Western Lakes Fire District’s Fire Board or Commission

Western Lakes Fire Board Monthly Board Meeting February 24, 2025 Call to Order • George Morris called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. Board members present were George Morris, Jeff Roemer, Mike Tompkins, Kent Lorenz, Bill Riemenschneider, Dan DeBehnke, and Scott Carter. Proof of Notice • Chief Bowen announced that the notice was posted Friday, February 21, 2025, at 2:07 p.m. in accordance with open meeting laws. Pledge of Allegiance • Bill Riemenschneider led the Pledge of Allegiance Public Comment • George Morris opened the meeting up to public comment 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 January 27, 2025 regular Fire Board Meeting o Payment of bills in the amount of $1,341,869.77. • A motion was made by Dan DeBehnke and seconded by Mike Tompkins to approve the Consent Agenda items including meeting minutes from January 27, 2025 Fire Board meeting and payment of bills in the amount of $1,341,869.77. Motion carried unanimously. Fire Chief’s Report • Chief Bowen opened up with a positive call he received from the WCTC Association Dean of Fire/EMS regarding Deputy Chief Konen and the WLFD team that has been utilizing the Fire Training Grounds. The Association Dean shared how impressed she has been with the care of the WCTC facilities by the WLFD team. They treat the grounds and equipment as if it is their own and demonstrate great pride, ownership, and care. • Chief Bowen recognized and congratulated Assistant Chief Tom Schuetz on his recent retirement after serving the District and surrounding communities for 48 years. He has brought leadership, dependability, loyalty, and an overall commitment to excellence to work every day. • Chief reviewed the call volume of the District, including recently some shifts handling 47 calls in a 48-hour shift cycle and 75 calls in 72 hours. The winter has been interesting and challenging for the District and personnel, fluctuating between sub-zero temperatures and limited snow cover. This has resulted in concerns during structure fire responses, as well as concerns about ice safety and quality, leading to water rescues. In addition, with limited snowfall, concerns about wildland fires. • Other items shared with the board include updates on various legislative items that are being discussed and considered that impact Fire/EMS. He provided an update on the revisions to the Intermunicipal Agreement to incorporate the Town of Merton as an owner municipality. Legal has had delays in getting this back due to their workload. Chief also highlighted the District’s Professional Development Program that kicked off this month with the Clifton Strengths for current full-time officer, administrative staff, and those enrolled in the development program. Page 1 of 4 Chief Officer Reports • George Morris asked if any of the Chief’s had anything to add to their reports, and if the board had any questions. • Deputy Chief Ingersoll highlighted the work completed by DC Meyer, Karen Mundt, and himself with regards to staffing analysis and materials to help support the staff. • Jeff Roemer appreciated the additional information regarding mutual aid responses out of the District as well as mutual aid received. This is what he asked to have included moving forward. Discussion/Action – Line of Credit Renewal • Chief Bowen explained the District’s line of credit with Ixonia Bank is up for renewal for two years, as requested by the bank. They provide this line at no cost due to the District's other accounts but require a two-year approval to help offset legal and labor expenses associated with the documents. Since 2016, the District has maintained a $200,000 line of credit, recommended by both the Accounting and Auditing Firms. Although it hasn't been used, it serves as a safeguard against unforeseen expenses or reduced revenues, as exemplified during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic. A policy is in place for drawing on the line of credit, which includes calling an emergency meeting with the Fire Board and Chief Elected Officials before any withdrawals. • A motion was made by Kent Lorenz and seconded by Jeff Roemer to approve a two-year, $200,000.00 Line of Credit Renewal with Ixonia Bank as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Discussion/Action – 2024 Carryover Resolution • Chief Bowen announced that no action will be taken on this item at this time, and it will be brought back to the March meeting with the budget amendment materials. Discussion/Action – Duty Chief Shift Coverage and Compensation • Chief Bowen presented a guideline that outlines the mandates for the Duty Chief position within the District, which has been in effect for the past year. This guideline pertains specifically to the Duty Chief role, typically filled by a Battalion Chief. It is crucial that this essential position is filled at all times, especially when full-time Battalion Chiefs are on vacation, sick, or otherwise absent. • Historically, the District has benefited from having several part-time Chiefs available to cover these vacancies. However, due to attrition and the board's and municipalities' requests to reduce the number of Chief Officers following retirements, these positions have not been refilled. Consequently, filling these vacancies with part-time Chiefs has become increasingly challenging. • In 2024, each of the salaried administrative Chiefs worked two of these shifts, covering a total of 16 out of the 50 shifts, while the remainder were filled by part-time Chiefs. Unfortunately, due to additional retirements, there is currently only one part-time Chief available to take on these shifts. This situation will significantly increase the number of mandated shifts for full-time Chiefs. • To address this, a non-discretionary bonus is being proposed for salaried Chief Officers who cover these additional shifts beyond their regular assignments. This bonus will be available to all full-time salaried Chief Officers according to the guideline. • Additionally, the District is training full-time Captains to serve as Acting Battalion Chiefs to help cover these assignments and support succession planning for future development. This training will aid in ensuring adequate coverage; however, when Captains take on this role, their positions as frontline supervisors, firefighters, and paramedics will also need to be backfilled to maintain adequate daily staffing. The District must find a balance to manage the workload and avoid overburdening any one classification of staff. • Human Resources and the Chief have conducted a cost analysis to assess the financial impact of covering these shifts under various options. This analysis has been shared with the board for review and indicates that implementing this non-discretionary bonus would have a budget-neutral impact or even result in overall cost savings. Page 2 of 4  • Mike Tompkins, appreciated the financial analysis completed to ensure this is not going to negatively impact the District’s budget. Other members of the board appreciate the blended approach of covering these shifts with skilled and knowledgeable staff and preventing burnout of the team. • A motion was made by Jeff Roemer and seconded by Kent Lorenz to approve a non-discretionary bonus for salaried chiefs when picking up additional battalion chief shifts as outlined in the Duty Chief Position Mandate guideline in the amount of $500 for partial shifts of 12 to 23.99 hours and $1,000 for 24-hour shifts following final legal review and approval. This would be retroactive to January 1, 2025. Motion carried unanimously. Discussion/Action – 2025 CIP Project (Tender 56 Refurbishment) • Chief Bowen provided the board with background information on this capital project along with the additional analysis completed as part of this project along with the financial impacts of the projects. The municipalities have approved the capital improvement budget for 2025-2027 during the September 2024 meetings, addressing supply chain issues that have delayed equipment delivery. To ensure timely replacements and lock in pricing, orders are being placed now. The District covers urban and rural areas, with many lacking fire hydrants. Water is hauled by frontline apparatus, and additional water is supplied by four tenders, which are currently under evaluation for future needs. Of the four tenders, three have pumps for quick water supply, while Tender 96, one of the oldest at 20 years, lacks a pump. Instead of a full replacement, the budget now includes refurbishing it and adding a pump. • The evaluation of Tender 56 indicates that refurbishment is a viable option due to its care and maintenance, with the process taking less time and costing about half that of a new unit. This 20- year-old tender, with relatively low mileage, can meet current district standards and is expected to provide an additional 15 to 20 years of service. • We will also assess the need to maintain four tenders in the district for future replacements. The older units, set for refurbishment this year and next, hold over 3,000 gallons, which benefits our suppression efforts. The two newer tenders, from 2017, have capacities of 3,000 and 2,200 gallons. • DC Igl sought bids from four vendors but received only one due to others' current workloads and backlogs from repairs and maintenance issues. He attempted multiple times to obtain these additional bids, but due to the vendor's current workloads due to other similar projects, damaged vehicles, and new orders, they could not complete the work. • The 2025 budget allocates $250,000 for a refurbishment project of a current truck. The sole bid received is $198,354.11 from Rennert’s Fire Equipment Service, which is under budget. An additional cost of approximately $8,000 for new tires brings the total to $206,354.11. A 10% contingency of $20,000 is recommended, resulting in a projected total of $226,354.11, which is $23,645.89 under budget. • Citizen representative Kevin Laabs for the Town of Merton shared that he is happy to see the District taking this approach to maintaining apparatus. The specific Tender was a well-designed truck by the Stone Bank Fire Department Committee, and he is happy to see that the District is being fiscally conservative and maintaining this piece of apparatus. • A motion was made by Jeff Roemer and seconded by Dan DeBehnke to approve quote #4244 from Rennert’s Fire Service Inc. to refurbish Tender 56 in the amount of $198,354.11, and replacement tires in the amount of $8,000.00 and provide staff with a $20,000.00 contingency for unforeseen needs during the process. Motion carried unanimously. Future Agenda Items and Meetings • Monthly Fire Board Meeting – Monday, March 24, 2025, at 4:00 pm at Station 1. Closed Session • George Morris Announced that the Fire Board will convene into closed session pursuant to section 19.85(1)(c)(e), Wisconsin State Statutes, “To consider employment, promotion, compensation, or Page 3 of 4  performance evaluation of the District’s part-time and full-time employees, over which the Fire Board exercises responsibility;” and “deliberating or negotiating the purchase of public property, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session” for the following purposes: “Contract Service Agreements with Municipalities; Specific compensation, benefits, and performance evaluations related to specific employees.” The Fire Board will not reconvene into open session at the conclusion of the closed session. • A motion was made at 5:01pm to enter into closed session by Mike Tompkins and seconded by Kent Lorenz. Roll call vote was performed with all in favor. Adjournment • At 6:02 p.m. the meeting ended. Page 4 of 4