Quincy Fire Protection District

Board of Directors

Meeting February 08, 2024

Feather Publishing Co. Board Room

287 Lawrence St. Quincy, CA 95971

I.      Call to Order:

a)    Chairman Mike Taborski, called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. with Vice-Chairman Johnny Mansell, Treasurer Andrew Ryback, Fire Chief Frank Cary; Administrative Secretary Karrie White, and Marcy DeMartile from Plumas County Clerk-Recorder Elections Division present.

Public Comment:  

Because the Fire Board had confusion in the past regarding which director was up for reelection, Taborski invited Marcy to assist in clarifying the election process for Quincy Fire Protection District Directors. She explained that the election filing period is July through August stating that terms do not change only directors do. You can only be appointed by the board of supervisors if you need to do so to satisfy filling a quorum until the next election, otherwise, the fire board can appoint to fill an unexpired vacancy.

The County clerk mails out the election packets to the district administrators starting in July.  She said that it is very important that the administrators inform the county elections department of any changes and who sits on their board. There are two two-year options and one 4-year term for elections. The term begins the first Friday in December. Mansell asked if the elected officials start serving their term on that date. She replied that is the official County electoral date but if your board meets on a different date, it begins when you take the oath of office.

Ryback asked if there needed to be a special meeting to take the oath of office? She said she has had individuals come to her office after the elections and asked to be sworn in to coincide with their next board meeting.

II.    Approval of January 12, 2024, Meeting Minutes

     a)   Chairman Taborski asked if the minutes were reviewed by the board members. Ryback made a motion to approve the minutes with Vice-Chairman Mansell seconding the motion, motion approved.

III.   Financial Committee Report:

     a)   Ryback: Karrie has provided reconciliations for the operating account, money market, and 11-month CD account, and asked about the 7-month CD status. The 7-month CD expired on 12/31/23. Mansell asked Karrie if it was rolled over with the current percentage rate and she noted the 7-month CD was rolled over into an 11-month starting January 1, 2024, at the current rate of 4%.

Ryback asked if the district needed to process a transfer at this time into the operating account and Karrie said not at this time. The balance sheet shows January is over $2 million which reflects the land, building, and vehicle assets which we did not track previously. Unrestricted funds are almost $2.3 million. The activity for the month was normal except for the SCBA’s invoice for $512,000.

Mansell asked about the submittal of an invoice to the Greenhorn Fire Department for their portion of the SCBA grant allotment. Chief Carey stated that we are billing them this month. 

     b)  Claims were presented and signed.

IV.  Committee Business, Discussion, and Actions:

1)    Discussion and possible actions on the Policy and Procedure Manual

     a.)  Taborski: Karrie and I have been working on gathering information and at this point noting we do not have anything to discuss. The board discussed their intent to retrofit a policy and procedure manual to meet the Quincy Fire District's needs. This process will continue until a newly crafted policy manual is created and then reviewed by the Chief and then the board for approval and adoption.

 VI.  Fire Chief Report: Frank Carey:

     a)    We had a total of 49 calls last month with an average firefighter attendance of 6.03. I am proud of the membership and excited about the improved attendance. We are leaving Station 2 with 8151 with a full crew leaving one or two responders behind until another driver arrives at the station.

     b)   On Tuesday's Jan. 23 drill we had Bill Battigan from Feather River Solar Electric do a presentation for us and brought in a solar panel explaining their function. We took a field trip across the street to one of Earl Thompson's buildings to get a firsthand look at the solar panels and how to deal with them in an emergency. Since we have an increase in solar panels in our area the volunteers need to be trained on dealing with solar in case of an incident.

     c)    On 2/13/2024 we have an in-service date for L.N. Curtis to do our MSA SCBA training, fit testing, TB, and flu vaccinations. Everything has arrived except the SCBA bottles. They were shipped separately. Firefighters Chase Hume and Kevin Errecart are going to take the lead for our annual fit testing.

     d)   On the 2/20/24 Tuesday drill, we are doing a pit-crew CPR training session led by instructors from CareFlight. As first responders on the scene, everyone has a job to do so we reviewed rotating chest compressions for 1-2 minutes, I had three stations to teach real-life scenarios on the skills and techniques.

     e)    Our 2/27/2024 Tuesday drill will be the forcible entry which I am instructing.

V.      Fire Chief Inspection Report: Chief Carey:

     a)    I received a call from the Quincy Library to come and look at their fire alarm system, which was patented in 1967, and installed in 1972 when the building was built. I went to the pull station and nothing happened, I looked at the breaker box, and the circuit breakers were turned off, I flipped the circuits, and the old system turned on, and when I went to the pull station, there was no alarm or sprinkler system activation.

The same day I went to the Plumas County Facilities Manager and discussed the fire alarm there being obsolete and needed to be replaced. I received a quote of $34k to $45k for a new system and gave it to the facilities manager. In our conversation I reiterated this is a public safety issue if it’s not replaced in a timely manner I would have to red flag the building and shut it down to the public.

Board members had concerns regarding other public buildings with safety issues within our district and Chief Carey informed the board he has done a walk-through at the Courthouse with the facilities manager testing the alarms using various decimal levels for the fire alarms for the public to be able to hear. The County Facilities Manager and I will be testing other public buildings to ensure other fire alarms are in good working condition.

     b)    Mansell asked Chief Carey the status of the command vehicle and the ladder truck. He talked to Jack Brown who said it’s been ordered. Regarding the ladder truck, Chief Carey said the Texas Fire Department, who was looking at the ladder truck had decided to go a different direction and purchase one a few years newer. It is posted online on the Fenton Fire website, Fire Station website, and Traders.

V.      Other District Business, Discussion, and Actions:

1)  Fire Station 2 replacement:

     a)    Ryback and Mansell asked the Chief’s thoughts on what he would like to see in the future for a Station 2 facility so discussion could continue as to whether to purchase property and build a new facility or rebuild on the existing property. Chief Carey noted that he would like to see the station rebuilt. Mansell asked when he thought the board could see estimated costs for demolition and new construction. Chief Carey said he is working with Deputy Chief David Schmid on this project and has spoken with Wilburn Construction for an estimate on removing the existing building.

The board members reviewed the options previously discussed with Chief Carey and the board would like to see estimates with an idea of what it will cost the district to tear down and rebuild Station 2 to compare with purchasing property and building. Chief Carey will work on getting two estimated costs for the next board meeting. The discussion is tabled to the next board meeting on Tuesday, March 14, 2024.

2)    Discussion, and possible action regarding the progress of the LaPorte facility project:

     a)  Mansell said he had a meeting set up with Tracy at the Planning Department for the week following our last board meeting, but it was canceled. The meeting was set for February 22, 2024.

Taborski made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Ryback seconded the motion, motion was approved.

The Meeting was adjourned by Chairman Taborski at 8:51 a.m.

Submitted:  _________________________             ____________

                      Chairman Taborski                      Date            

Please see original PDF for signature