Monday, August 18, 2014

CFPD 8-14-14 Board meeting re-cap

At the CFPD 8-14-14 board meeting Director Jerry Andress said the current year was actually appearing to be over budget, which was in stark comparison to a projection earlier in the fiscal year by Chief Kovacs that the District would be functioning under budget. The monthly reports for both May and June were tabled pending further research.

The acceptance of a matching grant from the VFA (volunteer fire assistance) in the amount of $6,675.00 was agreed upon after much discussion with regards to the equipment being purchased with the monies and the necessity of the equipment. Director Keith Anderson pointed out that it was a matching grant, therefore it was also a "bill for $6,675.00" and wanted verification that the district really needed the equipment to justify the added expense. Chief Kovacs was absent as he was still on a strike team in NorCal and was not able to comment, yet Captain Cantrell confirmed that to his knowledge some of the equipment listed was needed.





Director Andress addressed the imbalance of training hours for volunteers as opposed to paid staff. Battalion Chief Toy explained that on duty staff are required to train daily on their shift which allots to more hours of training time for paid staff, whereas volunteers train twice monthly for three hours each.

Hydrant checks have been put on hold as CCWD has asked the flow of water to be for emergencies only. It is still not clear which entity is currently responsible for hydrant inspections; CCWD or CFPD, as the responsibility has changed hands many times throughout the years.

Dennis Mills, CCWD Board candidate for District 4 introduced himself in a hopes to "develop a dialog to have a cohesive relationship" with the fire district.

Equipment is now numbered for accountability when issued to volunteers.

Calaveras Public Power Agency approved an energy efficient grant for CFPD in the amount of $14,721 which will be used to replace their windows with double pained energy efficient windows.