West Blount Fire & EMS District Board of Trustees March 5, 2026
The Board of Trustees for West Blount Fire and Emergency Medical Services District met at Fire Station No. 1 on March 5, 2026, the meeting was opened at 6:00 PM by Marty Stover, Chair. Prayer was offered by Jamie Huffstutler. All trustees were present, plus Clay Jones, Chief, Christie Moore, Treasurer, and Christy Harris, Billing Manager.
The regular order of business was suspended to introduce Shane Hobson, Rosa Fire Chief, who was present to accept the donation of our old ambulance for them to use as their rescue truck.
The minutes of the January 8, 2026, meeting were accepted with the following correction: Dalton Nesmith is the lawyer for the defendant, and our lawyer is Whitney Eiland.
Financial report – The operating balance for February 2026 was $173,629.29. Total income was $108,394.02, with dues of $98,433.50. Total expenses were $53,341.61, including payroll of $29,693.19. Transferred a total of $105,887.63 to the General Fund from the 2024 CD
The financial report was accepted on motion by Jamie Huffstutler, seconded by Danny Smith.
Chief’s Report – Total calls for February 2026 were 137, plus 9 out-of-area (1 – Bangor; 0 – Corner; 2 – Dallas-Selfville; 3 – Locust Fork; 2 – Mt. High/Ricetown; 1 – Nectar; 0 – Warrior): 83 medical, 11 auto accident; 5 structure fire, 6 wild fire, 0 vehicle fire, 3 fire alarm, 4 fire other, 22 public service, 3 tree down, 0 HAZMAT. Breakdown by station: Sta. 1 Hayden – 85; Sta. 2 Smoke Rise – 22; Sta. 3 Sugar Creek – 17; Sta. 4 Nyota – 13.
The following was also reported:
Ø Apparatus – Ambulance has been transferred to Rosa
Ø Personnel – Hired two new recruits, Peter Chaponis and Griffin Price, who will be attending recruit school later this month at Fort Payne, will subsequently be assigned to part-time/fill-in until fulltime slots open
Ø Training – Drone class is on hold pending drone repair
Ø Zac Williams, Asst. Chief attended ISO class, plan to invite them for regrading in December 2026
Ø Will be seeking approval to spend up to $4,000 from the Firefighter’s Fund to have informational videos produced for community outreach/public education (extra ISO points for this)
Ø Received notification that we are no longer eligible for the Alabama Forestry Grant ($2,500 to $3,000 annually) due to staffing
Ø AL Senate Bill 269 (would ban balance billing for ground ambulance services and require health insurers to pay minimum rates to emergency medical service providers, with reporting and study provisions and a 2029 sunset) has passed the Senate.
Companion bill in the House, HB400, did not pass
The Chief’s report was accepted on motion by Mark Giddy, seconded by Danny Smith.
Old Business
Billing Update – There was a check in the amount of $1,994.85 received from MSN (Massey, Stotser, & Nicholas) for February collections. There were twelve new accounts added. Fire dues received in February was $52,263.01 in checks or cash, $38,905 49 Credit/Debit card. There were also $75 assessment fees, $1,202.70 insurance reimbursement, and $500.89 landfill.
West Blount Fire Board – March 5, 2026 Page 2
Total collected for February was $106,644.02 [income from February 2026 was $109,139.77]. Total collected for the year was $282.154.18 [income from 2025 was $226,011.36].
There were 3,662 accounts invoiced, 2,284 accounts with a balance, 1,378 accounts with a zero balance, which equates to 38%.
In February there were 21 exemptions approved (totaling $3,150) and 2 denied
Third Party Billing – Payments received this month were $2,099.25.There are 16 invoices in Que, one under a payment plan. Total payments received so far in 2026 were $4,512.25, making total payments received from inception of $51,457.87. The Year-to-Date collection rate is 100%, all time rate is 87%.
Blount Springs Water Update – Nothing new.
New Business
Ad Campaign – A new promotional video program was proposed to educate the public on the importance of Fire and Rescue. The goal is to have a new educational video to run on social media. These videos would be of those we have served and what it means to them. Caleb Shaver would produce these videos at a cost of between $2,500 to $3,000. Mark Giddy made a motion, seconded by Danny Smith, to set up this program. Motion carried.
Ambulance Donation – When it became known that Rosa was in need of a rescue truck and we had not yet sold the ambulance, a unanimous email vote was taken by the board to donate the old ambulance to Rosa. To reflect this in the minutes, Mark Giddy moved, seconded by Danny Smith, to donate the ambulance to Rosa Fire Department. Motion carried.
West Blount Boundaries – West Blount Fire Chief and District One Commissioner will be designing signs that will designate our boundaries along those roads that go out of our district to reach a residence within the district. Chief Jones and Commissioner Armstrong will determine these locations.
Monthly Meetings – The importance of attendance at our board meetings was discussed. The March meeting was cancelled because of lack of a quorum, only two were in attendance, due to illness. The meeting room is being re-arranged with a TV screen on the inside wall to allow for call-ins.
The next board meeting will be Thursday, April 9, 2026, 6:00 PM at Station One.
The meeting was adjourned on motion by Mark Giddy at 6:55 PM.
Present Guests
Dolores Fort Shane Hobson
Mark Giddy Barry Turner
Jamie Huffstutler 4 Firefighters
Danny Smith
Marty Stover
Clay Jones
Christie Moore Dolores Fort
Christy Harris Secretary