Public Protection Committee
Minutes of 10:00 A.M., December 9, 2009 Meeting
Town Office Meeting Room
A list of abbreviations can be found at the end of these minutes.
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at approximately 10:00 A.M. by Chairman Dennis Shubert.
II. Roll Call of Members
Attendance Present Attendance Present
“Voting Members (10 total)” Citizen Rep. Kathy Branch (Kathy) No
Citizen Rep. Mary-Lee Bayne (MLB) Exc. Pub. Works Dir. Tony Smith (TS) Yes
Citizen Rep. Katie Bell (KB) Yes Police Chief Jim Willis (JW) Yes
Fire Chief Mike Bender (MB) Yes “Non-voting attendees/at large”
Harbormaster Shawn Murphy (SM) No Town Mgr. Mike MacDonald (MM) No
NEHA Joanne Robbins (JR) Resigned BOS Liaison Rick Mooers (RM) No
Citizen Rep. Dennis Shubert (DS) Yes MDWD Mgr. Paul Slack (PS) No
Citizen Rep. Sharon Gilley (SG) Yes Basil Mahaney (BM) for JR-NEHA Resigned
Citizen Rep. Sumner Roulon-Miller Exc.
Selectmen MD arrived at 10:09; she and Mac Smith of the BH Times were in attendance as a member of the public and of the press, respectively. SRM is away working. We briefly discussed providing teleconference capabilities to the meetings in the event members cannot attend in person but want to remotely. The idea will be investigated.
III. (Item 1 of Agenda) Discussion/Approval of Minutes
Minutes of November 25, 2009 meeting were approved as presented 6-0 (MB-JW).
IV. (Item 2 of Agenda) Unfinished Business
Second Interim Report: The second interim report to the BOS was discussed. MB said it seems to point out a number of negative factors relative to FT FF’s but very few positive factors. MB went on to explain that the FT FF’s would maintain the rolling stock; maintain the fire bays in NEH and the entire stations in SH and SV. He indicated that the FD is just keeping up with the building maintenance but not as we should be.
MB also stated that the last sentence in the third paragraph from the bottom of page 2 is misleading. As written:
“Therefore a combination department in the Town of Mt. Desert would be comparatively underutilized and more costly to the taxpayers of the Town of Mt. Desert”.
MB stated he felt it reads as if a study related to the FT FF’s has been done and the conclusion reached that they would be underutilized. MB reiterated that FT staff would be busy with other work tasks in addition to those mentioned above. FT staff could help EMS by performing initial EMS services at the basic EMT level prior to EMS arriving on a scene.
JW agreed that many other towns have FF’s that are trained as “first responders”. For example, some FF’s received free training from a private ambulance company which served many outlying communities. The objective of providing the free training was to get a faster response to the scene of an event. The FF's were trained as first responders, an EMS level of training below that of an EMT.
TS agreed with MB and JW that FT FF’s would be busy. They could be assigned some of the work tasks that volunteer FF’s now do e.g. the monthly truck checks. It was agreed that the sentence would be deleted and a sentence added that would essentially state that the utilization of FT FF’s needs to be reviewed.
SG asked about AED’s (automatic external defibrillator) in each village. MB stated that there is one in each village at the fire station and that the FF’s receive annual training in their use.
At a question from DS, MB indicated that the FD and NEHA work well together and that this working relationship could grow.
PPC FAQ Sheet: DS then handed out and discussed the document entitled “FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) PPC Recommendations, December 2009”. The document is to be used to help educate members of the PPC, the BOS and the general public. Comments included:
• SG suggested that the harbormaster should be added to the list of department heads identified in the first FAQ.
• JW asked to have dispatchers included in the second FAQ and
• TS recommended adding the mission statement to the document.
KB relayed a message to the group from SRM that we need to consider specific square footage needs when we discuss FD and PD needs. DS pointed out that FAQ number 9 does address square footage to a degree.
A motion to note and accept the FAQ document was passed 6-0 (MB-TS).
V. (Item 3 of Agenda) New Business
MB then gave a PowerPoint presentation entitled “R&R Program for the MDFD: Will it work and how will we know?” The hard copy version of the presentation will ne included with the minutes of the meeting. Some points mentioned related to the presentation included:
• The original four FD’s in Town used to have to raise funds for capital expenses – trucks, buildings, other equipment - by holding fundraising events. Day-to-day operations were funded through the tax base.
• TS stated that the range of effort is, initially the same for a false alarm as it is for a structure fire. You just do not know what you will fund when you get to the scene.
• KB asked if the response can be scaled back depending upon the situation. MB said not usually, until a trained FF arrives on scene and makes an initial assessment. Other responders can them be told to continue to the scene, return to their station or stage along the way and wait for instructions.
• MB explained that a former BOS asked him to investigate charging property owners for the FD responding to false alarms. His research showed that the false alarms were spread out over a number of properties, not just a few, so no fee system was ever implemented.
• At a question from KB, MB explained that we respond to, or make a request for, mutual aid about three to four times a year, on average.
• MB explained that the NFPA (National Fire Projection Association) published guidelines are codes, not laws.
• ISO (Insurance Services Office) ratings require that six people respond to a scene within 14 minute no less than 80-percent of the time (6 people -14 minutes -80 percent) for a good ISO rating number. The Town’s FD is at 6 people -14 minutes -50 percent.
• An ISO rating of 1 (one) is very good; 10 is poor. Somesville and Pretty Marsh are at a rating of 9. If, for example, they reached a 10, property owners could be dropped by their homeowner insurance provide or, pay very high rates.
• It was recommended that the FD offer a combination of both a length of service and pay per call incentive to the FF’s, not one or the other.
• Last year’s fire on Maple Lane was presented as an example where having FT FF’s on staff would have likely allowed the house to be saved instead of being completely destroyed by the fire along with the garage where the fire started. When the first truck arrived on scene, only the garage was on fire. Lack of adequate staffing numbers prevented the fire being contained to the garage.
DS said that he would put further discussion of the presentation on the agenda for the next meeting.
Regionalization: DS handed out copies of a document entitled “Regionalization Effort: Town of Yarmouth and Partners” and a portion of a document entitled “Regionalizing Municipal Services and Group Procurement Survey: Preliminary Results”. He then gave a brief overview of REG. He suggested we must educate ourselves so we can educate others. It was generally agreed that any discussion about REG must first start at the political level with meetings between the BOS and Councils of interested communities. DS went on to say, and again it was generally agreed, that the politicos would have to fund a comprehensive study of what each FD has, what it needs, etc. Commitment of funds to such a study by interested towns would offer proof of their credibility and true interest in investigating
the concept. We also agreed that we should not make recommendations for e.g. staff and equipment disregarding the possibility of REG in case it becomes a reality.
DS said purchasing services might be an option as opposed to REG and sharing assets.
VI. Public Comments
DS asked for comments. None were offered.
11:32 SG left the meeting.
VII. Adjournment
Motion made and passed at 11:40 to adjourn: 5-0 (TS-JW).
VIII. Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for 10:00 A.M., January 13 OR 20, 2010 in the NEH MRm. We want to be flexible to accommodate SRM work schedule in New York.
Abbreviations
Note Description Note Description
Admin Administration Department NFPA National Fire Protection Assoc.
AED Automatic External Defibrillator PM Pretty Marsh
BH Bar Harbor PS Pump Station
BOS Board of Selectmen PT Part-time
DH Department Head PW Public Work’s
COC Chamber of Commerce R&R Recruitment & Retention
EMS Emergency Medical Services REG Regionalization
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions SLAM Original Architects for TO
FD Fire Department SH Seal Harbor
FF Fire Fighter SV Somesville
FT Full-time SWH Southwest Harbor
MDWD Mount Desert Water District SRM Sumner Roulon-Miller
MMA Maine Municipal Association TO Town Office
MRm Meeting Room WC Warrant Committee
NEH Northeast Harbor WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant
NEHA NEH Ambulance Service
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