Fly Creek Fire Commissioners

Meeting

Fly Creek Fire Hall

April 13, 2006

Present: Richard Carr, Margaret Wolff, Mark Weir, Edward Kukenberger, and Wolf Merk

The meeting was called to order by Chair Richard Carr and the pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited.

The treasurer and secretary are on vacation so their reports will be postponed until the May meeting.

There was no correspondence

A motion was made by Margaret Wolff to transfer $91,000.00 to MBIA and to close the savings account. Twenty Thousand dollars would be held in the checking account. The motion was second by Wolf Merk and approved unanimously.

If any money was need for the checking account the funds would be wired to the checking account. All the funds are liquid and receive interest at noon each day. A running statement is available every day and this will make the treasurers life a lot easier.

Bills were signed after questions about last months purchases were answered. A motion to pay was made by Mark Weir and second by Ed Kukenberger.

A report of the Auxiliary was made by Donna Mulford. She reported on a baby shower to be held at the hall on April 15th and a child’s birthday party to be held in the future.

Other Reports:

Contract update and areas of responsibility

The problem is that the Fire Departments are so willing to help that a meeting was held with the Fire Chiefs to define areas of responsibility as to not run into each other. The first company that will have a contract signed is Cooperstown since they will do the major portion. A map of areas of responsibility is up on the board. All roads lead to Oaks Creek. Hartwick will cover up Christian Hill Road and Schuyler Lake to Bennett’s and upper end of Panther Mt. Hartwick Seminary will assist Hartwick. A map will every structure was obtained from the county and copies were given to the other fire companies. Another map from the county listed every water source in the county. They measured every pond, creek etc by surface area to a depth of one foot, to get potential amount of water available. We are now covered by three Fire departments and all have first responders. And two have an ambulance. For the past 5 or 6 years we have contracted out the emergency service.

Certificate of Incorporation for the Fly Creek Fire Company is being filed. The old name could not be used unless we wanted to take six months in court and we do not have the time. The other Fire Departments are willing to assist us in training and with what we need.

Missing Memorabilia is a concern. A letter from the Fire Departments attorney was received stating they were no longer a fire protection corporation. We will probably have to go to court and while at it the lawyer is going after other stuff. In the meantime if anyone has pictures, we can get copies and put them back up on the walls. A comment from the audience mentioned that the Firematics won all the trophies and the people who took them have no right to them, it did not belong to them. They were advised to save comments for public comment.

Linda Coe reported she finished fire police training and her certification will be filed with the State of New York. She mentioned there will be another training in 3 to 4 months.

The Sexual Harassment Policy was read by Richard Carr and is attached. A motion to accept the policy was made by Margaret Wolff and second by Wolf Merk and carried unanimously.

Old Business:

The fuel consumption has been reduced from 19 gallons a day to 9 because Brian Bowen repaired the system. Mirabato knocked off a few hundred dollars off the bill because they did not repair the thermostat correctly and the heater was running almost continuously.

New Business:

Since some people started to redecorate prior to approval, the opportunity to paint the bare was presented and acted upon. All paint and labor was donated.

Letters for the sign outside are to be purchased. The cost is about $250.00. Mark Weir made the motion to purchase them and was second by Ed Kukenberger and was carried unanimously.

Mark Weir requested information on the kitchen sink and was advised by Josh Kantor that it is in a holding pattern.

A clean up of the Fire House and grounds was requested by Mark Weir. He is willing to use his tractor and it was agreed that May 22 at 9 AM was the time for a clean up. A show of hands indicated many were willing to help.

Rich Carr asked if anyone still had Fly Creek Fire District property in their position and mentioned to Chris Chandler that he has a booster.

There being no new business the meeting progressed to

“Comments from the Public” and were advised by Richard Carr that the time limit was three minutes.

Upon a question about the audit the assembly was advised it is to soon be made public.

After comments from Barb Smith about the loss of the Fire Department, Rich Carr told everyone that the commissioners had to do something since they were down to four members and there was a one hundred thousand budget. No one was eliminated, they quit.

Ann Carr spoke up and said the problems were not with the Firefighters but with the Board of Commissioners. The reason the building was locked was because it was stripped and rumbles were heard after the meeting that someone was coming back to strip the kitchen and remove the pool table, everything was to be gone. The building was locked to protect what was left. Ann Carr commented that any of the firemen that feel that they were fired or locked out the building, in her opinion, would be welcomed back. Everyone is welcome to apply.

A question was asked that for the new Fire Company, did we ever receive a roster from the previous group so that we could send out applications. The questioner was advised the list had missing addresses and some names were no longer valid.

Rich Carr said everyone has to start working together and forget about who is here. This is a small community.

Rich Carr went to the county to dig out the fire reports: who responded and who made the call and names of members. NO fire reports were there. When the Fire Chief of the Department was asked about physicals the commissioners were advised NYCAM had done them and the members were up to date. After contacting NYCAM guess who has not had a physical in 10 years! The Chief! NO record on a physical according to NYCAM, the official organization for physicals.

Any new members and first responders who are willing to come back need to wait to sign up until contracts are signed. Another problem cited by Rich Carr is that the District needs to get the First Responder Certification back since the prior administration let it lapse. All that was need was to file once every two years with the state. The majority of fire calls are medical and Cooperstown has covered us for years. The situation was out of control and the best way is with a clean slate. We will have plenty of fire protection.

A motion by Margaret Wolff to adjourn was made and second by Ed Kukenberger and passed.