Minutes

The Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District Board of Trustees met on March 11, 2024 at 5:30 PM at the fire station.
Quorum:
• Chris Schneider opened the meeting at 5:30. Trustees John Folkerts, Keith Detwiler, Brent Smith present. Brian Detwiler, Ryan Schladenhauffen, Roseanna Donaldson and Nathan Wiechmann also present.
Meeting Minutes:
• Minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting held on February 12, 2024 were duly moved and seconded. Said minutes were approved.
Bills Presented:
• The bills (see below) were presented and duly moved and seconded. Said bills were approved.
Fire Chief’s Report:
• Fire Chief Brian Detwiler reported 11 calls for February. 8 medical, 1 gas odor, 1 false alarm and 1 -1050. Tarp for 424 is done. They will be doing a walk through at Flanagan Fertilizer in the coming weeks. Likely 1-2 people will be joining the department. 1 is currently attending an EMT class. Cash Bash was a success. It was a milestone year and so they donated more prizes back to the community. The flag needs to be replaced by the road sign.
Ambulance Report:
• Ambulance report provided by Gridley EMS reported 16 calls, 13 transport - 7 nursing home, 3 canceled. Of the calls all 16 were ALS responding and 0 were BLS responding.
Old Business:
• Truck wash ideas were circulated. This task will no longer be the responsibility of the custodian Correy Jecklin. Scott Bartley showed interest in the job. We will look into installing a water softener at the station and also truck was equipment costs. 2000 psi electric hot water power washer.
New business:
Decennial Efficiency Committee Meeting tonight during the regular board meeting
• Trustees Chris Schneider, John Folkerts, Keith Detwiler and Brent Smith were present. Community members Nathan Wiechmann were present along with Brian Detwiler and Ryan Schladenhauffen.
• John Folkerts led the discussion. We started by discussing any follow up questions from the previous meeting or clarifying conversation. There was none.
• It was agreed that security cameras should be looked into and is reasonable to install for the protection of the district’s assets and safety surveillance.
• Flanagan – Graymont district is an ISO rating of 6. We are told that most communities of our demographics are a 7 and the Leroy community is a 5. The economic cost to improve this rating does not warrant the attempt at this time.
• Medical testing evaluations for volunteers will be investigated for implantation. Typically, EMS certified volunteers conduct testing on FGFPD volunteers during active training. A scripted testing evaluation may be another source to assess volunteer metrics.
• No further discussion. This portion of the meeting was adjourned.

Other New Business
• Community member Roseanna Donaldson attended the meeting and took some time to review the Economic Development Plan survey that was completed by Flanagan residence. There was a question in the survey regarding their opinion of emergency and ambulance services in the community. The results were below the target and in need of attention. This was a survey alone conversation as there has not been vocalized issues from the community to the district for below standard services rendered. Comments were made to question if the services of Gridley EMS had an impact on the survey results. The objective is to work towards improving these scores in the next 5 years. Improving website content, timely social media posts and increased education and communication are areas to target.
• John commented on the Flanagan Community Center committee round table discussion at the Flanagan State Bank that he attended. It appears the committee has secured a state grant for construction of the structure. Determining location, exact building specs and funds needed to complete the project are next steps for this committee. Trustees need to be thinking about ways that the district can support this center.
• Economic interest forms were reviewed and will be completed at the next meeting.
• Linde will move to an e-invoice and auto pay feature.
• Ryan commented on the lighting needs for the trucks and also to be thinking on ambulance replacement in the future budgets.

The following bills were presented:
Correy Jecklin $65.00
Ameren $221.03
Frontier $127.52
SELCAS $39.50 supplies
NICOR $299.82
Verizon $36.01
Linde Gas & Equipment $109.32
Liberty Mutual Insurance $1,672.00 Workman’s comp. insurance
Municipal Emergency Services $490.00 battery saw kit, chain
Sharps Compliance $678.13 hazardous waste containers and disposal processing
PNC Equipment Finance $ 37,082.61 Brush Truck Lease Payment
Stobbs & Sinclair, Ltd. $52.68 legal fees
United States Postal Service $72.00 PO box for 12 months
John Folkerts $46.25 reimburse for station cleaning supplies
The following receipts were presented:
none
It was duly moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned.

. .
Keith Detwiler, Secretary

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The Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District Board of Trustees met on February 12, 2024 at 5:30 PM at the fire station.

Quorum:

  • John Folkerts opened the meeting at 5:30. Trustees John Folkerts, Keith Detwiler, Brent Smith, Steven Koeller present. Brian Detwiler, Ryan Schladenhauffen, Grant Koeller and Nathan Wiechmann also present.

Meeting Minutes:

  • Minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting held on January 8, 2024 were duly moved and seconded. Said minutes were approved.

Bills Presented:

  • The bills (see below) were presented and duly moved and seconded. Said bills were approved.

Fire Chief’s Report:

  • Fire Chief Brian Detwiler reported 7 calls for January. 7 medical.  In summary there were 140 calls in 2023 and roughly 66% of them were medical calls.  There is discussion started for the Flanagan to build a community building.  Brian will attend a meeting on March 1 and report back on the details.  Cash Bash is February 24th.  2 ½ inch hose adapter added to the back of truck 426 for added functionality.  Nothing new to report on with MABAS.  All are still waiting on DuPage County equipment.  No change to officer elections.  Brian will make a move with the Lieutenant positions.

Ambulance Report:

  • Ambulance report provided by Gridley EMS reported 12 calls, 11 transport - 5 nursing home, 1 canceled. Of the calls all 12 were ALS responding and 0 were BLS responding.

Old Business:

  • The maintenance position duty list has been updated to be more specific. We have removed the duty of washing trucks and using water on the trucks.
  • We are looking for a person or service to hire to wash trucks on a dedicated schedule. Some ideas were discussed and we will follow up with Brent Cox and the body shop.
  • Tooley has agreed to push snow for hire if the station needs it. He will charge per service.
  • Motion made and seconded to appoint Brent Smith for trustee of the FGFPD. He will serve a three year term.  Said motion approved.  Paperwork was completed and sent to the Livingston County Board for final approval.

New business: 

Decennial Efficiency Committee Meeting tonight during the regular board meeting

  • Trustees John Folkerts, Steven Koeller, Keith Detwiler and Brent Smith were present. Community members Grant Koeller and Nathan Wiechmann were present along with Brian Detwiler and Ryan Schladenhauffen.
  • John Folkerts led the discussion. We started by discussing any follow up questions from the previous meeting or clarifying conversation.  There was none.
  • Discussion continued around the care for equipment and when to determine equipment replacement. FGFPD keeps a maintenance board in the building and equipment gets fixed timely when needed.  Few miles are put on the trucks, but the age wears on the equipment.  We wash and service the equipment regularly while also inspecting each truck.  The truck inventory is adequate for the services provided and there is no major concern with the equipment at this time.  We will continue to monitor and replace trucks as needed.  The equipment gets tested per equipment requirements.
  • FGFPD has transitioned from gas powered equipment to battery powered equipment as the technology has allowed that to happen. This has improved time to get the job completed on site, made it saver for the volunteers and is more reliable.  There continues to be a value in buying quality and also buying new when equipment is needed.
  • Township road commissioner Keith Iverson is a reserve volunteer to assist with county communication if they would arise.
  • E-dispatching is the preferred method to communicate with volunteers. There then is dialog to determine who can respond so that a plan is known at the site for responsibilities.
  • Community awareness is positive for the station, however they do not realize the level of preparedness and detailed training that goes into the volunteers time at the station. Two meetings a month provide information to prepare the volunteers.  One is a business meeting and one is a training meeting.  The department does not have a standard operating procedure manual.  Their training and assessment of each volunteers’ capabilities are main focuses of the department.  Volunteers are awarded duties and responsibility based on their abilities.
  • The station is not monitored with security cameras. Though the doors are locked with a keypad, it has been discussed to put up cameras to discourage theft and have the ability to replay a situation if it were to occur at the station.
  • It was agreed to have the next meeting during the March 11th FGFPD meeting. The goal was to keep the conversation progressing and keep the meetings less then an hour in time.

Other New Business

  • John will complete the OMA and FOIA training and provide completion certificates to Keith.
  • All will complete the sexual harassment training and provide completion certifications to Keith.
  • Brent mentioned that CDs are renewing and he will work with the bank to lock up new CDs in at a 5.00% rate or higher.

The following bills were presented:

Evergreen FS

Correy Jecklin $65.00

Ameren $281.70

Frontier $127.52

SELCAS $111.00 supplies

NICOR $383.29

Verizon $36.01

OSF Saint James $251.65 supplies

Linde Gas & Equipment $109.32

Municipal Emergency Service  (global fire) $1,152.12 SCBA flow test and energizer

Chris Schneider $1,379.99  4 Loads of rock for station

Axline Pharmacy 2.82 supplies

Hughes Cameron & Company $625.00 accounting services

Keith Detwiler $282.73 reimburse for station supplies and gift certificates

The following receipts were presented:

Comptroller State of IL $223.12

It was duly moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned.

 

.                                              .

Keith Detwiler, Secretary