TOWN OF SOMERS
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: Carl Rohrbach called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
Members Present: Alice
Van Tasel, Tony Bruno, Frank Lawlor, and Carl Rohrbach
Members Absent: Dave
Palmer, Jr.,
Others Present: First
Selectman Dave Pinney, Fire Chief Bill Meier, Fire Marshal Walter Summers,
Frank Falcone, Glen Reynolds, Bob Wheeler, Alan Baker, Jaime Hurley and Tom
Mehl,
AUDIENCE COMMENTS:
Fire Department is having corn beef and cabbage dinner on March
13, 2004.
MINUTES APPROVAL:
·
Mr. Bruno noted that Chief Meier’s name was
missing from the list of “Others Present” from the January 15, 2004 minutes. A motion by Mrs. Van Tasel
and seconded by Mr. Lawlor to approve these amended regular meeting minutes was passed
unanimously.
CORRESPONDENCE
·
Received minutes from the 2/7/04 Board of
Selectman meeting with the Fire Commission
·
Received a list of pertinent town phone numbers
·
Received memo from Town Clerk providing FOI
information supplementing the recent meeting.
·
Noted article from the Hartford Courant (2/9/04)
concerning a possible link between some forms of cancer and firefighting.
FIRE MARSHAL:
·
A motion by Mr. Bruno, seconded by Mr. Lawlor
to approve Fire Marshal and Deputy Fire Marshal’s attendance at a seminar
covering the proposed State 2005 fire code was passed unanimously.
The Deputy Fire Marshal’s attendance is dependent on Shift Captain’s
okay and switching time so no overtime is incurred.
·
Reviews of school building plans and other
required tasks associated with the renovation have caused some business
inspections due in January and February to be delayed.
·
Worked with First Selectman to revise school use
form to ensure Fire Marshal’s up-front knowledge of event to permit timely
inspection of event set-up and resolution to any violations.
·
A new ordinance should be considered regarding
large public gatherings similar to surrounding towns that would give Fire
Marshal authority for safety inspection not currently covered under state or
Town statutes. Mr. Pinney was asked to
discuss measure with town attorney.
FIRE CHIEF:
·
The Chief indicated that the building
heating controls have been properly set-up.
Still have issues with areas above the ceiling having little or no insulation. This may be a large factor in the high
heating oil and electricity expenditures since the station opened. Board members questioned what liability the
architect might still have in this matter and could funds currently held by the
Building Committee cover the cost of repair.
·
If Enfield goes ahead with plans to hire 30
EMT’s with a pay scale 25-30% higher than Somers, most of the current full
timers could leave. Finding competent
replacements will be very difficult.
BUDGET REVIEW:
·
The current 2003/2004 budgets for Fire Marshal, Ambulance
and Fire Department on track although the Fire Department’s heat and
electricity probably will overrun their budgets.
·
Proposed budgets for the Ambulance and the
Fire Marshal can achieve the 3% BoS guideline.
·
The Fire Department budget has 8.6% increases
in mandated items alone. The Board’s
position is that Fire Department also needs a full complement of paid staff on
duty during the 6 AM to 6 PM shifts to provide the desire level of services
that the citizens of Somers expect.
·
Board discussed ways to raise public awareness
of Fire Department budget concerns.
NEW BUSINESS:
A motion was made by Mr. Bruno, seconded by
Mrs. Van Tasel and passed
unanimously approving a letter from the Fire
Chief and Fire Commission to the Board of Selectmen appraising them of the
impact on the Somers Fire Department if Enfield goes ahead with the hiring of
30 EMT’s. The Board of Finance will be cc’d.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion to adjourn was made at 9:50 p.m. by Mr. Bruno, seconded
by Mr. Lawlor and passed unanimously.
The next regular meeting is March 18, 2004 at 7 pm at the Somers Fire
House.
Respectfully
submitted,
Carl
Rohrbach, Jr.
Chairman