicle wear and tear. o Commissioner Brown asked if we have the equipment/personnel available? Yes, it would be a mandated shift using our third ambulance. o In the event of an Ambulance trip from said event, the patient would be billed. o We currently do receive a donation from South Western HS, but not from Hanover HS. o Councilman Reichart stated we should have permission from the municipalities to provide this service. Also, requests could not be impromptu, we would need documentation of the size and length of the event, etc. He also recommended collaborating with our Solicitor for verbiage on the document. Advertising this service should also take place. o Referencing the PA Fire Recovery Service document provided by Mr. Poland, discussion ensued as follows: o This topic is only for review this evening; but Mr. Poland would like to see this approved by ordinance. o This is a billing recovery service that would generate income back to the Commission for large-scale events (usage of foam, damage to Turn Out gear, hoses, etc.) This particular company is very aggressive in processing collections. Their average recovery is $1,262 per event. October 20, 2022 Meeting Page 2 of 4  o Mr. Poland stated we could establish our own guidelines where the Commission would produce the invoice and collect the funds. o The Fire Chief would make the decision for us to collect for a fire event. o Commissioner Brown recommended review by all board members for discussion at our November 2022 meeting. o 2023 Budget: o The 2023 budget was submitted to the Finance and Personnel Committee, but their monthly meeting was cancelled and not rescheduled. o The budget was prepared two ways – one with Commission only expenses, the other included the Penn Twp. and Hanover Borough fire payroll and their related benefits. o Solicitor Iannacone stated that our budget needs to be approved and to the municipalities by December 1st for their approval. o EMA Report: In addition to the report sent with the agenda: o Mr. Waltman is in the process of finalizing the Halloween parade and GIS maps that are divided into ten sectors for each of the parade marshals. o Pertaining to the previous discussions on intersection barriers, a meeting was held with Public Works, Borough officials, Police and Chief Clousher. Costs were discussed and a vendor is scheduled to meet. o Mr. Waltman discussed current problems with Red Cross no longer having a local chapter and enlisting volunteers. He met with the Department of Human Services and Red Cross recently. There were no answers on the sheltering and direct response issues we are encountering, and he was told that vouchers would only be handed out with the total destruction of a home. He spoke of the need to look locally to churches and other organizations. He indicated a local church does want to focus their mission group locally as opposed to oversees, so that is promising. o Hanover Area Volunteer Fire and Rescue Report: o Mr. Zimmerman’s monthly report has been sent with these meeting minutes. Unfinished Business: o Concerning the Union Contracts, the firefighters are asking for mandatory recall if more than two pieces of apparatus leave the Borough/Township area or if we would send someone to pick up a piece of apparatus 30 miles away. o Also, if we have a working incident in the Borough/Township that requires all on duty, this leaves no one to respond to another incident. Per Chief Clousher, it does go to a working fire box that indicates off-duty personnel should report to the station. o Commission Elksnis indicated Penn Twp. did not approve mandatory recall in their contract, and he feels this should be the responsibility of the Commission/Fire Chief. o Mr. Poland stated that the Fire Chief can call in other departments for coverage if the event is large scale (a transfer.) o Both current contracts do have a clause for minimum of four persons on duty every day. New Business: None October 20, 2022 Meeting Page 3 of 4 Public Comment: None At 6:42 p.m. motion to adjourn made by members Elksnis and Reichart. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Vanessa Larson Recording Secretary October 20, 2022 Meeting Page 4 of 4