Western Lakes Fire District’s Fire Board or Commission

Western Lakes Fire Board Monthly Board Meeting January 27, 2020 Call to Order  George Morris called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Board members present were George Morris, Bill Riemenschneider, Mike Tompkins, Jimi Hall, and Jeff Roemer. Also, in attendance were Chief Brad Bowen, Assistant Chiefs Matthew Haerter and Tom Schuetz, Deputy Chiefs Tim Meyer and Kami Warren, Oconomowoc Finance Director Laurie Sullivan, Town of Oconomowoc Administrator Jeff Herrmann and Administrative Assistant Michael Krug. Kent Lorenz was excused. Proof of Notice  Mike Krug announced that the notice was posted Thursday January 23rd to the district web site, newspapers and at stations 1 and 2. Pledge of Allegiance  Jeff Herrmann led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment  George Morris opened the meeting to comments from the public, of which there was none. Approval of Minutes  A motion was made by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Bill Riemenschneider to approve the minutes of the December 18, 2019 meeting as presented. Motion carried. Swearing in of Full-Time Employees  The meeting was moved from the conference room to the apparatus bay for the swearing in of the Full-Time employees. Friends and family of the new full-time employees were invited to the ceremony and there was a brief reception following the ceremony.  The following were sworn in: o Deputy Chief Chris Igl o Deputy Chief Adam May o Deputy Chief Brad Ingersoll o Division Chief Alex Konen o Captain Dylan Laue o Paramedic/Firefighter Corbin Schultz  President Morris completed the swearing in. At the completion of the swearing in ceremony, the board members returned to the conference room to continue with the board meeting. Fire Chief Brad Bowen’s Report  The monthly run report was included with the board packet. In December we had 442 calls bringing us to 4,927 calls for the year.  We had an incident at the beginning of the month in the Town of Merton where we were delayed in our response. The delay was because the zone had previously been changed to another area’s response area so when the Merton area was changed to Western Lakes, it was not included. That has been corrected and tested effective January 8th.  Stone Bank fire had hired a vendor to remove the Stone Bank stickers from their apparatus. In doing so, some paint was accidently removed from the five-year old engine. We are working January 27,2020 Fire Board Meeting.docx Page 1 of 3  with our district insurance company along with the vendors insurance company to ensure that it is repaired.  A summary sheet, which is being provided to all of our municipalities, was included which lists all of our district phone numbers and contact information along with areas of responsibility of our chief officers. This should be posted at each of the municipalities so the right person is being contacted for the right task.  A report of our workers comp analysis was included with the board packet.  A current Medicare Fee Schedule was included with the board packet to help explain why our write-off amounts are what they are for our Medicare population.  A copy of the Dodge County EMS Operations Study was included with the board packet. President Morris and Chief Bowen attended the last Dodge County board meeting last week where it was presented. Chief Officer Reports  Assistant Chief Haerter had nothing to add to his report and there were no questions.  Assistant Chief Schuetz had nothing to add to his report. Bill Riemenschneider asked about the problems with the cameras in the three ambulance and if it was the same problem in all. AC Schuetz replied that the initial installation was not up to speed and we had a local vendor correct the problems.  Deputy Chief Meyer had nothing to add to his report. Chief Bowen commented that the “Join the Fire Service” system we implement is working great and thanked the board for allowing us to trial the software. Jimi Hall asked for an updated copy of the training records of all employees to ensure that the employees just brought on to the district are up to speed and are meeting the requirements of the district.  Deputy Chief Warren had nothing to add to her report and there were no questions.  Chief Bowen asked for direction on how best to use the boards and chief officers time at the monthly meeting. Does the board want each chief officer to be at each board meeting, or is a comprehensive report acceptable each month, and then twice a year, each chief officer would give a presentation on what has been accomplished? Mike Tompkins asked what would be done if there was a question about one of the written reports. Chief Bowen stated he would take the question and get an answer and forward that answer to the board. The board agreed with the proposal. Discussion / Action - Station #1 Network Server Bid Approval  Chief Bowen stated that he included the State Approved Bid through CDW-G along with a bid from SSR. The bid from CDW-G was lower and is what the City of Oconomowoc uses (per Laurie Sullivan) so the recommendation is to use CDW-G.  A motion was made by Jimi Hall and seconded by Jeff Roemer to approve the requisition at a cost not to exceed $39,843.84. Motion Carried. Discussion / Action – Marine 1 Bid Approval  Chief Bowen stated that as a result of the recent consolidations, he had the committee working on the specifications and needs assessment complete a comprehensive needs analysis with employees that joined the District from Okauchee. Specific items that the committee was tasked to review and present to administration included, how many boats does the District need and why, what type and size of boat is needed, and what efficiencies can be made with the recommended purchase. After analyzing the calls for service in the district and the number of lakes in the district the recommendation is to continue to maintain two boats. The recommendation includes full elimination of one boat and trailer, with the purchase of the replacement marine 1 which will have a small zodiac mounted above the boat for rescue January 27,2020 Fire Board Meeting.docx Page 2 of 3  operations and access to locations in the district that the boats are not able to gain access. A copy of a presentation by the Dive team leaderships analysis was included. George Morris asked how many bodies of water are in the district. Chief Bowen stated that there are 91 bodies of water according the DNR definition, of which 28 of the 91 have boat launches, and there are multiple rivers in our district.  A motion was made by Jimi Hall and seconded by Jeff Roemer to approve the requisition at a cost not to exceed $81,955.00. Motion Carried.  Mike Tompkins asked about trying to get help from lake associations. Chief Bowen stated we were waiting for approval of the acquisition prior to going to any of the associations. Discussion / Action – Engine 63 Bid Approval  Chief Bowen stated that this is a replacement of a 20-year-old engine. Only one bid is being presented due to the complexity of the specialties of manufactures. Our last engine from Pierce, purchased four years ago, was $655,000. We did compare Seagrave and E-1 when we made the purchase from Pierce four years ago.  A motion was made by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Jimi Hall to approve the requisition at a cost not to exceed $747,626.00. Motion Carried. Discussion / Action – Ambulance & Highway Billings  There were no ambulance or highway bill refunds to approve. Discussion / Action – Payment of Bills  A motion was made by Jeff Roemer and seconded by Mike Tompkins to approve the bills totaling $312,490.76. Motion Carried. Future Meetings  The February Fire Board meeting will be held on Monday February 24th starting at 4:00 pm at the Pabst station. Adjournment  A motion was made at 5:00 pm by Jeff Roemer and seconded by Bill Riemenschneider to adjourn. Motion carried. January 27,2020 Fire Board Meeting.docx Page 3 of 3