Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.

 

Monthly Commissioner’s Meeting Minutes

 

Meeting Date:  September 28, 2005

 

Meeting called to order by Vice President Lattizori at 1935 hrs.

 

Attendance:  F. Lattizori, J. Thompson, T. Cyr, K. Cyr, R. Heacox, D. Markure, J. Shanley, R. Winn.

 

Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Jerry Thompson reported on the following:

  1. The treasurer reported $ 47,922.00 total expenses, $ 60.00 total income for the last month.  The checking account has a balance of $2428.58.  The savings account has a balance of $2314.32.  The Certificate of Deposit has a balance of $2641.43.

 

Motion made by Terry Cyr to accept the Treasurer’s report.  Seconded by Richard Heacox.  Motion carried.

 

Secretary’s Report:  Secretary James Shanley read the minutes from the August 2005 Commissioner’s meeting.  There were no corrections or deletions. 

 

Motion was made by Jerry Thompson that the minutes be approved as read, seconded by Terry Cyr.  Motion carried.

 

 

Chief’s Report: Assistant Fire Chief Ken Cyr reported on the following:

  1. The department responded to 9 calls during the last month.
  2. Asst. Chief Cyr reviewed and discussed the fatal MVA call on Route 44.  He also stated that a list of the agencies needs to be made and letters of thanks sent to each.  This was especially true of the New Hartford Auxiliary.  Chief Legassie and the Secretary are working on this.
  3. Asst. Cyr made a motion that $150 be sent to the New Hartford Fire Auxiliary for the assistance they provided during the Route 44 call September 12th.  Motion was seconded by Richard Heacox.  Motion carried.
  4. A discussion was had regarding the specifications for the new truck.  Asst. Chief Cyr feels that the specs are too broad and need to be more specific.  Rich Winn has reviewed the specs and stated that he has 6 pages of comments.  It was agreed that the Truck Committee needs to meet to review the comments and get a consensus on what is needed.  It was discussed that perhaps a grant proposal could be prepared to obtain some funding.
  5. The new SCBAs are in service and 3 training sessions have been completed.  Capt. Neher will be posting a list which shows those members who have completed all the training and are qualified to use the SCBA.  One problem mentioned by the instructor from  Milford FD during the training at the Academy was a failure in the waist belt mounted regulator holder (aka hockey puck).  Apparently, the plastic retaining ring on this unit has broken off and interfered with the ability to make a tight seal between the regulator and mask.  Rich Winn said he knew some people in Milford and would make a call to assess the prevalence of the problem.

 

 

Old Business

  1. Vice President Lattizoro asked about the status of the snow plowing bid letter.  The Secretary agreed to follow up with Ed Connors who said he would get the letter from last year.
  2. It was generally agreed that the department picnic held on September 10 was a success and enjoyed by all.
  3. Terry Cyr reported that the uniforms have been received and paid for.

 

 

New Business
  1. James Shanley stated that the company he works for will donate $500 per calendar year to any non-profit organization where he volunteers 24 hours or more.  However the organization must be IRS 501 C3 recognized.  Rich Winn stated that the department was not and he discussed previous experience he has had in getting recognition from the IRS.  It is a process which includes a review of the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation and possibly changing them to suit the IRS.  This would probably require the services of an attorney knowledgeable in such matters.  No consensus was reached on whether to pursue further or not. 
  2. The issue of the house siren and its repair was discussed.  The discussion included the previous repairs, and the option of replacing the whole siren or just the motor.  Asst. Chief Cyr agreed to get cost information on both.
  3. Rich Winn presented each Commissioner and Officer with a copy of Page 1 of the District’s LOSAP Policy.  At issue was whether he met the requirements to be considered an active member and his ability to qualify for LOSAP for the past year.  Rich argued that he feels he meets two of the three requirements for Active Membership specified in the Bylaws, and has made significant contributions to the department.  Others argued that they did not feel this was true, that some or many of Rich’s responses to incidents were as a Deputy Fire Marshal and that he could not be considered an active member since he has not had a physical as required by the Bylaws.  It was agreed after considerable discussion that the Commissioners would possibly meet later in the week to discuss this further and confer with the Chief and President on their view of the matter.

 

Good of the Order

None

 

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be 10/26/05.

 

Adjournment:  Motion made by Terry Cyr and seconded by Jerry Thompson to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 2030 hrs.

 

 

 

Respectively Submitted,

 

 

F/F prob. James H. Shanley, Jr.

Secretary