HARMONY FIRE DISTRICT

P.O. Box 360 – 194 Putnam Pike

Harmony, R.I.  02829

 

 

The regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Harmony Fire District Executive Board was held at the Harmony Fire Station on Thursday, September 17, 2009.

 

Present:            Chief Stuart Pearson; Moderator - Raymond Fogarty, Jr.;

            Treasurer - Sandra Owens; Tax Collector - Kimberly Barber; 

            Board Members - Louise Michaels & George Kain

                        Attorney - Fred Mason, Jr.

 

Absent:             Board Members - James Richards & Milton Huston

                        Clerk - Ann Dahlquist

 

I. – Meeting Called to Order:  7:16 pm by Moderator Fogarty.  This reopens the meeting recessed at 7:48 pm on August 20, 2009.

 

II. - Approval of the minutes from the May 21st meeting. 

These minutes were originally presented at the meeting held August 20th and the vote was tabled.  Moderator Fogarty asked the board if there were any discrepancies to note on the minutes from the May 21st meeting.  If not, he would like to call for a motion to accept them. 

 

George made a motion to accept the minutes.  Louise seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

III. – Approval of the reports from the August 20th meeting.

These reports were originally presented at the meeting held August 20th and the votes were tabled.  Moderator Fogarty asked the board if there were any discrepancies to note on these reports, as presented in the draft copy of minutes from the meeting.  If not, he would like to call for motions to accept them individually.

 

Treasurer’s Report:  Louise made a motion to accept the August Treasurer’s report.  George seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

Tax Collector’s Report:  Louise made a motion to accept the August Tax Collector’s report.  George seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

Chief’s Report:  Louise made a motion to accept the August Chief’s report.  George seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

IV. – Adjournment of the meeting recessed August 20th: 

George made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  Louise seconded it.  The motion carried. 

The August 20th meeting of the Harmony Fire District Executive Board was adjourned at

7:23 pm.

 

V. –Call to Order for the regular monthly meeting September 17, 2009: 

7:24 pm by Moderator Fogarty. 

 

VI. - Approval of the minutes from the August 20th meeting. 

Moderator Fogarty asked the board if there were any discrepancies to note on the minutes from the August 20th meeting.  If not, he would like to call for a motion to accept them. 

 

Louise made a motion to accept the minutes.  George seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

VII. - Treasurer’s Report:

Sandy presented her report for the month of July.  Beginning balance July 1st $272,202.39 and the ending balance July 31st $267,632.18.  There were no expenses out of the ordinary to report.

 

During the month of August a CD came due and was closed out. The funds were deposited into a savings account, so there is $52,000 on hand to make a down payment on the new rescue.  There is also another $30,000 coming due on March 20th and another $32,000 on February 21st.  This year we have budgeted $30,000 for truck replacement and $30,000 as a capital expense.  All in total we have approximately $174,000.00 for the purchase of the new rescue.

 

Louise made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report.  George seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

VIII. - Tax Collector’s Report:

Taxes receivable balance is $181,103.81 as of today’s date.  Taxes collected in the month of

August were $200,547.57.  Additionally, we have received our quarterly car tax payment from state, in the amount of $8,379.88.

 

A decision needs to make a decision regarding the tax sale property, Plat: 16 Lot: 65A – the Davis property.  Since it was not purchased by anyone at the tax sale, the district now has to 60 days from the date of the tax sale to decide whether or not to take an interest in property ourselves.  Kim researched the site on-line at the SuperFund site and found that the case had been closed years ago.  She also contacted Jane Steere, Glocester Tax Collector, and found out that this same property had been on her tax sale list recently also.  Again, no one had purchased it and the Town of Glocester had opted not to take an interest in it either.  Some discussion followed about this parcel.  Attorney Mason said that in his opinion, he did not think it would be in the best interest of the district to assume any possibility of ownership in this property.  The unforeseen possibility of liability issues, made it too much of a risk.  The board agreed.

 

George made a motion to decline to take interest in Plat: 16 Lot: 65A Tarklin Road.  Louise seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

Louise made a motion to accept the tax collector’s report.  George seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

IX. - Chief’s Report:

Before the Chief began his report Ray asked about the Association.  He asked if they should be a regular item under “Committee Reports” on the Agenda.  On the same token a representative from the Association should be present at the district board meetings, to give a report.  Not necessarily at every meeting, but when it is necessary.  The Chief stated that there is a member of the Association appointed to be a representative to the district board.

 

The Chief then gave his report.  The bid period has closed for the new rescue.  Two vendors picked-up bid specs and 1 vendor submitted a bid.  It is the recommendation of the rescue committee to go with the bid of / and not exceeding $175,840 given by Specialty Vehicles, Inc.  We have also worked out a deal with Chepachet Fire District to keep our old rescue as a combined department back-up.  The trade-in amount offered by the vendor was $13,000, so we agreed that CFD should pay Harmony $6,500, half the value, for their part ownership in the rescue.  The old rescue will then be store at the West Glocester Station #2.  Louise asked about the auto insurance.  The Chief told her that the Glocester Fire Departments insurance carrier, VFIS, would issue a stand-by policy, where we would have to inform them prior to the vehicle being put in use.  It would be cheaper than a regular policy.  George asked if we would retain title of the vehicle, the Chief replied yes, but the maintenance responsibility would be shared.

 

George made a motion to accept the bid of Specialty Vehicles, Inc. at / and not to exceed $175,840.  Louise seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

The bid period has closed for the 3 Year Snow Plowing / Sanding Contract.  1 bid was received from Mike’s Odd Jobs Plus.  Louise asked if the price had gone up.  Sandy said that it all depends on the amount of snow and ice we receive.  It is hard to tell.

 

George made a motion to accept the bid of Mike’s Odd Jobs Plus.  Louise seconded the motion.  The motion carried.

 

The 5th Annual HFD Golf Tournament, coordinated by Pvt. Marc Swartz, was held Sunday, August 30th at the Foster Country Club.  It was a very profitable event for the Association and a wonderful time was had by all whom attended.

 

Capt. Randy Brackett was present to inform the board of the upcoming Glocester Firefighters Scholarship Fund Annual Steak Fry.  It will be held on October 3rd at Watmough’s Campground on Snake Hill Road.  Tickets are $15 each and Lt. Donna DeConte had tickets available for anyone wishing to purchase.

 

The Chief and Kim have been continuing to work with Matt Floor and Verizon to resolve issues with our recent service switch.  The switch interfered with internal networking within the building.

 

A meeting was held with the Glocester Building Inspector, Larry Desormier, discussing building and fire code issues for construction within the district.  In particular, the ongoing project at Lakeside Motel.  Some discussion followed regarding this project.

 

There was a Northern RI Firemen’s League drill hosted by the West Glocester Fire District.  It was held at the old State Line Restaurant.  Many fire departments from surrounding communities were in attendance.

 

The 75th Annual Oakland-Mapleville Fire Department Muster was held on Labor Day weekend.  Two muster teams from HFD, coordinated by Pvt. Stephan Winsor, participated and two trophies were won.  They are on display.

 

There was an article published in the Observer~Valley Breeze newspaper this week.  The article, written by Liz Abbott, was about the Chief’s 10 year anniversary with HFD.  It also contained many positive remarks about the district in general.  Ray, whom originally contacted the publication, had copies available for the board to review.

 

We were also involved this past week in the search for the missing Glocester Police Officer.

 

Harmony is hosting a Firefighter I Class from 9/14 thru 12/5.  We have 4 crew members enrolled.  We also have 3 crew members enrolled in a Firefighter II Class hosted by the South Foster Fire Department from 9/15 thru 10/24.  Additionally, we have 1 member attending an Officer Training Class in October, hosted by the Pascoag Fire Department.

 

The Chief also had a thank you card written by a child at the Harmony Hill School available for the board to see.  It was in thanks for the Fire Starter Program he had attended, that was conducted by Capt. David Plante.

 

Ray wanted to thank the volunteers that had given their time to search for the missing GPD officer.  He also wanted to thank the crew members for the many hours that they devote to training.

 

The Chief then informed the board of a grant opportunity offered by the RI Department of Environmental Management.  It is a 50/50 Matching Grant, for up to $5,000.  He would like to use apply and use the funds towards the purchase of a new 6x6 ATV.  We have applied for an ATV grant from the US Tobacco Co. for several years now, with no results.  So this may be an alternate option to obtain one.

 

George made a motion to apply for the RIDEM 50/50 Matching Grant.  Louise seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

George asked about the status of the many grants that we have applied for.  The Chief said that there are many grants open, but we have not received any new information.  The AFG Grants alone are behind over 2 years.  Ray asked that Kim put together a list of all the open grants, with the amounts, for the next meeting.

 

Louise made a motion to accept the Chief’s report.  George seconded it.  The motion carried.

 

X. - Committee Reports:

a.   Rescue Committee –J. Richards, Chair – addressed in Chief’s report

 

 

 

XI. - Old Business: 

a.       Call Pay Review – G. Kain – to be addressed in October

b.      Charter & By-Laws Review – to be addressed in October

c.       Policies & Procedures Manual – to be addressed in October

 

XII. - New Business:  Addressed throughout reports.

 

XIII. - Public Input:  No audience.

 

XIV. – Executive Session:  None called.

 

XV. – Adjournment: 

Louise made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  George seconded it.  The motion carried. 

The September 17th meeting of the Harmony Fire District Executive Board was adjourned at 8:02 pm.

 

The next meeting of the Harmony Fire District Executive Board

is scheduled for Thursday, 7:00 pm, October 15, 2009 at the Harmony Fire Department.

 

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Kimberly S. Barber

Tax Collector/Secretary