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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19.11.07 - Minutes, Emergency Services Advisory Council Emergency Services Advisory Council Washington County, Maryland Page 1 of 4 REGULAR MEETING Date: Thursday, November 7, 2019 Attending: R. David Hays, Director, Emergency Services, Ex-Officio Rick Blair, Treasurer, Association Kingsley Poole, Chairman, Citizen-at-Large Dick Hopkins, Co-Chairman, Association Dwayne Lunsford, Citizen-at-Large Ron Horn, Emergency Support Services, Citizen-at-Large Michael Hosier, Citizen-at-Large Bonnie Keltner, Administrative Assistant Absent: Bob Moncrief , President WCVFRA, Ex-Officio Scott Buskirk, Citizen-at-Large Gary Farrell, President, Funkstown FD, Association Guests: Jeff Cline, President, County Commissioner Randy Wagner, County Commissioner Steve Lohr, Chief, HFD Ward Fleger, Assistant Chief, Smithsburg EMS CALL TO ORDER: • Chairman Poole called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and introductions were made, including the recent appointment of two new members by the Washington County Board of County Commissioners. • One of our two new members, Joseph Kroboth III, participated by phone and gave an overview of his background. Mr. Kroboth was the first Director of Emergency Services in Washington County. • The other, Richard Blair, spoke about his background in emergency services, including the fact that he is the immediate-past-president of the Maryland State Firemen’s Association. Mr. Blair currently serves as Treasurer of the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. Washington County, Maryland Emergency Services Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, November 7, 2019 Page 2 of 4 Minutes: • MOTION: On a motion by Mike Hosier and seconded by Dwayne Lunsford, the ESAC members approved the minutes of the September 12, 2019 meeting as presented. CARRIED Old Business: By-laws discussion – Chairman Poole • Ron Horn asked about the by-laws. He said they were never approved, and Ron has some issues with them. These ESAC by-laws, with suggested updates, will be discussed at the December work session. Bonnie will email the by-laws to the voting members. New Business: DES Director’s Report – Director Dave Hays • A meeting was held today for the Radio System Governance Board. Director Mades gave an update on the status of our P25 digital radio system. The system is about 13 years old and Motorola is urging upgrades. At some point DES will have to move from FDMA to TDMA. All the radio programming, in a future roll out, will depend upon moving to TDMA. The unfortunate news for this is that potentially it could cost up to $20 million over 10 years. It is likely to be a CIP project. Our suggestion is to hire a consultant because of the system’s complex nature. • Director Hays mentioned that his intention is to get us disconnected from low band sometime in the not too distant future. There is a paging solution that is voice, but an interface has to be built (Keystone). • The County Commissioners have authorized DES to hire a Volunteer Liaison Coordinator to help us better interface with the WCVFRA and the volunteer stations. • The Public Safety Training Center had its groundbreaking on October 29th. • Director Hays asked Jason Kline to pull the MCC1 off of auto dispatch on everything except active assailants or those highly technical calls that could potentially be a multi operational event. • Director Hays, Assistant Director Dave Chisholm, & Todd Smith, 2nd VP of the WCVFRA met with the Hancock EMS board. They were given some guidance to get a position that is currently funded, and they were asked to meet with Washington County’s Budget & Finance office to go over their budget. Washington County, Maryland Emergency Services Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, November 7, 2019 Page 3 of 4 • We are working with the County Commissioners to develop some direction on our next step for firefighter staffing. The SAFER grant was not successful. • Director Hays handed out a draft copy of the Automatic & Mutual Aid Firefighter, Rescue, and EMS Agreement. This will be discussed at a BOCC work session November 12th, with the Mayor and Council and the Board of County Commissioners in order to try to obtain a consensus to move forward on the same day or in a future open session. • MOTION: On a motion by Ron Horn and seconded by Mike Hosier, the ESAC members agreed to endorse the Automatic & Mutual Air Firefighter, Rescue, and EMS Agreement as presented. CARRIED WCVFRA Report – Rick Blair • WCVFRA elections are coming up on Thursday, November 21st. There will be some new officers and some not returning. • There is a possibility of adding a second Fire & Rescue class at Tech High next year. Hagerstown Fire Department Report (HFD) – Chief Stevve Lohr • About two months ago HFD received a large grant from the Assistance to Firefighter’s Program for SCBAs. Sharpsburg and Funkstown also received a grant. Hagerstown is reaching out to both of those companies to form a partnership where an analysis can be conducted and vendors invited as we move toward an RFP. • The HFD has abolished three firefighter positions and converted them to captain slots. Those positions will be assigned to Station 4 in the west end of the city. • HFD is continuing to do a lot of joint training with County Special Operations. • Some of the HFD employees will attend a Web EOC class in December. • We have updated our entire SOG manual. • There was a confirmed TB exposure at the Wells House in the city. Chief Lohr suggested a group be organized, including the Medical Director, in order to publish clear direction on whether an N95 mask is to be worn on such calls. Director Hays said there is not a confirmed case of TB at the Wells House, but there is a confirmed case in Hagerstown. • The first new pumper for HFD is in service. Two more are on order. Washington County, Maryland Emergency Services Advisory Council Meeting Thursday, November 7, 2019 Page 4 of 4 • HFD donated 25 sets of Breathing Apparatus to the high school program and HFD will maintain them. Kingsley Poole, Chairman • Physical Exams - Director Hays said that he is trying to get pricing from Health@Work to have them do fit testing through an on-line program that is HIPPA compliant. This would be concurrent with required physical examinations • NFPA Info – Kingsley gave hand outs pertaining to residential fire sprinklers. Chief Lohr suggested that we invite the State Fire Marshal, Brian Geraci, to discuss his view of the statewide mandate. Remarks for the Good of the Council – Co-Chairman Hopkins • Ron Horn suggested that under New Business, we should have a section for “Members Comments”. Chairman Poole will make this a part of the agenda. Adjournment • MOTION: With no other business brought forward, a motion was made by Dick Hopkins and seconded by Rick Blair to adjourn the meeting at 8:30pm. CARRIED. Next regular meeting: • January 9, 2020 • Location: Division 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