The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am. In attendance were Supervisors Brandt, and Wortham, the Clerk, firefighters Clasen, Stoltman, & Schultz, and former fighfighters Wilske & Badger.
Supervisor Brandt provided an intro to the truck purchase process to date. He has met & talked with many people about the purchase.
Motion by Wortham, second by Brandt to reject the proposal from Custom Fire and defer indefinitely the purchase of the combo rescue/pumper truck as specified. This satisfies the sealed bid process as the township has the right to reject any and all bids.
Discussion of the motion continued.
Wortham listed reasons for the deferral being that the shared services study may provide insight on whether the truck would be beneficial to the department; and that the price was prohibitive and would take until 2017 to pay off given current capital project fund position.
Brandt had looked at a lot of info that the Board could review including what other area departments have for apparatus, the ISO rating process, and the trend toward shared regional organizations to provide fire service. He noted that some townships have decided to just give up providing fire protection due to the costs. Some areas have adopted “box calling” which can dispatch multiple departments automatically so combined capacity can be considered for ISO rating purposes. Some these options would be looked at in the shared services study if granted. The department has great people, training, and equipment and he wants that to continue, but didn’t expect the price to be that high. He understands that prices are always rising but the township does not have a large reserve at this time.
Chief Clasen explained some details regarding the shared services study grant. All 13 departments in the county have to be included so it is still not certain whether the grant & study will happen. The letter for our township showing support of the grant application has been submitted. His work on the project will serve as the in-kind donation that will satisfy the grant local match requirement. He had attended chief’s conference where box calling was discussed. Current method does not automatically call for mutual aid – it is up to the officer in charge at the scene – which affects how the ISO rating is calculated. The hang-up is at the county dispatcher office to have the staff to implement automatic box calling. In the meantime, the shared services study is not certain – the grant may be denied due to high tax base in area – and any result of the study couldn’t be implemented for many years after the study is completed. Schultz commented that it is difficult to get the required 100% buy in from the 13 departments. Clasen felt the department has to consider the residents’ needs right now. The rescue rig needs to be replaced now to have a unit to carry rescue equipment and provide a rehab area on scene.
Brandt asked for an explanation of how the new rig would be utilized on a typical call. Clasen said the new truck would replace two engines and would provide a SCBA filling station on scene, carry extrication tools, and the water rescue suits. It is also design to provide relay pumping capacity. For a typical structure fire scene, Engine 11 would be first and be deployed down the driveway close the structure. The new truck would be positioned at the end of the driveway with high-capacity lines running up to the structure. This provides the required two separate water lines powered by separate pumps to insure backup water is available whenever firefighters are inside a structure. These methods are responses to changes in methods to provide redundant safety. If they are implemented and there is a problem then someone has to take the heat.
Clasen went on to explain his job is to direct the department to do what is best for the township residents. With trucks having a 20-30 year life, it is important to not purchase something that barely meets the needs as it will not meet needs in the future. Homes have gotten a lot bigger, and there are a lot more requirements that departments have to meet now. During the last ISO rating process, the department was only barely meet the requirements, and might not in future if pumper capacity is not added. Stoltman pointed out that when the last rating was done, houses over 4800 sq ft were not included in the calculations, but would be now.
Wilske commented that Pequot Lakes department has more infrastructure to protect with less equipment. Schultz explained that the truck committee had reviewed each piece of equipment and talked about what was needed. Wilske asked why a new set of extrication tools was needed as the department had just purchased a set earlier this year. Clasen responded that new materials used in new vehicles is stronger and requires the extra power of the new tools to cut. Station II is currently equipped with the old tool, but would get the recently purchased set once the new truck was in service, thereby providing both stations with identical equipment making it more efficient for training and service.
Badger asked if the county dispatcher could be set to do automatic calling of mutual aid. Suggested that the county commissioner be asked if that could be implemented.
Brandt asked what was needed to fix the old rescue van, Engine 16. Schultz responded that there had been different problems each time it was being used. Wortham asked if it could be checked over by a mechanic to determine cost of overhaul. Schultz responded there would be no way to make it reliable enough for emergency situations.
Wortham asked if it would be legally possible to combine departments more locally – Ideal, Pequot, and Crosslake, for instance. Clasen thought it might be worth considering but would likely take several years to implement.
Brandt thanked the speakers for their input, asked the clerk to confirm the wording of the pending motion, and asked for a vote. The clerk cited the motion as to reject the proposal from Custom Fire and defer indefinitely the purchase of the combo rescue/pumper truck as specified. Carried unanimous.
A discussion of the private home vacation rental legislative resolution took place. The resolution should be raised at the upcoming Crow Wing County Association of Township Officer meeting on September 15th so that it can rise up through the process and be considered at the L&R meetings at the state level in the spring. That would enable the resolution to be part of the lobbying by the township association for legislative action in the 2016 session. Brandt presented the resolution form provided by the association and asked for input.
The clerk presented the current draft of the Township of the Year application document for review by the Board. Some updates were suggested that the clerk will add to the document before mailing it to the association office.
There being no further business to conduct, the meeting adjourned at 11:30 am.
John Plein
Ideal Township Clerk
September 6th, 2014