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1995-07-17 Work Session NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION WITH FIRE COMMISSION, JULY 17, 1995 BOOK 25 PAGE 834 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held a Work Session on Monday, July 17, 1995, at 6:30 P.M. in the Assembly Room of the New Hanover County Courthouse, 24 North Third Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present were: Commissioners Sandra Barone; WilliamA. Caster; William E. Sisson, Jr.; vice-Chairman E. L. Mathews, Jr.; Chairman Robert G. Greer; County Manager, Allen 0' Neal; County Attorney, Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board, Lucie F. Harrell. Chairman Greer called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present. He announced the purpose of the meeting was to meet with the Fire Commission and members of the Volunteer Fire Departments to discuss issues of concern. Discussion was held on revisions to the contract with the Volunteer Fire Departments made by the Board at its regular meeting that morning. Commissioner Sisson reported the following changes were made to the contract: (1) The word may was changed to shall and mutual aid pacts was changed to aid pacts in the following paragraph on Page 2 of the original contract to read as follows: The contractor is responsible for that portion of the County located within its primary area of coverage as specified in the attached Exhibit "A"; however, the Contractor shall render services outside its area to the extent feasible and consistent wi th protection wi thin its own area, in conjunction with existing Volunteer Fire Department aid pacts, or as otherwise directed by the Fire Commissioners or the Board of County Commissioners. Further discussion was held on the revisions to the contract. Mr. Mike Rhodes, Chief of the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department, advised the Board that the contract revisions were not necessary because they did not change anything in the original contract. He reported when the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department refused to continue to provide service to the North Wilmington area because they had not received additional funds to cover the costs, the Fire Commission recommended changing the contract as a threat to the department. He expressed concern for the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Board of County Commissioners becoming too involved with the day-to-day operation of the Volunteer Fire Departments. Commissioner Barone commented on hearing concerns from Volunteer Firemen about the possible loss of life insurance, and she requested an explanation from Mr. Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes reported the N. C. Department of Insurance has expressed concern about the mutual aid agreement because the North Wilmington Volunteer Fire Station has been abolished in District 5, and the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department does not have a contract with the County to cover District 5, which is outside its district. Crossing from one district into another without a contract has created a question about life insurance. Commissioner Barone expressed concern for the many complaints received from the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department, and she recommended establishing one fire department with satellite stations, which, in her opinion, would promote better communication among all departments and hopefully resolve many of the conflict areas. Mr. Rhodes responded the present system was working well, and he did not feel it would be necessary to establish one department. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION WITH FIRE COMMISSION, JULY 17, 1995 BOOK 25 PAGE 835 As to the complaints being received from the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department, the problem has been refusal by the Fire Commission to reimburse the department for costs involved with providing fire service to the North Wilmington area. When the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department assumes this responsibility, the department was told by the Fire Commission that additional funds would be appropriated; however, two years later, no funds have been received. Discussion was held on why the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department had not been reimbursed for the cost of providing fire service to the North Wilmington area. Mr. Dennis Pinho, Chairman of the Fire Commission, advised that additional funds would have been approved by the Fire Commission if the funding request had been properly submitted with ample justification of the funds expended. He pointed out that a major function of the Fire Commission was to review budget requests from all Volunteer Fire Departments and present the recommended budgets for each department to the Board of County Commissioners. Also, the Fire Commission was responsible for monitoring the budgets throughout each fiscal year to ensure that additional funding requests are necessary and properly documented. In this case, if the funding request has been submitted properly, the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department would have received additional funds. Mr. Rhodes responded it was almost impossible to estimate an exact figure for providing fire coverage to the North Wilmington area; therefore, he increased the budget request for the current fiscal year by 10%, which was rejected by the Fire Commission when reviewing budgets for the Volunteer Fire Departments. Mr. Dominic Bianco, Chief of the Castle Hayne Volunteer Fire Department, commented on the budget process being extremely fair for the current fiscal year and reported if the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department had submitted the funding request with proper justification for reimbursement of fire coverage to the North Wilmington area, the Fire Commission would have approved the request. Budget requests for the Volunteer Fire Departments were reviewed line item by line item and many comparisons were made by the Fire Commission. Mr. Bianco stated, in his opinion, Chief Rhodes has a personality conflict with Mr. Pinho, which has created some of the complaints from the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department. A lengthy discussion was held on the change in the by-laws for the appointment of members to the Fire Commission. Mr. Rhodes reported the original appointment procedure was excellent; however, politics had become involved, and in his opinion, the appointment of members living outside their districts had created conflicts and problems on the Fire Commission. Chairman Greer advised that appointment of a more diverse Fire Commission should be an advantage, not a disadvantage, and he reported the reason for postponing recent appointments to the Fire Commission was because the Commissioners felt the members working with the Consolidation Public Safety Committee should continue to serve until the consolidation issue was decided by the voters in October. He assured the Volunteer Fire Departments that all vacancies on the Fire Commission would be filled at the second meeting in October. Mr. Rhodes commented on the lack of involvement by the Volunteer Fire Departments in preparing the fire plan being proposed for the consolidated government, and he presented a plan that had been prepared by the seven Volunteer Fire Departments as of last night. He reported the plan would provide for an effective and cost-efficient fire service in the County regardless of whether the two governments consolidate. He urged the Commissioners to NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION WITH FIRE COMMISSION, JULY 17, 1995 BOOK 25 PAGE 836 read and review the plan before voting on the plan being recommended by the Public Safety Consolidation Study Committee. Chairman Greer opened the meeting to receive comments from the public and requested each person to limit their remarks to three minutes. The following remarks were presented: Mr. provide lncrease County. Jim Tyler expressed concern about raising the fire tax to a paid fire service and stated if taxes continue to the average man will not be able to live in New Hanover Mr. Ed Worrell, Vice-President of the Ogden Volunteer Fire Department, commented on the proposed plan prepared by the seven Volunteer Fire Departments and reported as an older member of the volunteer organization, he felt the plan was an economical and efficient way to provide quality fire service to New Hanover County for the next 10-15 years regardless of whether consolidation is approved or disapproved. He urged the Commissioners to review the plan before making a final decision on the plan proposed by the Public Safety Consolidation Committee. A lengthy discussion was held on the need to provide quality fire protection to the urbanized County. Commissioner Caster expressed appreciation to the Volunteer Firemen for the outstanding job they perform in the provision of fire service. He reported on the rapid growth that has occurred and will continue to occur in the County, and he urged the Volunteer Firemen to work with the Fire Commission and Board of County Commissioners in making the necessary changes to provide a quality fire service to meet these demands. He stated whether consolidation is approved or disapproved, a plan will have to be implemented with some paid personnel in order to provide fire service throughout New Hanover County. A lengthy discussion was held on ISO ratings. Commissioner Sisson reported the response time, manpower, and other items are computed into the ISO ratings; however, without an adequate water supply, the County will have a problem with ISO ratings. Further discussion was held on the need for the GIS mapplng system to be completed in order to provide a quick response through the CAD System. Emergency Management Director, Dan Summers, reported the mapping proj ect had been delayed because of the difficulty being experienced in obtaining accurate boundaries. Mr. Aubrey Rivenbark emphasized the importance of the maps being accurate and reported the maps should be forwarded to the State within 30 days. He advised the Board that insurance ratings would not be lost because the maps had not been completed. After further discussion of the conflict areas, Chairman Greer suggested that the Fire Commission should clearly define the responsibilities of the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department and reimburse the department for expenses incurred in the provision of fire service to the North Wilmington area. In turn, the Wrightsboro Volunteer Fire Department will be required to submit documents clearly justifying expenditures for the provision of the fire service to this area before additional funds can be approved by the Fire Commission. Further discussion was held on the proposed plan presented by the Volunteer Fire Departments. Commissioner Barone emphasized the importance of following normal procedure and suggested the plan be reviewed by the Fire Commission before any decision was rendered by the Board of County Commissioners. She commented on the invaluable service rendered by the Volunteer Fire Departments and reported she NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION WITH FIRE COMMISSION, JULY 17, 1995 BOOK 25 PAGE 837 felt the conflict areas could be worked out with the Fire Commission. Consensus: After further discussion, it was the consensus of the Board for the Fire Commission to review the plan submitted tonight by the Volunteer Fire Departments and prepare a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners before considering action on the plan. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Greer expressed appreciation for the remarks received and adjourned the Work Session at 8:30 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Lucie F. Harrell Clerk to the Board