Last month, Thompson said he was resigning as Chief after a year in the top spot, citing family and health as reasons for stepping down. The board held a special meeting a couple weeks later with no results and were set to discuss his successor, which will no longer be necessary.
Agenda
The board approved past meeting minutes, Ambulance bills in the amount of $44,600.33 and Fire Department bills for $9,854.62. For the Treasurer’s Report, Jerry Halpin is working on the annual Fiscal Report for the state; as more monies come in, the board will need to discuss additional CD’s.
In the Ambulance Administrator’s report, there were 53 calls in August. Supply costs will be increasing due to the severity of the calls the department has been receiving and CGH not restocking all the supplies. The ESDA Station will be having some construction to add an additional bedroom due to Prophetstown Police needing a room for an officer to stay, as well as Ambulance personnel. A storage loft is also being discussed in the ambulance bay, with Police Chief Jerrod Reynolds getting bids for the projects.
Ambulance Department members have been on standby at a few EP football games due to Erie’s field not being ready. Bart Dirks asked the department to do the chili cook-off again during the Lighted Christmas Parade, with trustee Tony Wade agreeing to work on the flyers. There was a chip in the windshield of the 1G17, which was repaired by The Only Place in Fenton. A mandatory meeting for personnel has been scheduled for Saturday, September 20th.
In the Fire Chief’s report, there were 21 calls for the month. The hose test was completed with some of the 2 ½ inch and 3-inch hoses failing. Two firefighters are interested in the drone training, annual truck maintenance will be starting soon, and school fire drills will be on Thursday, September 28th.
New Business – Fire Department
Information was given to the board members for a “Fishing for Firefighters” webinar on September 18th at 4 p.m. Trustee Keith Crady will attend and bring back information for the trustees. A seminar in Cherry Valley on November 8th is open for trustees to get continuing education credits.
The board discussed and approved the purchase of a fire nozzle and 1 ¾ inch hose for the booster reels in the amount of $3,320.84. They approved two new applications for firefighters: Ryan Holmquist and Ted Shalack Jr.
Chief Thompson presented a plan for an on-call schedule for the Chief and Assistant Chiefs to help with work/life balance. The board rescinded disciplinary action for Trevor Richmond to be able to run for Chief or Assistant. Brandon Shaner gave a verbal notice of stepping down as Assistant Chief, saying he’ll provide a written statement for his file by next month’s meeting. He will remain as Assistant Chief until then.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees will be on Monday, October 13th at 6:30 p.m. at the Prophetstown Fire Station.
