1995 Fire Personnel CITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428
Fire Department Personnel Committee June 12, 1995
Meeting #1 Fire Station, 7:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice
thereof; Chair Sherry Draper called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
ROLL CALL Present: Draper, Quarnstrom, Smith, Hammerseng, and Greg Carlson
(sitting in for Wallace)
Absent: Wallace (Lieutenant candidate)
MOTION Motion by Hammerseng, seconded by Quarnstrom to approve the minutes of
December 6, 1994 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried.
HAZMAT TRAINING At the last meeting, Tim Wallace asked for a clarification on the classes that
REQUIREMENTS qualified for Hazmat I and II credit, and Doug Smith said he would discuss this
with the training officer. Chief Smith did not yet have the clarification to report
to the Committee.
INTERVIEW FOR At the last meeting, the Committee discussed establishing a minimum passing
LIEUTENANT (2) interview score for officer positions, and Sherry Draper said she would research
the files for historical data. Chair Draper reported the following: recruiting files
prior to 1993 had been destroyed; in 1993 only incumbents reapplied and the
interviews were not scored; in 1994 all candidate scores were in the 80's.
Dick Quarnstrom said he didn't think a minimum score was needed, that meeting
the minimum qualifications was sufficient. Kathy Hammerseng asked what would
happen if there weren't any applicants who met the minimum score. Chair Draper
replied the position would have to be posted again for another recruiting period.
Greg Carlson suggested that the minimum score of 60 used for firefighter
applicants would also be appropriate for officer candidates. Following discussion,
it was the consensus of the Committee that 60 be the minimum passing score for
officer interviews.
Chair Draper then advised the Committee that she had received an unsolicited
recommendation letter from a Captain and she wasn't sure how it should be
handled. Following discussion, the Committee decided it should not be considered
prior to the interviews because it was not submitted with the application. They
also stated the better communications procedure would have been for the Captain
to express his opinions directly to the Committee members.
Kathy suggested a staggering of the Lieutenant terms so that they did not both
expire at the same time. Greg said he thought we would always have at least one
returning Lieutenant at all times; that it was highly unlikely there would ever be
two new Lieutenants appointed at the same time.
Fire Personnel Committee June 12, 1995
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The Committee then interviewed the following candidates for the two Lieutenant
positions:
Tim Wallace
Jon Tate
Dave Neuenfeldt
MOTION Motion was made by Hammerseng, seconded by Smith to certify all three
candidates. Voting in favor: All. Motion carried.
FIRE CONSOLIDATION Chief Smith reported the Legislature had passed the pension bill, but he had yet
REPORT tO see a copy of it.
OTHER BUSINESS Chair Draper asked about recruiting for firefighters. Chief Smith said we currently
have 29 firefighters and he would like to build back up to 35. He also said Crystal
was aggressively recruiting, but it was "on hold" for New Hope pending the
outcome of further consolidation meetings. Chief Smith also said that Maple
Grove will be conducting their own Firefighter I training, so if we do recruit we
would not have to coordinate it with a technical school class schedule.
ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire
Personnel Committee adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry Draper
Staff Liaison
Fire Personnel Committee June 12, 1995
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CITY OF NEW HOPE
4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428
Fire Department Personnel Committee August 9, 1995
Meeting #2 Fire Station, 7:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice
thereof; Chair Sherry Draper called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
ROLL CALL Present: Draper, Quarnstrom, Smith, Hammersencj, and Wallace
Absent: None
MOTION Motion by Hammerseng, seconded by Quarnstrom to approve the minutes of June
12, 1995 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried.
INTERVIEWS FOR Chief Smith explained changes in this year's recruiting procedure. Due to the late
DAYTIME FIRE- start, and having to coordinate with abilities testing dates and Hennepin Tech
FIGHTERS class dates, informational meetings were not scheduled and candidates took the
abilities test prior to the interviews. He also said that all candidates, including
females and an elderly male, from every City passed the abilities test.
New Hope candidates who attended the daytime abilities test orientation met with
Tim Wallace and Tom Eliason for a department orientation. Candidates who
attended at night did not have this opportunity.
Chair Draper reported the City received 13 applications, but 5 either did not meet
the residency or the daytime availability requirement. Eight were invited to the
abilities test. Six attended, passed, and were invited to the interviews. One
candidate did not keep his interview appointment.
The Fire Personnel Committee interviewed the following candidates:
Lori Lund, Jim Mason, Todd Groninga
Michael Iwanok, and Anthony Jones
During the interview, it was determined that Mike Iwanok's self-employed
business address was outside of the response area and he would not qualify for
day response. Following discussion, consensus was that he could be certified as
an eligible candidate, but only for night availability. He would remain on the
certified list for one year and if we had an opening within that time, he would be
notified and considered for appointment.
MOTION Motion was made by Smith, seconded by Hammerseng to certify all candidates
with scores above 60. Voting in favor: All. Motion carried.
The Fire Personnel Committee certified Lori Lund, Todd Groninga, and Tony Jones
for day availability and Mike Iwanok for night availability. Jim Mason was not
certified.
Fire Personnel Committee August 9, 1995
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FIRE CONSOLIDATION Chief Smith said a committee meeting was held on August 8, but elected officials
REPORT did not attend. A follow-up meeting will be scheduled before the end of August.
OTHER BUSINESS Chief Smith also reported that department policies are being revised to address
new equipment, and Lt. Tate has completed the inventory and all equipment will
be labeled with part numbers.
Dick Quarnstrom distributed copies of the City of Minneapolis Firefighter Cadet
Program.
Kathy Hammerseng asked about the possibility of a New Hope Explorer program.
Doug Smith said he thought it would be a good idea, but it would need at least
two committed leaders.
ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire
Personnel Committee adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry Draper
Staff Liaison
Fire Personnel Committee August 9, 1995
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