1.0 Call to Order / Roll Call
The Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Red, White & Blue Fire District was called to order by Director Griffin at 0702.  In attendance were Directors Perkins, Griffin, Randall and Krugman.  Director Gothard was excused.  Chief Green, Chief Miller, Finance Officer Carmen Modglin, Fire Marshal Jay Nelson and Wendy Peters were also in attendance.  Wendy Peters served as Recording Secretary.

2.0 Approval of Minutes
Director Perkins noted that Director Randall should have been recorded as excused from the May 14, 2009 meeting. M/S Perkins, Krugman to approve minutes from the May 14, 2009 board meeting.  Voice vote unanimous.  Motion carried. 

3.0 Citizens Comments and Other Communications
Director Randall said he had not seen the letter to the editor in the Summit Daily about the ambulance transport.  Chief Green noted he will forward a copy. 

4.0 Approval of Changes to the Agenda
Director Randall asked to add to the agenda a discussion about station repairs and upgrades.

5.0 Chief’s Report & Discussion Topics
2009 Budget Update
Chief Green stated that to date the 2009 budget is tracking as expected.  On the revenue side he is keeping an eye on the plan review fees as this line is well below projections.  Fire Marshal Nelson commented that the Shock Hill plan review fees have still not come in, and is not sure of their status.  Fire Marshal Nelson did meet with Mark Hogan and there will be three projects coming in this year plus a mini storage project, each projected to bring in a few thousand dollars in plan review fees. Chief Green said at the moment this line is short $150,000, but other revenues are up, and he plans on presenting the Board of Directors some options at the July meeting. Director Griffin stated that the board retreat could be scaled back and commented that the utility and fuel lines look very good. 

Chief Green presented to the Board of Directors the opportunity for another source of revenue.  The North Station has empty office space that a local non-profit organization is interested in leasing.  They only have four employees and seldom have clients coming into their offices.  Director Griffin questioned what the current price of office space is going for and said it should be looked into.  Director Krugman questioned if our liability insurance would need to be notified.  Chief Green stated that he first wanted to see if the Board of Directors were interested in pursuing this, and since they are, he will investigate this further. 

Director Perkins questioned the Cover Colorado fee.  Carmen stated that this is a State Law of which we were unaware.  Director Perkins questioned the formula used to determine the amount due which Carmen will investigate further.

Emergency Response Data
Chief Green stated that our call volume was down in May, which is typical as May is our slowest month of the year.  EMS calls continue to dominate the percentage of our calls.  Chief Miller has used this slow time to provide a lot of training opportunities. 

Ambulance Services
Chief Green stated that Lake Dillon Fire, Copper Mountain and Flight for Life are all working with us to explore/evaluate the prospect of a county wide ambulance service managed by and utilizing fire district resources more effectively.  The Chiefs have advised County Manager Gary Martinez.  There is another meeting next week where they will look at various elements and various models.  Recently Lake Dillon has hired three more paramedics, and reportedly hopes to hire three more by 2010.  Chief Miller noted that Red, White & Blue Fire District has 15 paramedics on staff and ensuring two on shift every day.  Director Perkins asked if Lake Dillon would be able or interested in also applying for a Safer Grant as we did.  Chief Miller said she is sure they’ve explored that option.  Chief Green commented that the Summit County Ambulance Service has been talking to a private ambulance provider as another option, but the local fire districts are still interested in exploring a fire based model.  Many complex issues would need to be addressed for any transition.  Chief Green said he will make a preliminary presentation at the July meeting and then will be ready to present the final proposal by September.  He also noted that we still have our current agreement in place until November.  Director Griffin wanted to ensure that we are tracking all of the expenses related to these services, to which Carmen replied that we are.  Chief Green reiterated that our primary interest is to keep RWB resources in-county. 

Wildfire Mitigation & Response
Chief Green stated that with all the rain we have had the fire danger rating remains low. He noted that our fire fighters have met their qualifications and have the gear needed to be ready to respond to a wildfire situation.  Chief Green stated that we are in partnership with the Town of Breckenridge and the ordinance passed requiring defensible space.  There is a local group starting a petition to repeal this ordinance, and if that were to succeed it could go to a public vote.  Chief Green believes we should support this ordinance as it brings the issue of defensible space to the fore front.  He believes the main concern of the petitioners is a property rights issue.  However, they are also carelessly questioning the science of defensible space, which has been proven to save homes for decades.  This campaign of misinformation is unfortunate.  Director Randall questioned why the Town of Breckenridge is mandating stricter regulations than the county is and he feels that it is alright to support the ordinance as long as we remain aware of the political side of things.  Director Perkins and Randall discussed the actual true meaning of defensible space and the ordinance, and discussed how misunderstood this appears to be among local citizens.  Chief Green agreed that this confusion is the major problem and it is a matter of education.  He also stated that this ordinance is completely in line with the best national practices and will help make our community safer.  Director Griffin and Director Perkins thought that perhaps we should be the ones to provide a better explanation of what defensible space is for the public and provide diagrams so they understand that a clear cut is not required.  Chief Green said this is a good idea and will pursue it further. 

AccreditationChief Green stated that he and six staff members went to training in Pueblo last week, and while it was overwhelming at first, he is even more excited now about this process.  He still hopes to get accredited by August 2010 which is aggressive.  He also noted that we already meet many of the core competencies required we just need to formalize the communication and processes. 

Station Repairs and Upgrades
Director Randall recently took a tour of all three stations with Battalion Chief Rosenberger and came up with a list of needed and desired repairs.  Director Randall had contractors out to look at the stations and give us estimates.  He stated that if we were to fix all of the issues on the list it would cost $350,000.  He noted that currently we budget $75,000 a year for repairs and just fix things a little bit at a time, but believes it would be worthwhile to get financing to get everything taken care of at once.  He also noted that construction costs are low right now, and Chief Green added that there are Federal Grants available that we might qualify for as well.  Director Perkins agreed that this is long overdue and asked if this would be part of our accreditation process to which Chief Green replied yes.  Director Perkins and Director Griffin expressed interest in pursuing this, and asked if Director Randall could investigate further and prioritize the work to be done and break it all down and present a plan to the Board of Directors as soon as possible.  Chief Green went on record to state that the Board of Directors is in agreement to pursue this capital improvement project and move quickly on it.  Director Randall will begin immediately and Director Griffin wanted to ensure that we look into all the possible funding options.  Carmen stated that we will need financing in addition to any grant money we can obtain. 

6.0 Board Action
Approval of the 2008 Financial Statements and Independent Auditor’s Report
Carmen stated that there had been some minor corrections.  Chief Green said that Director Gothard would like a transmittal sheet added outlining the services we provide in more detail for the public, and will be ready to be filed by July 31, 2009.  M/S Perkins, Randall to approve with inclusion of a transmittal sheet the 2008 Financial Statements and Independent Auditor’s Report to be submitted by July 31, 2009.  Voice vote, unanimous.  Motion carried.

Approval of the Summit Fire Authority High Country Training Center Management Administrative Support and Management Services Intergovernmental Agreement
Chief Miller noted that there were only some minor changes in the agreement relating to the title of the Copper Consolidated Metro District, and making a few statements more generic.  Director Perkins questioned section 2 and asked if we are filling these obligations, to which Chief Miller answered yes.  Director Perkins also questioned how we inventory the assets there, and if this could be addressed at a later time.  Carmen agreed that we should formalize the inventory more than we currently do. Director Griffin questioned section 2.6 about capital expenses being pre-approved then presented to the Board of Directors.  He then questioned 4.2A and asked what would happen if someone were to pull out.  Chief Green said that the remaining two districts would get together to determine continuing operations and Chief Miller said that would occur in the following fiscal year.  Carmen stated that if someone were to pull out they would still be responsible for the debt service.  M/S Randall, Perkins to approve the Summit Fire Authority High Country Training Center Management Administrative Support and Management Services Intergovernmental Agreement.  Voice vote, unanimous.  Motion carried.

Approval of May Claims Detail 2009
Director Perkins questioned item 232.  Carmen explained that since we actually owned a postage machine in 2008 we had to pay property tax on it the following year.  Director Perkins questioned item 237.  Carmen explained that a check had been cancelled and then re-issued for the correct amount.  Director Griffin questioned item 249.  Chief Green explained that we managed a Wildfire Grant with the Town of Blue River and that was their share of the grant money.  Director Griffin questioned item 269.  Carmen explained that while it says Costco it is for the American Express Card.  Director Perkins questioned what amount of the $240 to Collins, Cockrel and Cole was for re-sending a letter that was lost which Carmen will look into.  M/S Randall, Krugman to approve the May 2009 claims list as presented.  Voice vote, unanimous.  Motion carried. 

7.0 Adjournment
M/S Randall, Krugman to adjourn the regular meeting at 0904.  Voice vote, unanimous.  Motion carried.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday July 16th 2009 at 0700.

Respectfully Submitted:

Wayne Randall, Secretary/Treasurer
Wendy Peters, Recording Secretary