Western Lakes Fire District’s Fire Board or Commission

Western Lakes Fire Board Monthly Board Meeting October 26, 2020 Call to Order  Jeff Roemer called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Board members present were Jeff Roemer, Kent Lorenz, Bill Riemenschneider, Mike Tompkins, Lisa Mellone and Jimi Hall. Also, in attendance were Chief Brad Bowen, Assistant Chief Matt Haerter, Deputy Chiefs Tim Meyer, Brad Ingersoll and Chris Igl, Division Chief Alex Konen, Battalion Chief Steve Pflanzer and Administrative Assistant Michael Krug. George Morris was excused. Proof of Notice  Mike Krug announced that the notice was posted October 23rd to the district web site, newspapers and at stations 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Pledge of Allegiance  Tim Meyer led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comment  Jeff Roemer opened the meeting to comments from the public, of which there was none. Consent Agenda  Items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered in one motion unless a Fire Board Member requests that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda o Minutes of September 28th regular Fire Board Meeting o Payment of Bills o Ambulance and Highway refunds  A motion was made by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Bill Riemenschneider to accept the Consent Agenda items. Motion carried. Fire Chief Brad Bowen’s Report  Chief Bowen reported that the hiring process is underway for FT/Medic’s and a HR Manager. Applications are due by October 30th. For the FT/Medic position, experience has shown most applications will come in at the end. We are competing with many other area departments who are also hiring.  Chief Bowen updated the board stating we currently have two full-time employees with Workers Comp injuries.  On October 12th, we responded to a report of a possible drowning in the area of the dam between Fowler Lake and Lac LaBelle. Shore personal maintained a visual of where the person was last scene and divers found the victim within five minutes of entering the water. The patient was transported, but pronounced dead at the hospital. Assistant Chief’s and Bureau Reports  The Assistant chief and Bureau reports were distributed earlier.  Jeff Roemer asked if there were any questions regarding the reports of which there were none. Discussion – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Donation  A power-point presentation was included with the materials on the donation of a drone. October 26, 2020 Fire Board Meetring.docx Page 1 of 3   The Western Lakes Fire & EMS Association is receiving donations for the purchase of a drone. The association will the make the purchase and donate the drone to the district.  Assistant Chief Haerter and Deputy Chief Ingersoll have been researching options for the drone and have contacted other agencies including FDNY and attended trade shows and spoke to vendors. Other agencies have told us of mistakes that they made so we can avoid those same mistakes.  The drone that will be acquired is the DJI Matrice 210.  Lisa Mellone asked how many people will be trained to fly the drone. DC Ingersoll said about 5-7 members and all chief officers. Discussion/Action – Two-year Line-of-Credit renewal  Chief Bowen stated that all of the municipalities have approved the two-year line-of-credit and signed resolutions of approval.  Ixonia Bank created the renewal paperwork which needs to be signed by the four executive board members.  A motion was made by Jimi Hall and seconded by Kent Lorenz to renew our line of credit. Motion carried. Discussion/Action – Acceptance and Spending of WI DNR Grant  DC Meyer was responsible for the grant. We were awarded $8,500 which was 50% of our project total that included PPP, Training, Tools & Equipment and communications equipment.  A motion was made by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Bill Riemenschneider to approve the acceptance and spending of the WI DNR grant. Motion carried. Discussion/Action – Acceptance and Spending of AFG Grant  The AFG grant was a multiple agency grant for Blue Card Training. Division Chief Konen was responsible for this grant. The portion we received from the North Shore Fire Department was $33,496.36 which covered 90% of our costs.  A motion was made by Bill Riemenschneider and seconded by Kent Lorenz to approve the acceptance and spending of the AFG grant. Motion carried. Discussion/Action – Routes to Recovery Grant funding request  The Routes to Recovery grant is available to municipalities for expenditures necessary to respond to COVID. The fire district is not able to apply, but the municipalities can apply on our behalf. The consensus of the board was that we should peruse all available options to recover costs related to COVID.  A motion was made by Bill Riemenschneider and seconded by Lisa Mellone to request the municipalities to include the Fire District in their request for grant funding. Motion carried. Discussion/Action – Station 3 remodel Design & Construction Agreement  Oliver Construction presented a proposal for Architectural plans and Design services. Total cost of the plans and services is $9,600.  A motion was made by Jimi Hall and seconded by Kent Lorenz to approve the Design & Construction Agreement. Motion carried. Discussion/Action – Fair Labor Standards Act Safe Harbor Policy  This policy was recommended by our labor attorney. It is a new policy.  A motion was made by Jimi Hall and seconded by Mike Tompkins to approve the Fair Labor Standards Act Safe Harbor Policy. Motion carried. October 26, 2020 Fire Board Meetring.docx Page 2 of 3 Discussion/Action – Unlawful Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Policy  This policy was recommended by our labor attorney. It is a new policy.  The policy needs an amendment to section H on reporting harassment to include the Duty Chief or HR Manager so that the Chief, Duty Chief or HR Manager would be notified of harassment.  A motion was made by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Bill Riemenschneider to approve the amended Unlawful Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Policy. Motion carried. Discussion/Action – Confidentiality Policy  This policy was recommended by our labor attorney. It is a new policy.  A motion was made by Jimi Hall and seconded by Lisa Mellone to approve the Confidentiality Policy. Motion carried. Discussion – Human Resources Manager Process  Chief Bowen advised that the job posting was placed in many places. Thus far, we have had 15 applications received and the due date is Friday October 30th. Chief Bowen has had discussions with our labor attorney and City of Oconomowoc Human Resources Director Tony Posnik on how best to process the applications. The plan is to have Tony Posnik and Mayor Magnus review and rate the application, picking the top five. A group of five members will then interview the top five candidates on November 13th. The Fire Board will then make the final decision. Adjournment  At 5:15 pm, a motion was made by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Kent Lorenz to adjourn. Motion carried  A tour of station 2 was conducted following the meeting. The next regular board meeting will be November 23rd. October 26, 2020 Fire Board Meetring.docx Page 3 of 3