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Millcreek Township Fire & EMS Commission Meeting January 21, 2021

Meeting was called to order at 1900 with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Updates -

Rebecca Kessler has resigned from the commission; the supervisors are currently working on filling her position.

Due to John Marsden running the meeting, Shalan Anderson will be taking the minutes.

October 15th minutes were motioned for approval by Jim Rosenbaum, seconded by Bill Martin and approved.

Nomination of officers for 2021

Nominations were opened for Chairman

Bill Martin nominated Matt Parker, 2nd by Johns Stephens. Matt Parker accepted. Vote was 3 yes, 4 no, motion denied

John Marsden nominated Randy Lachowski, 2nd by Jim Rosenbaum. Randy Lachowski accepted.

Vote was 4 yes, 3 no, motion passed

Nominations were opened for Vice Chair

o Randy Lachowski nominated Kirk McCaslin 2nd by John Marsden. Kirk McCaslin accepted.

Motion was passed with 5 yes, 1 no, 1 abstaining

• Nominations were open for Secretary
• Jim Rosenbaum nominated John Marsden 2nd by Matt Parker John Marsden accepted
• Motion passed with 7 yes
• Task Force, Update
• Randy advised that with the pandemic they had not met with people last year, they are hoping to get back out there and start meeting with people.
• Chief Sohyda will be meeting with the Chiefs after the commission meeting to help get the final details for the operational plan.

John Marsden brought up the vision that was established for the task force and requested that everyone review it before the next meeting. These are the visions and we need to focus on that will help this commission move forward.

Reports

Operations Sub-Committee

o Moving forwarded

Old Business

Will be meeting with Chief Sohyda and the department chiefs after the commission meeting to refine the standard of coverage. This includes personnel, equipment resources, and the demographics.

o More information will be available at the next meeting regarding the findings.

Township Mechanic

o Previous highlights

Jan 2019 a committee was formed to review what would be needed.

Committee consisted of Jerry DeRosa, Gary Snyder, Joe Yatzor, and??

In April 2019 the committee brought a recommendation to the commission on what would be needed, and it was given to the supervisors.

Advised it was difficult to find workers in 2019

Suggested soliciting for contracted services since there is no one hired at this time

○ Suggested bringing the committee back together to review everything, if there will be a delay, to possibly looking into contracted services

Jerry DeRosa advised that when everything was brought to the township supervisors in 2019, they were advised that there was no money in the budget to hire a mechanic.

Dan Ouellet advised that there was not money in the 2020 budget to hire a mechanic. When asked he advised that the information would need presented by October to look at budgeting a mechanic in the 2022 budget.

It was suggested to put the committee back together to get all the information together by September 2021 for the commission so that it can be presented to the supervisors for the budget for 2022.

○ Suggested the operation committee and the mechanic committee review things after the chiefs meeting this evening in case any resources change.

Jerry DeRosa advised he would be on the committee again and that he believed Joe Yatzor may still have all the previous information from the committee

- Grant program

○ Belle Valley applied for tics, fans, gear, G2 pagers, a little bit of everything. Grant amount $15,000

o Kearsarge applied for debt reduction. Grant amount $15,000.

West Ridge applied for SCBAs. Grant amount $15,000

☐ West Lake applied for debt reduction. Grant amount $15,000

- IRT team

Jim Rosenbaum highly encouraged departments to participate in the IRT program until the final report comes out from the Operation Sub-Committee. Challenges are getting the calls answered in a timely manner, but they are being underused. We need to concentrate less on shiny objects and more on getting our calls answered.

John Stephens advised he did not feel the departments were using each other the way they should.

New Business

Matt Parker advised that it was purely financial reasons they were not using; they have other debt services that need taken care of rather than paying people to sit in the station.

Chief Sohyda advised that if they were not calling the closest department, they must have a valid reason to show what they are doing is reasonable.

Remember that IRT is taxpayer dollars are used for it, why is it not being called right away.

According to the data they are not performing well

Standards will be set for the township not each department, this will give concrete data to review performance.

Lou Lawson from the West Ridge fire department came to request approval for spending above the $25,000 dollar amount.

o See attached letter.

They applied for a FEMA grant and are waiting to see if they get approval. They will be purchasing the equipment regardless of if they receive the grant.

o There was discussion on the other departments and the age of their SCBAs.

Lake Shore purchased in 2016

West Lake purchased in 2019

Kearsarge purchased in 2020

West Ridge will purchase in 2021

Belle Valley will need to purchase in 2023

☐ Matt Parker motioned to allow West Ridge to purchase the SCBAs and the compressor to fill their bottle.

o Mark Shaw read the resolution that was approved by the supervisors.

It was pointed out that West Ridge would not need approval for the SCBAs because their cost is $7400.00 apiece. The compressor will need approval because of the cost is $60,000.00.

☐ Matt Parker amended is motion to allow West Ridge to purchase the compressor need to fill SCBAs.

2^{nd} by Bill Martin

Vote - 6 yes, 1 no - motion approved

Public Comment

Jerry DeRosa discussed that calls the departments were being dispatched to were cut back in March due to COVID. West Ridge fire department would like to get back to running the normal calls. They are spending $2000 to allow 3 people to sit at the station and listen to calls they are not being dispatched on. We are now going on about a year and they would like to get back to helping the citizens like they did before.

Bill Martin disagrees with the fire departments going back to regular dispatching. 45% of MPS's patients have been COVID positive. There is no need at this time to put the fire departments in harms way if it is not needed.

Jerry advised that their neighbors know they are fireman, and they are not coming. There are 3 people 5 days a week that can help but are not being used.

Matt Parker advised that this was one thing they all agreed on and was a standard protocol for all. We agreed that our protocols would mirror the city. Once change was made and it was when the City fire department did also, and stroke calls were added back in. Matt advised that he is not ready to put his department at risk with these calls. He feels that this is a financial issue for West Ridge and that they may need to review the program but that things should stay the same with call running.

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Jim Rosenbaum said that West Ridge is financially able to handle the IRT team.

These individuals are sitting here when the ambulance has a lengthy response, and they are not being dispatched. We all take risks, and they are measured risks. It is a public perception, and we are here to serve the public.

John Stephens – Brought up the point that we wanted to get out of the ambulance business. Neighbors need to realize that times have changed and that when they call for an ambulance, they are going to get an ambulance and when they call with a fire call they will get a fire truck. We need to be looking at the whole picture.

Bill Martin advised that if there is going to be an extended ETA for the ambulance, or the calls that were agreed upon that the departments were to be dispatched for are not being dispatched than that issue is on the county dispatch center.

Chief Sohyda agreed that listening to all of this it sounded like it was a dispatch issue.

Jerry DeRosa advised this was just the feelings of his department. No arguments needed and that it is up to the commission. Just want to get back to normal and stop sitting on the sidelines.

o Mark Shaw suggested that a letter be drafted by the township to the county dispatch center regarding the issues with the calls they are supposed to be dispatched on and when there is an extended ETA for the ambulance.

Matt Parker motioned that a letter be sent by the township to the county dispatch center regarding the issues they are having with dispatch. Second by Jim Rosenbaum and approved

It was agreed that Matt Parker would draft the information together and send to Mark Shaw and the other fire chiefs so that it can be reviewed, and any additional information can be added before the formal letter is put together by the township.

Comments from Members

Matt Parker discussed that back in February of 2019 it was discussed about putting some type of fueling station on the east side for those departments. Currently Belle Valley and Kearsarge are still purchasing their fuel from Country Fair at retail prices while the other departments can access the township building. Kearsarge had pumps at one time but they were removed for insurance reasons. There was discussions about putting portable pumps at the east side garage, but there were issues with that. We're waiting for further information on what could be done. It was advised that at this point it is on the township end to get this issue handled. Dan Ouellet will follow up on this.

Meeting Called To Order by Kirk McCaslin at 7:00 pm

Present: Dan Ouelett, John Marsden, Brian Salvatore, Mark Shaw, Matthew Parker, Jim Rosenbaum, Kirk McCaslin, Guy Santone, Chief Sohyda.

Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present

Roll Call was taken by all commission members present

Reading and Approval of Minutes from January 21, 2021 Meeting: Motion made by Matthew Parker, seconded by Jim Rosenbaum, so moved to adopt the minutes of the January 21, 2021 meeting. Approved by all present.

Task Force Update: Mark Shaw reported that due to the delays from COVID-19 issues, all activities have been pushed back.

Reports:

• a.Operations Sub-Committee. Jim Rosenbaum reported that Chief Sohyda has completed the preliminary standard of coverage report. Chief Sohyda to present latter in meeting agenda.
• b.Finance Sub-Committee. Committee has met virtually. Gary Seib and Mark Zaksheske are working on the capital loan process and capital budgeting.

Old Business:

a.) Township Update on maintenance training and hiring a Township mechanic. Dan Ouelett reported nothing has been completed by the township on these matters.

b.) Township Update on East Side fueling access. Mark Shaw reported that a 1,000 gallon 'diesel tank had been installed however, the matter of a key system was still unresolved.

New Business:

a.) West Lake VFD request for extraordinary snow plow support. Discussion about the need and possibility of The Township's Street Department helping with extraordinary snow events buy making several passes thru the VFD station(s). Motion made by Matthew Parker and seconded by John Marsden to request the Township's Street Department to assist during these times and in the capacity discussed.

b.) Chief Sohyda Standard of Cover Presentation. Chief Sohyda presented his firm's Standard of Cover analysis for The Township. The 56 page document is intended as a starting document with changes likely. Discussion about service standards; baselines; and benchmarks. Input requested by the four VFD chiefs.

Key Takeaways:

1.) The Township needs to define its service standards in light of resources and acceptable industry norms.

2.) Data is key.

3.) A common records management system across all Township departments is essential.

4.) A quality control person to standardize data input is also essential.

Public Comment: No public comments.

Comments from Members: John Marsden inquired about the hold-up on standardizing The Township's record management system. Specially, was cost the primary issue. Matthew Parker and Jim Rosenbaum offered explanations. More discussion to follow.

Announcements: Mark Shaw recommended a special meeting of the FEMSC for May 2021. Agreed, special "limited agenda" meeting to be held May 27, 2021 @ 7:00 p.m. in the Township-Municipal Building.

Adjournment: 8:33 PM

Millcreek Township Fire and Emergency Medical Services Commission Minutes of May 27, 2021 Special Meeting in Township Municipal Building

Meeting Called To Order by Randy Lachowski at 7:00 pm

Present: Dan Ouelett, John Marsden, Brian Salvatore, Mark Shaw, Matthew Parker, Jim Rosenbaum, Kirk McCaslin, Guy Santone, Chief Sohyda, Randy Lachowski, Jon Stephens.

Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present.

Roll Call was not taken by commission members.

Reading and Approval of Minutes from April 15, 2021 Meeting: Motion made by Jim Rosenbaum, seconded by Matthew Parker; so moved to adopt the minutes of the April 15, 2021 meeting. Approved by all present.

Special Meeting Purpose #1: Discussion of Township's Standard of Cover report prepared by Fast Attack, LLC.

Standard of Cover report submitted to the commission floor for discussion. No discussion. Motion made by Jim Rosenbaum to adopt the Standard of Cover report including recommendations as written, seconded by Guy Santone; so moved by all present. Unanimous adoption of the motion.

Special Meeting Purpose #2: Discussion of a singular Fire Department Record Management System.

Record Management System submitted to the commission floor for discussion. Matthew Parker reported that the Fire Commission Chief's Association recommended the adoption of Emergency Reporting's "Silver Package". In addition, Mr. Parker commented that each fire department would retain its separate FDID number under a single umbrella account for The Township. Motion made by Matthew Parker for The Township's fire departments to adopt a unified Record Management System from Emergency Reporting. Specifically, the Silver Package. Motion seconded by Kirk McCaslin; so moved by all present. Unanimous adoption of the motion.

Second Motion made by Kirk Macaslin that the cost of Emergency Reporting's Silver Package be paid annually by The Township up to $6,000.00. Furthermore, this cost was separate (not included) of any

LST funding the departments might receive. Motion seconded by Matthew Parker; so moved by all present. Unanimous adoption of the motion.

Special Meeting Purpose #3: Discussion of The Township employing a QA/QC person for unified reporting of all fire department events.

Feasibility of QA/QC employee submitted to the commission floor for discussion. Randy Lachowski commented on the need for proper supervision and how this person would fit into the task force vision for reportability. Jim Rosenbaum suggested the Office of Emergency Management was a logical place for the new employee to be assigned. Committee agreed that further discussion was necessary on anticipated work load and a job description.

Because of the importance of unified data inputs, the commission decided to move forward. Motion made by Matthew Parker for The Township to employ a QA/QC person, seconded by Kirk McCaslin; so moved by all present. Unanimous adoption of the motion. Public Comment: No public comments. Comments from Members: Dan Ouelett commented on the success of the meeting and his opinion that the commission and its members had taking “a big step forward”. Mark Shaw commented that the meeting was gratifying as it was fulfilling the vision of The Township when the decision was made to form the FEMSC. Announcements: Next Regular Meeting (2Q21): July 15, 2021 @ 7:00pm in the Township Municipal Building.

Adjournment: 7:30 PM.

Meeting Called To Order by Randy Lachowski at 7:00 pm

Present: Dan Ouelett, John Marsden, Mark Shaw, Matthew Parker, Kirk McCaslin, Guy Santone, Randy Lachowski, John Stephens, Bill Martin.

Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present.

Roll Call was taken by commission members.

Reading and Approval of Minutes from May 27, 2021 Special Meeting: Motion made by Matthew Parker, seconded by Kirk McCaslin; so moved to adopt the minutes of the May 27, 2021 Special Meeting. Approved by all present.

Task Force Update. Randy Lachowski reported nothing was presently scheduled. Targeting fall of 2021 to begin task force activities. Additional members are needed as several have dropped out.

Reports.

a.) Operations Sub-Committee. Jim Rosenbaum not present. Matthew Parker updated The Commission on discussions at monthly fire Chief's meeting. Chief's are working on a standardized preplan to meet the requirements under the recently approved Standards of Cover. The preplan is equipment specific as well as department specific. Furthermore, the preplan is expected to be used county wide with some modest modifications and coordinated with the county's 911 call center. Lastly, the preplan will include a dedicated training schedule for each department and formalized starting January 2022. The January start date enables the department's time to build data on coverage and response times.

b.) Finance Sub-Committee. Randy Lachowski reported no developments. Primary mission for 2021 is to report and scrutinize capital equipment requests.

Old Business.

a.) Township update on singular records management system. Mark Shaw reported that the Supervisors approved the record management system presented. That system was passed by motion at the May 27, 2021 Special Meeting of the FEMSC.

b.) Township update on the Township's employment of a QA/QC person. Mark Shaw reported that the Supervisor's approved the employment of a QA/QC person as presented. At the July 27, 2021 Special Meeting of the FEMSC, a motion was adopted to recommend this to the Supervisor's.

c.) Township update on shared maintenance and hiring of Township mechanic. Dan Ouelett reported that the Township was evaluating present staffing to access resources and capabilities. Present working assumption: A two person crew, performing basic maintenance, on a scheduled basis. All maintenance to be performed "on site" at each fire station. No plan for additional staffing at this point.

d.) Township update on east side fueling access. Mark Shaw reported this was completed.

New Business.

a.) Matthew Parker made a motion to amend The Township's Ordinance 2021-8 as follows:

1.) Add the name of the records management company to the ordinance. The company: Emergency Reporting and/or it's successors.

2.) Add to the ordinance the package being purchased: The purchase is the Silver Package.

3.) Add to the ordinance the following: The purchase is a four (4) CAD package.

4.) Add to the ordinance the purchase price: $5,533.00 is The Township's cost.

Motion made by Matthew Parker to add these changes to the original ordinance. Seconded by Kirk McCaslin. Agreed and adopted by all present.

b.) Kirk McCaslin reported that West Lake VFD has agreed to a IRT program. Initially, two IRT personnel for three days a week starting September 2021. West Lake VFD will evaluate the IRT program after three months.

Public Comment: No public comments.

Comments from Members: Mark Shaw was complimentary of the Chief's efforts and their workability on problem solving.

Announcements: Next Regular Meeting (3Q21): October 21, 2021 @ 7:00pm in the Township Municipal Building.

Adjournment: 7:28 PM.

Millcreek Township Fire and Emergency Medical Services Commission Minutes of October 21, 2021 Regular Meeting in Township Municipal Building

Meeting Called To Order by Randy Lachowski at 7:03 pm

Present: Dan Ouelett, John Marsden, Mark Shaw, Matthew Parker, Kirk McCaslin, Guy Santone, Randy Lachowski, Brian Salvatore, Bill Martin.

Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present.

Roll Call was taken by commission members.

Reading and Approval of Minutes from July 15, 2021 Regular Meeting: Motion made by Bill Martin, seconded by Matthew Parker; Approved by all present. So moved to adopt the minutes of the July 15, 2021 Regular Meeting.

Task Force Update. Randy Lachowski reported the Task Force did meet. A member of the Task Form has resigned. The Task Force is looking for a replacement from the community. Initial funding support from The Township was agreed however, with the passage of time, continuing funding support is needed. In addition, due to a two year absence of Task Force meetings (COVID-19), initial assumptions, costs and projected tasks have changed. Mr. Lachowski expects the Task Force to meet again in six weeks.

Reports.

a.) Operations Sub-Committee. Jim Rosenbaum not present. Matthew Parker suggested the Operations Sub-Committee report be covered in Old Business.

b.) Finance Sub-Committee. Randy Lachowski reported the Finance Sub-Committee was ready to vet any request for loan funding. To this point, no requests have been made. Mr. Lachowski also reported that the fourth quarter was capital planning/budgeting time. To this point, West Ridge had completed their capital planning and Kearsarge was working on completing their planning. No other fire department reports.

Old Business.

a.) Fire Chiefs update on singular records management system. Matthew Parker reported that some Emergency Reporting processes are occurring with the new township RMS. Some township chiefs have been working with their implementation team to address any errors/confusions. Once the QA/QC person is hired, they will be brought up to speed and continue to move towards a go live date.

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b.) Township update on the Township's employment of a QA/QC person. Dan Ouelett reported that the Township was within weeks of hiring a permanent QA/QC person. A candidate had been identified and communication with the union was the only remaining issue.

c.) Township update on shared maintenance and hiring of Township mechanic. Dan Ouelett reported that the Township has identified three candidates for the shared maintenance responsibilities. Continued working assumption: A two/three person crew, performing basic maintenance, on a scheduled basis. All maintenance to be performed "on site" at each fire station. No plan for additional staffing at this point.

d.) West Lake VFD update on IRT Program. Jerry DeRosa reported that only some of the staffing had been completed. Hiring qualified IRT professionals is difficult in the present business environment. Competitive pay alone does not guarantee finding enough candidates.

New Business.

1.) Daytime Staffing issues. Daytime staffing continues to be a challenge. All chiefs present, and Bill Martin, shared similar frustrations regarding this matter. Many of the same issues as West Lake's IRT staffing challenges. Kirk McCaslin reminded the group that the 929 program still maintains three people.

2.) Returning to Pre-COVID responses. Discussion about returning to ALS Priority One status. Much discussion about Erie County's 911 call center. Staffing challenges at the call center are affecting the Townships EMS effort. It was agreed that Attorney Shaw would work on a letter from the Township to the Erie County Executive numbering recent incidents that are limiting EMS responses. Furthermore, it was agreed to revisit this matter at the January 2022 FEMSC regular meeting.

3.) Motion made to change the meeting time of FEMSC meetings in 2022. A motion was made to change the time of FEMSC meetings from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for the 2022 meeting year. Motion made by Matthew Parker, seconded by Kirk Macaslin; Approved by all present. So moved to adopt a time change.

Comments from Members: No comments from members.

Announcements: Next Regular Meeting (4Q21): January 20, 2021 @ 6:00pm in the Township Municipal Building.

Adjournment: 8:17 p.m