Western Coventry Fire District

4661 Flat River Road

Greene, RI  02827

(401) 397-7520

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December 18, 2008

WCFD Board of Directors

BOD Meeting Minutes

The BOD meeting was called to order at 6:42pm.

Present:

BOD – Jonathan Mitchell, Robert Guastini, Peter Beauchaine, Kent Novak

Treasurer – Glenn Underwood, Tax Collector – Joan Smith, Clerk – Denis Fournier, Building Committee Chairperson - John Humble

Chief Joel Pomfret, Skip Mays

11/08 BOD Minutes – Motion made by Bob Guastini, seconded by Jon Mitchell to approve the minutes as presented.  Unanimous vote to approve (4 – 0).

Chairman’s Comments – Chairperson Novak reported that the groundbreaking ceremony was very well attended on November 22^nd.  Don Ihlefeld, Ric Amaral, Roland Robert, William Harsch, Reverend Robert Auld, Representative Scott Guthrie, Representative Scott Pollard, department members, district officers, members of the building committee, BOD members and many local residents attended the event.  The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier has chronicled the progress of the new station with recent articles and photos.

Chief’s Report – The tank on Engine 8 is leaking.  This is similar to the tank issue we had with Engine 18.  Chief Pomfret estimates a cost of approximately $20,000 to replace the tank with a poly tank. Motion made by Peter Beauchaine, seconded by Bob Guastini to approve the Chief’s Report as presented.  Unanimous vote to approve (4 – 0).

Treasurer’s Report – Glenn stated we are ¾’s of the way through the fiscal year and that revenues are on target. Current mortgage rates are down to 4.875% from 5.25%. We are waiting on the title work that we need in order to close on the mortgage.  Glenn raised the question if we should borrow funds from Rescue Recovery to fund a portion of the new station and then repay Rescue Recovery once we sell the Summit Station. It may be prudent to borrow from the Rescue Recover Fund ($215,000.00 +/-) and then replenish it. We may also need to pay for a tank replacement from Rescue Recovery. Glenn also mentioned the escalating costs of our payroll service (approximately $4,000.00) and exploring the possibility of using the Peachtree Accounting Software to perform the

same service as provided by Paychex.  Motion made by Jon Mitchell, seconded by Peter Beauchaine to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented. Unanimous vote to approve (4 – 0).

Tax Collector’s Report – Motion made by Bob Guastini, seconded by Jon Mitchell to approve the Tax Collector’s Report as presented. Unanimous vote to approve (4 – 0).

District Clerk’s Report – Denis reported that he has not received any letters of intent for the 2 BOD positions that will be up for election at the 2009 Annual Meeting.

Building Committee Report – John reported the Zoning Board approved the pervious parking permit. The well has been drilled and has a capacity of 80 gpm. Also the masons are on site and doing the block work.  Motion made by Bob Guastini and seconded by Peter Beauchaine to accept the building committee’s report as presented. Unanimous vote to approve (4 – 0).

Committee Appointments – Appointments from the BOD were made to the following committees:

1.      SAP/SOP – Jon Mitchell

2.      Contract – Richard Holt, Kent Novak

3.      Old Station – Robert Guastini

4.      Cost Reduction/Avoidance – Robert Guastini

ISO Update – Chairperson Novak reported that Mark Shelley provided us with a Fire Pond Certification Study conducted in 1999 for the Town of Boxborough, MA.  This study was an update of a 1995 Fire Pond Study conducted by Goldsmith from Ayer, MA. The 1999 study was actually an update that cost $12,000.00.  Calvin Goldsmith from the Goldsmith Engineering Firm has a current proposal for the Town of Stow, MA for a Fire Pond Study at a cost of $22,000.00. A discussion ensued on what benefit a homeowner would enjoy if they were within 1000 ft of a certified water source. Concerns were also raised whether the ISO rules or NFPA requirements would be changing in the near future. A map depicting potential water sources from ISO was also displayed for the BOD.  It was clear that there appeared to be few if any certifiable water sources available in the Northeast Quadrant of the district. The cost of certifying water sources would have a definite impact on our budget.

Comstar – The current ambulance billing rates from Comstar will be submitted to Cpt Guastini and Cpt Mann to prepare the new rates based on a Medicare rate increase of 5%.

Motion to adjourn was made by Jon Mitchell, seconded by Kent Novak.  Unanimous vote to adjourn at 8:32 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Kent C. Novak

Chairperson, BOD