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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19.07.11 - Minutes, Emergency Services Advisory Council Emergency Services Advisory Council Washington County, Maryland Page 1 of 4 REGULAR MEETING Date: Thursday, July 11, 2019 Attending: R. David Hays, Director, Emergency Services, Ex-Officio Bob Moncrief, President WCVFRA, Ex-Officio Dick Hopkins, Co-Chairman, Association Dwayne Lunsford, Citizen-at-Large Scott Buskirk, Citizen-at-Large Ron Horn, Emergency Support Services, Citizen-at-Large Gary Farrell, President, Funkstown FD, Association Bonnie Keltner, Administrative Assistant Absent: Kingsley Poole, Chairman, Citizen-at-Large Michael Hosier, Citizen-at-Large Guests: Jeff Cline, President, County Commissioner Rick Blair, WCVFRA Rob Slocum, Washington County Administrator Sam Anderson, Operations Manager, Fire Operations, DES Steve Lohr, Chief, HFD Scott Nicewarner, Administrator, City of Hagerstown Will Ball, Asst. Chief, Williamsport FD Jonathan Hart, Asst. Dir. Fire Operations, DES Dave Chisholm, Asst. Dir. EMS Operations, DES Jeb Eckstine, President, Community VFC of Fairplay CALL TO ORDER: • Co-Chair Hopkins called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and introductions were made. Minutes: • MOTION: On a motion by Gary Farrell and seconded by Ron Horn, the ESAC members accepted the minutes of May 2, 2019, as presented. CARRIED Washington County, Maryland Emergency Services Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, July 11, 2019 Page 2 of 4 Old Business: Fairplay Report • President Eckstine provided the council with an update on continuing progress of the Community Volunteer Fire Company of District 12. By-Laws Discussion • No report was given on the by-laws. New Business: DES Director’s Report – Dir. Dave Hays • Dir. Hays reported that DES has worked with the County Commissioners, Rob Slocum, and Budget and Finance to make sure that funding for the SAFER Grant is secured, which should be determined in the next couple of months. • An additional $1 million was brought into this current budget for EMS. A decision will be made on how these funds will be handled. • On July 1st, the new financial review and accounting process with a third party began, funded by the county. A letter was sent out July 10th, explaining the Emergency Services fiscal policy. The purpose of this letter is to provide an explanation for the companies as the intent of the document. After July 1st, the companies that exceed their appropriations will have to provide documentation. It was noted that county government does not pay late fees that the companies may be assessed for their utilities. The County Commissioners have supported the process moving forward. A discussion followed. • Dir. Hays passed out a city/county MOU that talks about municipal boundaries, fire departments having jurisdiction, and sending the closest resource along with the first due fire department. Dir. Hays plans to brief the WCVFRA on Thursday, July 25th, about the MOU and listen to any input they may have. • Asst. Dir. Dave Chisholm reported that he’ll be going before the County Commissioners on Tuesday, July 16th, to give a report on Smithsburg EMS. DES will continue an internal review of Smithsburg’s pay practices; we found some areas that need improvement. They have received all of the $100,000 loan. Their fund drive and EMS billing is doing well. Dir. Hays will begin meeting with Smithsburg EMS once a month. • Dispatchers are currently operating out of the 9-1-1 back-up center. There was a lightning strike at the Elliott Parkway facility that affected the automatic switching Washington County, Maryland Emergency Services Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, July 11, 2019 Page 3 of 4 devices for the generator power. The facility is required to have secondary power source available. WCVFRA Report – President Robert Moncrief • No report. • Chief Lohr asked “Are we any closer to the answer with the number of active trained and certified volunteers?” Dir. Hays talked about the numbers. A long discussion followed. Hagerstown Fire Department Report (HFD) – Chief Lohr • Chief Lohr talked about fireworks. Illegal fireworks were very plentiful in Hagerstown on July 4th. He talked about how dangerous they are. He said they confiscated over 1,700 illegal fireworks. • The HFD has appointed a third Asst. Fire Marshal, Deanna Pelton, who previously was the only female firefighter for the City of Hagerstown. • If anyone would like to witness an Underwriter’s Laboratory pump test, please let Chief Lohr know. Their first pumper that is being completed in Meyersdale, PA, will be UL tested on Thursday, July 25th. The final inspection should be August 1st and hope to have it in service by Labor Day. • The grand re-opening date has been changed for the MD Theatre from October 1st to September 19th. Remarks for the Good of the Council – Co-Chairman Hopkins • Ron Horn asked about the VFIS study and if Dr. Jenaway will meet with the ESAC. It was noted that the study has not been adopted at this time. • Rick Blair invited everyone present, along with their families, to the WCVFRA picnic on August 3rd at Williamsport Memorial Park. • Ron Horn advised the members that there was inaccurate information from the ESAC meeting shared at another organization’s meeting concerning his actions with our group. Ron said at that meeting he was called a liar from the chief of Co. 25. Dir. Hays said the issue was brought up in another meeting. Washington County, Maryland Emergency Services Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, July 11, 2019 Page 4 of 4 Adjournment • MOTION: With no other business brought forward, a motion was made by Scott Buskirk and seconded by Ron Horn to adjourn the meeting at 8:40pm. CARRIED. Next regular meeting: • September 5, 2019 • Location: Div. of Emergency Services 16232 Elliott Parkway Williamsport, MD 21795 Respectfully submitted by, Bonnie Keltner, Administrative Assistant Washington County Div. of Emergency Services, Kingsley Poole, ESAC Chairman, & Richard Hopkins, ESAC Co-Chair