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2007-07-10-SP MTG31 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING 07-11-2007 MTG#31 1 SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING MTG#31 JULY 10, 2007 RES#327 7:00 P.M. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT SUPERVISOR DANIEL STEC COUNCILMAN ROGER BOOR COUNCILMAN RICHARD SANFORD COUNCILMAN JOHN STROUGH COUNCILMAN TIM BREWER REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL FIRE DEPARTMENTS PRESENT AND FIRE CONSULTANT - MIKE WILBUR Discussion held with representatives from fire companies and Mr. Wilbur. Mr. Wilbur stated he called the meeting for several reasons before he would agree to take the consulting work, one of the things he would need from them is a Memorandum of Understanding that they would like to write up after this if they agree to take the work. I want you to air any concerns that you have doesn’t believe in doing this subversively everything is out in the open, we have nothing to hide we want to come in here and help to try to make things better. Believes strongly in representing the best interest of the citizens for fire protection here in the Town as well as the safety and well being of the fire fighters that operate the apparatuses. What we would like to do is to put all five-fire companies on a pre-replacement schedule to replace equipment as it is needed and as it becomes due. All the work we do is based on ISO Standards on NFPA, National Standards national accepted practices. The work is based on facts you will be asked to provide documentation for each fire companies and with that, you will be asked to provide a liaison. If we decide to take this project on, a liaison from each fire company would deal directly with us. The liaison part in this would be to obtain records for us that we need to put reports together. Records, which would include equipment inventories for each of the apparatus. Your current ISO report we would need, also maintenance records. We would need a liaison to point out target hazards, things of interest that you feel as it relates to fire protection. Anybody can ask questions if you have a question the liaison can call us and ask the question we will get the answer. We are here to evaluate what kind of fire protection you have. The vehicles that you have now that need to be replaced and when they need to be replaced. We want to come up with a Master Plan for Fire Protection for the Town. It will allow the Town to allocate funds. It will be able to predict capital expenditures. Councilman Brewer-Would like to know what we need and what we do not need. If we have something in one particular place that is not necessary could be better used somewhere else certainly, I want to know that. If there is something that we do need and we do not have absolutely we would want to know. Supervisor Stec- Spoke regarding the issue of manpower also noted that the five-year capital plans have never been coordinated. Councilman Sanford-Would like to keep a singularly approach to the kinds of things that have been mentioned. Councilman Boor-Would be curious to know how they stand compared to most other communities for what we currently have. Supervisor Stec-The Memorandum of Understanding at some point in the near future you will provide the draft that you would like us to work off ,I will share with the board and all five companies. Mr. Wilbur asked each of the fire companies if they had any issues or concerns. Bay Ridge Fire Company Representative – Capital purchases long-term verses short term. Mr. Wilbur-We can forecast what equipment you need and we can try to come up with a method of how you are going to pay for it. It will be on a schedule it does not matter who occupies these seats. South Queensbury Fire Representative – Period to get all information. Mr. Wilbur-Looking at each fire company getting a copy of their report there will be a copulation of all the above so that they will have a blue print on how to do it We will see how many more things get added to the list as far as work then we can have a better approximation of time. We are going to try to do this is a timely fashion it is going to be a lot of work and it will take time. What fire company do we start with first? Before we get started, the next meeting we will put everybody’s name in a hat and we will pick. Councilman Boor-Anticipate six months? Mr. Wilbur- Six to eight anticipated start date for this would probably be after Labor Day. West SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING 07-11-2007 MTG#31 2 Glens Falls Fire Representative-Thought that they were going to start with them. When you are done with our company itself are you going to give a copy to Dan and myself or do we wait until the study is done on all the departments. Mr. Wilbur-You will get your individual copies, Dan will get a copy, and you can talk about it. In all fairness to Dan, he will not be able to make any kind of educated decisions until he gets the other four reports back. Simultaneously I will email a draft copy of the report to you and you. Your job is to look to make sure that is correct. The facts and opinions that are written will not change it is just a courtesy to make sure that all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed. Once we get an email from you that the facts are correct when we need to make changes once that is done six copies of the report are going to be sent out with an invoice for that portion of the work. You have sixty days in which we can schedule a meeting together with somebody from the Town and with the Fire Department and any other principals that you want to have and discuss our findings. Councilman Sanford-Asked how could they move forward if they do West Glens Falls first with issuing a report without having the benefit of understanding what the inventory equipment that Central might have, which could assist West in the case of a fire emergency what they don’t have. Mr. Wilbur-What they will require from each of the participants they will provide us with documents so that we will be able to go through that a lot of this will be going on simultaneously. Councilman Sanford-Wanted to make sure that all the dependencies were factored in. Mr. Wilbur-No, we could not do it that way. Fire Representative- Would like to see what you are requesting from the Town we need to be to prepare for the future of Town but is not a visual out there now. Supervisor Stec-One of the documents that you should have a working knowledge of is our Code. We have a Buildout Study what we think the population might be in the next thirty years, we have a Master Plan that should be part of what you do. Queensbury Central Fire Representative- We are all five separate departments’ five separate needs this needs to be addressed. Mr. Wilbur-This is why we ask for the map that we are going to be able to mark up that is going to be unique to you this is why we want a liaison from your department that knows your district. Supervisor Stec-We have many of those resources. One of the first things I would want you to do is to talk to some of our staff the people downstairs so that you are familiar with what resources they can provide you. Councilman Boor-Would you be making recommendations on things such as dry hydrants. Mr. Wilbur-We can do that, that is why we are having this discussion to get the scope of this worked out. Supervisor Stec-Spoke with Warren County Soil and Water they said they would do all the paper work permitting. They like to do this they do it throughout the County all the time. Queensbury Central Fire Company Representative-The total study of the Town apparatus study are we going to look at the manpower, look at response areas, call volume this all plays into apparatus as well as water supply. Supervisor Stec-The manpower portion is definitely something we want to follow through with we would like you to propose that in addition to the apparatus because they are related as part of the study. Mr. Wilbur-Do you want a full Fire Protection Study we can do that. Councilman Sanford-Thinks what Joe is saying is Central is the most active of the five companies they use a great amount of volume thinks he is saying it needs to be factored in the analysis. You wouldn’t want that to be held as a neutral variable in the equation he wants that factored in there is a lot more activity and a lot more of a need for certain things as opposed to a more rural setting where perhaps there isn’t. Councilman Brewer-You will see this because the beginning of his opening statement he said he wanted volumes. Councilman Sanford- Does not see where it is going beyond an apparatus study. Supervisor Stec-That is part of the apparatus study. Mr. Wilbur-We can factor in it to the extent that it relates to apparatus decisions. There is another study that could be done to say let us look at the central district we could do it; it would make it more expensive. Councilman Brewer-In my opinion I do not think that is what we were looking for. Mr. Wilbur-I think the consideration and what direction that goes is going to affect the fire protection for the entire Town. It can be a service for the entire Town that will help the problems that the other companies are having. North Queensbury Fire Representative –You said that you look at the Mutual Aid Departments and the Fire Departments bordered by two out of town departments, asked if they meet with those particular companies heads find out what their five-year plans are so you know what’s coming as far as apparatus or is it a basic analysis. Mr. Wilbur-We go up and look at the equipment they have. If they can only man a couple of pieces then that is not mutual aid for you and it will not help you. It is not just about the equipment it is about the ability to get it off the floor. North Queensbury Fire Representative- A big factor that all five departments do is special SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING 07-11-2007 MTG#31 3 rescue needs how do you consider those into the study. Mr. Wilbur-You are going to give us the last three years of call volume we are going to look at that. Obviously you have the equipment there we may ask you for training records, I don’t know if we are going to go that deep or not just to see where you are going and what you are doing try to get a snap shot of what goes on those things are going to be factored in. How many auto extrications did you do out on the highway. How many water rescues did you do? How many people showed up to do them. How many people do you have trained to do that kind of work? What kind of special apparatus do you have what might you need in the future to provide that service? Who has that particular apparatus potentially close to you that may help you provide that service those are things that we would have to take into account we operate on the facts. North Queensbury Fire Representative-Are you paid on an hourly basis you are going to do a proposal to the Town saying this is what we think it is going to entail, how much it is going to cost? Mr. Wilbur-Right. Probably what is going to happen we are going to write a contract up it will cost X amount of dollars. When we deliver to one of the departments, the expectation is that there is going to be a check cut for that portion of the work. As we go along, we will go into do it as we go and go as we go and be paid as we go for doing what we do. Councilman Strough-Spoke regarding the Apparatus Report he put together. In that, various departments have made recommendations to me, which I have been incorporating. I have a lot of the inventory of the five companies I can email you this. Received a phone call that you work for a company that sells apparatus LaFrance. Mr. Wilbur-I do not work for American LaFrance nor have I ever. I have done consulting for American LaFrance. I have done consulting for Pierce. I do not work or get paychecks from either of them I am independent. Any time there are any questions like that I work for NYC Fire Department I have been there for twenty-six years and I work for this company. I write articles for Firehouse and have written some other stuff these two are my two employers. (Tape stop due to power outage) RESOLUTION ADJOURNING SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING RESOLUTION NO. 327, 2007 INTRODUCED BY: Mr. John Strough WHO MOVED FOR ITS ADOPTION SECONDED BY: Mr. Roger Boor RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Queensbury hereby adjourns its Special Town Board Meeting. th Duly adopted this 10 day of July, 2007, by the following vote: Ayes: Mr. Boor, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Strough, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Stec Noes: None Absent:None No Action Taken Respectfully Submitted, Darleen M. Dougher Town Clerk Town of Queensbury