Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee

City of Nonvich Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Fund Committee Minutes Meeting # 89 The Volunteer Firefighte~' Relief Fund Committee held its eighty-ninth meeting on Monday, September 13, 20~4 at 5:00 p.m. in room 209, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut. 1. ROLL CALL Members present were: Thomas Dawkins, Personnel Manager Thomas Quinley, Yantic Joshua Pothier, Deputy Comptroller Karen Mankowski, Occum Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill Dennis Davis, City Pension Board Robert Zarnetskie, Assistant City Manager Members absent were: Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller/Treasurer Miriam Lopez, Citizen Appointee Gregory Ensling, East Great Plains Richard Podurgiel, City Manager Joseph Morse, Citizen Appointee Richard Benoit, Taftville Red McKeon, OccumlPast Chairman Thomas Dawkins called the meeting to order at 5:10p.m. 2. MINUTES a) Review of last meeting minutes. Motion made to accept minutes as read by Dennis Davis. Seconded by Karen Mankowski. Approved. 3. REPORTS a) Treasurer's Report: Josh Pothier reviewed Treasurer's reports from April through July 2004. There was a brief discussion regarding $580.00 of Actuary fees that was noted on May report. Josh Pothier and Thomas QUinley agreed to take this open item and investigate further to deternline if the charges are appropriate or not. This will be discussed further at the next regular m·eeting. Motion was made by Thomas Quinley to accept the report as provided with the inclusion of the open item. Seconded by Dennis Davis. Approved. 4. COMMUNICATIONS None 5. OLD BUSINESS a) A letter was sent to Miriam Lopez regarding her continued membership on the Volunteer Fire Fighters' Relief Fund Committee. Mr. D~wkins, Personnel Director, noted in the August 26, 2004 letter that Ms. Lopez has missed at least 3 consecutive meetings and must advise in writing whether to continue or withdraw by the next regular scheduled meeting, September 13, 2004. (See attached letter.) As oftod-ay's date, Mr. Dawkins has received no response from Ms. Lopez. Thomas Quinley made a motion that the Conlmittee should follow the established protocol for removing Ms. Lopez and replacing her with a new member as soon as possible. Seconded by Dennis Davis. Approved. 6. NEW BUSINESS a) Josh Pothier advised the Committee that Carol from the Finance Office has provided copies of the most current "Refund of Relief Fund Contributions" forms with an included one page protocol for submitting refund requests. Each Department received a packet containing a minimum of three (3) forms. Each request submitted to the Committee with copies to the Firefighter, Comptroller/Treasurer, and Personnel Office. b) A brief discussion occurred regarding the recent death of Michael Coffey from Occum and the status of his beneficiary designation. The Committee agreed to create an open item for Chief McKeon and Karen Mankowski to determine the appropriate submittal of death benefit paperwork to assure the correct refund is processed for the appropriate family member(s). It was noted that Mr. Coffey had approximately 26 years of active service with the Occum Fire Department. c) The paid City Fire Department Union Representative(s) has requested a meeting with the appropriate City Officials regarding response time concerns associated with the upcoming Department of Transportation work plan for the Laurel Hill Bridge. Currently, bridge reconstruction is due to begin in late spring 2005. A final decision regarding schedule and staging of fire apparatus to mitigate any concerns is due by the end of January 2005. Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire COlJlpany has reportedly made an offer to allow the staging of equipment and personnel in their station. 7. OTHER BUSINESS a) Next regularly scheduled meeting is December 13, 2004 at 5:00 pm. 8. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Thomas Quinley and seconded by Dennis Davis. Approved, meeting adjourned at 5:32 p.m.  Respectfully Submitted, C2>~~11~--._~. l Thomas G. Quinley December 13, 2004  ·'. ;'':,::~}~£ *., -A--p,:;t~--z=s;~~~:;' ':~-~::~-:'~:~~-' -,. ,', ...",..... i_rm_~'..,.c··.,. CITYW NORWICH THOMAS F. DAWKINS­ Director ofPersonnel and Labor Relations PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT City Hall, 100 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360 (860) 823-3713· Fax (860) 823-3848 August 26, 2004 Miriam Lopez 480 New London Turnpike Norwich, CT 06360 Subject: Membership on Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Fund Committee Dear Ms Lopez, The Norwich City Charter (Chapter XVIII, Section 12) provides that any person appointed to any City commission who is absent from three consecutive meetings is considered removed from the commission. Meeting minutes indicate that you have missed at least three consecutive meetings of the Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Fund Committee. If you wish to continue as a member of the Committee, or if you wish to withdraw, please advise me in writing ineither case before the next meeting, which is Monday, September 13,2004,5:30 pm, at Norwich City Hall. If I do not receive your decision, or if you do not attend the September 13 meeting, you will no longer be considered a member of the Committee. Thank you for your prompt response to this matter. Sincerely, Thomas F. Dawkins Personnel Director cc: Members of Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Fund Committee An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer -------------------~. --_..• _ - - - .-­