SOURDOUGH RURAL FIRE DISTRICT MINUTES
January 19,2009 6:35 PM
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Trustees of the Sourdough Fire District
Monday, January 19, 2009
The regular meeting of the Trustees of the Sourdough Fire District was called to order at 6:35 p.m. Monday, January 19, 2009 at the South Third Fire Station. Present were Trustees Geddes, Kraft, Robertson, Rogers and Larimer. Fire Chief Crandell and attorney Kate Dinwiddie were present.
Public Comment:
Public comment was provided by Gil Moore, Trustee for Central Valley Fire District. Moore provided a copy of LC2019 which is a proposed bill requiring Trustees to submit a detailed report to the County Commission at the end of the fiscal year. Moore also provided a copy of a recent Belgrade article that stated that the subdivision regulations related to fire protection would be revised by the County Commission. Moore suggested that the Board appoint two trustees to sit on a committee with other fire department trustees to discuss a strategy on how to deal with these issues.
Work Session:
Member Geddes opened the work session discussion on risk management by stating that the Department has multiple needs and not enough resources. The purpose of the session would be to identify those potential events that cause risk, evaluate the probability of the event occurring and then rate the impact of the event if it were to occur. The goal is to take the probabilities and reduce the impact. The Board can’t afford to focus on more than three events due to limited resources. There are different ways to address each event. Some are long term, some are short term. The Board created the following Risk Management Chart:
EVENT PROBABILITY IMPACT
#1 Staff recruitment/retention 5, 6, 7, 8 9, 10
#1A – No volunteers 5, 8 10
#1B – No daytime response 9 10
#2 Double Engine Failure 1 10
#2A – Pumper Failure (1) 2, 3, 4, 5 4, 5, 6, 7
#3 Water Tender Failure 9 5, 6, 8
#4 Adequate Mill Levy(General) 7, 8 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Not Supported
#5 Station Failure (S. 3rd) 2, 3 8, 9
Public comment was received on the question of whether or not other fire departments were doing a risk management analysis and that natural disasters were not included on the risk matrix which would be events from a customer perspective. Board discussion followed and Member Geddes stated that he would draft an outline of what the Board discussed for review at the Board’s next meeting.
Consent Agenda:
Geddes moved to approve the consent agenda. Larimer seconded. Motion was approved 5-0.
Regular Agenda:
1. Kandy Rose stated there were 2 new subdivisions interested in forming a neighborhood network. Rose also stated that she has been hearing from people in the community that they understand the need for a new station but are having difficult economic problems. She stated that the economic report states that the greatest financial impact to the Bozeman area should occur within six months. There was no public comment for this item.
2. Member Geddes opened the discussion regarding the Budget subcommittee report. The subcommittee had questions to staff regarding the administration support position, maintenance position, costs of engineering and reimbursement to members. Fire Chief responded to the questions and provided a work description for the administrative support position. Board questioned the need to have an engineer do any more work on the new station until the economy was in a more stable position. Fire Chief stated that engineering costs are a line item in the financial report and if the money was not spent, it would go back into the budget as carry over. Member Geddes suggested that the Board not ask an engineer about the costs per square foot for a new station now because with the current economic situation, the information may or may not be useful for a future mill levy. Board agreed. The Board directed staff to continue with having an engineer review the possibility of doing a boundary line realignment with the school to see if there would be any benefit to squaring up the property. Public comment was received regarding the potential of having the school grant the District an easement rather than buying property.
3. Member Geddes opened the discussion about the possibility of establishing a capital reserve fund. Board tabled discussion and decision so that Member Geddes could get an opinion from a financial advisor.
4. Staff presented the Resolution 2009-01 calling for the election of two trustee positions as required by state statute and the Gallatin County Election Administrator. No Board discussion or public comment. Member Rogers moved for approval. Geddes seconded. Motion passed 5-0.
5. Fire Chief’s report was presented to the Board. Fire Chief thanked Member Rogers for attending a training session. No public comment.
6. Chair Kraft attended the Hyalite Canyon Road Snowplowing Meeting with interested stakeholders. No other activities were reported. No public comment.
7. The next Board meeting will be held on February 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Executive Session:
Meeting was closed to the public pursuant to §2-3-203(3).
Submitted for review and approval at the regular March Board meeting.
SOURDOUGH FIRE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES – PUBLIC MEETINGS 