Board of Trustees May 14, 2020
West Blount Fire & EMS District
The Board of Trustees for West Blount Fire and Emergency Medical Services District met at Fire Station No. 1 on May 14, 2020, the meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Greg Reid, Chair, with prayer led by Billy Giddy. Five Trustees were present plus JJ Ivey, Fire Chief, Melissa Thomas, Treasurer, Diane Cox, Billing Manager. .
The minutes of the March 12, 2020 meeting were accepted on motion by Annette Cox, seconded by Marty Stover.
There was no April meeting due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. This meeting was not open to the general public.
Financial report – The operating balance for March was $437,461.10. Total receipts were $111,217.01, including dues of $110,542.56. Total expenses were $56,187.25, including payroll of $22,852.10 and Worker’s Comp of $10,542.00 for a total payroll expense of $33,376.10, and maintenance of $7,459.76. The operating balance for April was $431,633.15. Total receipts were $40,445.57, all fire dues. The expenses were $46,328.20, including payroll of 24,641.21 and maintenance of $6,871.13.
The Financial Report was accepted on motion by Annette Cox, seconded by Marty Stover.
Chief’s Report
Total calls for March were 103 (plus 8 out-of-area calls: 1 Mt. High/Ricetown; 2 Bangor; 1 Locust Fork/Dallas Selfville; 3 Nectar/Cleveland; and 1 structure fire in Garden City): 63 medical, 3 structure fires, 11 auto accidents, 5 fire alarms, 1 vehicle fire, 9 public service, 1 wild fire, 9 fire other, 1 911 hang-up. Breakdown by fire station: Sta. 1 – 54; Sta. 2, Smoke Rise – 46; Sta. 3, Sugar Creek 2; Sta. 4, Nyota – 1. Total calls for April were 105 (plus 7 out-of-area calls: 2 Mt. High/Ricetown; 1 Locust Fork/Dallas Selfville; 3 Nectar/Cleveland, and 1 structure fire in Oneonta): 61 medical, 5 structure fires, 6 auto accidents, 10 fire alarms, 0 vehicle fires, 13 public service, 0 wild fire, 10 fire other, 0 911 hang-up. Breakdown by fire station: Sta. 1 – 51; Sta. 2 Smoke Rise – 45; Sta. 3 Sugar Creek – 4; Sta. 4 Nyota – 5.
Other items reported include:
A FEMA Medical Grant was applied for which will cover approximately $30,000 worth of equipment for a cost to us of $500
The department had only 5 N-95 masks, attempts were made through the state, but that equipment was outdated and unusable. With the help of Kenny Lee, over 100 masks and 100 PPE suits were procured for $306.50
The Workers’ Comp audit was completed
The closure of County Road 7 because of the road collapse is causing serious delays in response time for calls from the Blount Springs area. The county is trying to get assistance from the state. A letter will be written under the chairman’s signature to confirm the difficulty the closure of the road is to the safety of our community, with the aim of helping to secure funds for the repair.
House fires are up with 8 in the last two months
The following budget items have been purchased: lawn mower for station 2, hose, nozzles, cameras for stations 1 & 2, and door openers for station 4
Fire District Board of Trustees – May 14, 2020 page 2
There is a waiting list for volunteers, the limit will be 10, currently we have 12
The next item that will be purchased is turnout gear cleaner, the unit will be set up next to the washer to connect to the water supply.
The Chief’s report was accepted on motion by Annette Cox, seconded by Marty Stover.
Old Business
Billing Update – At the end of March there were 26 total CLA’s (conditional lien agreements) on file, 2 were paid in full with no new accounts added. The attorneys have a total of 246 accounts, 10 with payment plans, 230 accounts have liens, and 6 being worked on. We received a check from MSN (Massey, Stotser, & Nicholas) for $1,102.02 in March, making total collected from MSN since 2018 of $50,390.15. We received 69 lien letters in March totaling $1,725 in fees that were added to their account. There were 4 new accounts added in March. There were 32 new exemptions approved, making total exemptions for the year of 89, and 1 exemption denied. Fire dues received was $110,297.50, plus $225 assessment fees and $642.56 other, totaling $111,165.06 (2019 total at the same time was $129,370.22). [Total collected for 2020 is $332,304.22 compared to $364,472.85 at the same time last year.] There are 1470 accounts in the system with a balance totaling $437,208.56, which includes all outstanding dues from the beginning and the $1725 lien letter fee just added this month. There are 3,678 total accounts in the system. So far this year there has been 60% participation for payment of fire dues.
At the end of April there were 24 total CLA’s (conditional lien agreements) on file, 2 were paid in full with no new accounts added. The attorneys have a total of 245 accounts, 10 with payment plans, 227 accounts have liens, and 8 being worked on. Several lien releases have been received without the funds to cover them. This represents all the accounts that were first turned over. Fire dues received in April was $40,040.58, plus $270 assessment fees, totaling $40,310.58 (2019 total at the same time was $54,648.05). There are 1228 accounts in the system with a balance totaling $396,289.98, which includes all outstanding dues from the beginning. There are 3,678 total accounts in the system. So far this year there has been 67% participation for payment of fire dues.
The lock box in the front of the building needs to have a cover installed. When it rains, the letters and checks in the box get wet, sometimes to the point they cannot be read properly.
Business hours are 10:00 AM to 2:00 Monday through Friday. The office is manned daily but will be closed to the public until further notice. The office phone number is 205-647-4566.
Budget – The following budgeted items were discussed:
The turnout gear cleaner will be purchased as soon as possible ($4,000)
Two sets of turn out gear will be purchased in August ($4,000)
Rope equipment, current is 10 years old, purchased end of summer ($4,000)
Station 1 repairs – replace carpet with LVT flooring (luxury vinyl tile)
Station 3 repairs – (see new business)
Station 4 repairs – on hold, needs septic system to allow for building a restroom
Fire District Board of Trustees – May 14, 2020 page 3
New Business
Paving Station 1 – An agreement has been made with District One Commissioner, Allen Armstrong to pave the front of the station from the cement to County Road 7 with asphalt, and tar and gravel the remaining parking lot area and driveway to the back of the building. A motion was made by Annette Cox, seconded by Billy Giddy to work with the Commissioner and allocate up to $6,000 for the project. Motion carried.
Station 3 Repairs – the roof, siding, walls and restroom seriously need repairs. Ernie Swindle has given an estimate of $9,077 to complete the necessary work. A motion was made by Annette Cox, seconded by Billy Giddy to enter into an agreement with Mr. Swindle and allocate up to $12,000 for the project. Motion carried.
Announcements
A motion was made by Annette Cox, seconded by Billy Giddy, to keep the same slate of officers for 2020. Motion carried.
A discussion was held concerning the July 4th Community Celebration. The Fire Department will provide ice cream again this year. Because of the current situation with the COVID-19 issue, there is a possibility the event may have to be cancelled. Keith Hudson, Pastor of Hayden First Baptist Church, will be contacted for confirmation on this event.
The next meeting will be June 11, 2020, 7:00 PM at Fire Station 1.
The meeting was adjourned on motion by Annette Cox at 8:15 PM.
Present Not Present
Annette Cox Lisa Morgan
Dolores Fort
Billy Giddy
Greg Reid
Marty Stover
JJ Ivey
Melissa Thomas
Diane Cox
Submitted by Dolores Fort, Secretary