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1996 Fire Personnel CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Personne~ Committee February 15, 1996 Meeting #1 City Hall, 10:30 a.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 10:35 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Draper, Smith, Hammerseng Absent: Quarnstrom, Wallace MOTION Motion by Hammerseng, seconded by Smith to approve the minutes of August 9, 1995 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. RESIDENCY Chief Smith explained that he has received a request from a member of the Fire REVIEW Department to change residency outside of the stated boundaries as shown in the Department policy. Chief Smith said the firefighter believes that the drive time would be the same as his present address. He said the firefighter is requesting feedback as to whether the address is acceptable. Sherry asked about setting precedents. She said some time ago another firefighter had requested a change of residence but was denied. Chief Smith stated that it was established that there was over seven minute response time for that firefighter from his new residence. Kathy asked if the boundaries should be redrawn and if so, would existing firefighter's be grandfathered in, and should the policy state response time or just boundaries. Chief Smith stated that this was the firefighter's decision to change residencies. He said that parameters have to be established. Sherry asked with the possibility of consolidation of the fire department with Crystal, should this issue even be addressed. Chief Smith stated he doesn't see that the consolidation would affect the issue of response time for the department. Chief Smith recommended that if the new address is timed for response and is the same time response for the old address to allow him to remain on the department. He also recommended that a request for change of address should be evaluated by the Fire Personnel Committee on an individual basis. He said he would review the existing policy to reflect this change. Chief Smith stated that he would have a training officer run a test on the response time from the new address at different times of the day to determine if the response time is under seven minutes. He said he will then send a memo to the firefighter with a decision as to whether or not the new address is in the response area or not. Fire Personnel Committee February 15, 1996 Page 1 MOTION Motion was made by Hammerseng, seconded by Smith to consider this address change based on a response time. Voting in favor: All. Motion carried, RECRUITING Chief Smith stated that staffing is down in the Fire Department. He said because DISCUSSION of the Iow staffing count, he has mandated holiday stand-by crews until the' end of the year. He said he would like to recruit at the same time as neighboring communities this spring. Sherry asked that he inform the Fire Personnel Committee when he wanted to start the recruiting process. FIRE CONSOLIDATION There is no activity to report from the Fire Consolidation Committee. REPORT OTHER BUSINESS Sherry announced that Kathy Hammerseng applied and was reappointed to the Fire Personnel Committee. Kathy said she is interested in starting an Explorer program in the Fire Department but realizes it would take another very committed person to help her with this program. Sherry suggested she solicit interest from members at a department meeting. Chief Smith asked that minutes from these meetings be posted in a more timely manner. Sherry stated it is City policy that minutes have to be approved before they are posted. It was determined that after the minutes are written, they be distributed to Committee members and approved by a phone conversation. Suggestion was made to schedule another Fire Personnel Committee meeting when recruitment information is gathered. Sherry announced that all fire officer positions will expire in December of 1996. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire Personnel Committee adjourned at 11:28 a.m. i ~ayne Ferry /~ecording Secretary Fire Personnel Committee February 15, 1996 Page 2 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Personnel Committee February 21, 1996 Meeting #2 City Hall, 10:30 a.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 10:40 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Draper, Smith, Hammerseng, Wallace Absent: Quarnstrom MOTION Motion by Hammerseng, seconded by Smith to approve the minutes of February 15, 1996 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. RESIDENCY Chief Smith stated that at the request of the Fire Personnel Committee, he and REVIEW one of his officers clocked the response time from 12615 42nd Place, Plymouth, to the fire station because of a firefighter's request for a change of residency. He related that he clocked the distance a number of times and came in under 7 minutes (6 minutes 20, 53, and .55 seconds) and over 7 minutes (8 minutes 20 and 39 seconds). Discussion then ensued regarding barriers of signal lights being erected as the suburbs grow and the impact on response times for firefighters. Chief Smith said if longer response times are permitted, he is fearful that other firefighters will want to move further away. Kathy stated and Tim agreed that in situations such as this, the individual has to be taken out of the decision whether they are experienced or not. Discussion was held on firefighters on the department who live within the boundaries but outside the response time. Chief Smith stated that when the policy was written, it was determined that all New Hope residents, even if outside of the 7 minute response time, would be allowed to be on the fire department. The question came up why have boundaries if firefighters are allowed to move outside. He said at the time of recruitment, individuals who apply and who do not live within the boundaries are not considered. Tim suggested reviewing the boundaries and rewriting the policy. Chief Smith stated that in all probability, because of additional signal light being installed, the boundaries would be smaller thus affecting more of the department's firefighters. Sherry stated that it is the choice of the individual requesting the residency change and he/she should take responsibility for that decision, whether they want to move or to remain on the fire department. Since the firefighter wants to make an offer on the house in question, he/she needs a timely response from the Committee. Fire Personnel Committee February 21, 1996 Page I MOTION Motion was made by Draper, seconded by Smith that based on the response time determined by the Fire Chief and officer, the address (12615 42nd Place, Plymouth, MN), is outside the acceptable response time. Voting in favor: Smith, Draper, Hammerseng. Voting against: Wallace. Motion carried. Chief Smith asked Sherry to contact the firefighter in question with the Committee's decision. OTHER BUSINESS Chief Smith stated that he met with neighboring Fire Chiefs this past week and it was decided that the neighboring communities recruit at the same time this spring and summer. He said one of the ideas from a neighboring Fire Chief was to interview prior to the physical ability testing and then hire based on passing the physical abilities test. Chief Smith said he would put an article in the next City Newsletter informing citizens of the recruiting. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire Personnel Committee adjourned at 11:25 a.m. Respectfully submitted, ,~l~ay n e Ferry Recording Secretary Fire Personnel Committee February 21, 1996 Page 2 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Personnel Committee June 6, 1996 Meeting #3 City Hall, 3:15 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 3:15 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Draper, Smith, Hammerseng, Quarnstrom, Wallace (late due to fire call) Absent: None MOTION Motion by Kathy Hammerseng, seconded by Doug Smith to approve the minutes of February 21, 1996 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. FIRE MECHANIC Kathy asked how the wages were set for the Fire Equipment Mechanic position. INTERVIEW Sherry responded by explaining the City's part-time salary plan. The Committee then interviewed Vern Goble. MOTION Motion was made by Kathy, seconded by Dick Quarnstrom to certify Vern Goble for Fire Equipment Mechanic. Voting in favor: All. Motion carried, RECRUITING Committee members expressed disappointment in the small response to our DISCUSSION firefighter recruiting. Doug Smith said he had done a 5-minute presentation on Channel 12, he has put another article in the POST, and he has scheduled a third firefighter informational meeting for Wednesday, June 26, at 9:00 am. Doug also said he would consider additional advertising at Duk Days and accepting late applications for daytime responders. Discussion comments included: 1) "Paid-on-call" seems to put emphasis more on profession than service to the community. 2) If we can't attract residents, we may need to consider contacting businesses. 3) Offering free medical training in return for response to confirmed structure fires. These persons would have same drill percentage requirements as regular firefighters, but different call requirements. 4) Separate mailer to all residents explaining firefighter opportunity. 5) Large recruiting banner to hang in front of the station (like Open House). Sherry will coordinate the scheduling of interview times, both day and night, during the week of July 15. FIRE CONSOLI- Doug said both Chiefs and City Managers had met to review the preliminary DATION REPORT report from the consultant and the complete task force will be reviewing it on June 26. OTHER BUSINESS For the record, Sherry stated the Committee's residency decision of February 21 had been appealed to the City Manager. Following additional study, the City Fire Personnel Committee June 6, 1996 Page 1 Manager reversed the Committee's decision. The address of 12615 42nd Place was found to be within an acceptable response time. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire Personnel Committee adjourned at 4:25 pm. Respectfully submitted, Sherry Draper Chair Fire Personnel Committee June 6, 1996 Page 2 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Personnel Committee July 18, 1996 Meeting #4 City Hall, 9:00 a.m. and 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 9:05 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Draper, Smith, Hammerseng, Quarnstrom, Wallace Absent: None MOTION Motion by Doug Smith, seconded by Dick Quarnstrom to approve the minutes of June 6, 1996 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. FIREFIGHTERS Committee members reviewed all applications and confirmed that all addresses INTERVIEW were within the required response area. It was noted that one applicant had not completed high school nor obtained an equivalency. Doug Smith reminded the Committee there was a real need for daytime responders. Sherry Draper confirmed that 60 was the standard cut-off score for certification. The Fire Personnel Committee interviewed the following candidates for Probationary Firefighter: Michael Drinkwine, Mick Niess, David Distel, Scott Carby, and Maria Yolk. (Douglas Bartlett was scheduled, but did not attend.) SUSPEND MEETING The Fire Personnel Committee suspended the morning session at 11:25 a.m. RECONVENE MEETING The committee reconvened at 7:00 p.m. to continue with the evening interviews. The Fire Personnel Committee interviewed the following candidates for Probationary Firefighter: Jim Wallace, John Michaels, Adam Carlson, Kimberly Story, and Bill Estrem. MOTION Motion was made by Kathy Hammerseng, seconded by Tim Wallace to certify all candidates with scores of 60 and above. Voting in favor: All. Motion carried. The following eight candidates were certified: Carslon, Drinkwine, Distel, Estrem, Michaels, Niess, Yolk, and Wallace. Three were identified as day responders and five as night responders. By consensus, the Committee recommended that all certified candidates be given offers of employment. FIRE CONSOLIDATION Doug Smith informed the Committee that the task force had completed reviewing REPORT the consultant's report and they were recommending that both Councils take action to move forward with consolidation efforts. OTHER BUSINESS Committee members once again discussed recruiting procedures. Additional suggestions for improvement were renting a mobile sign board for advertising and preparing an informational video tape. Fire Personnel Committee July 18, 1996 Page I ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire Personnel Committee adjourned at 9:45 pm. Respectfully submitted, Sherry Draper Chair Fire Personnel Committee July 18, 1996 =age 2 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Personnel Committee December 10, 1996 Meeting #5 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, Smith, Quarnstrom Absent: Hammerseng, Wallace MOTION Motion by Dick Quarnstrom, seconded by Doug Smith to approve the minutes of July 18, 1996 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. FIREFIGHTERS The Fire Personnel Committee interviewed Steve Homstad for Assistant Chief, INTERVIEW Mike Bennett and Ron Bjorklund for two Captain positions, and Paul Johnston, Dave Neuenfeldt and Jon Tate for two Lieutenant positions. MOTION Motion was made by Doug Smith, seconded by Dick Quarnstrom to certify all candidates. Voting in favor: All. Motion carried. Sherry stated the City Manager would not be interviewing the incumbents who had applied for re-appointment. Following discussion, the Committee recommended that when there are more candidates than open positions, the City Manager should interview all candidates for that position. Sherry said she would ask Mr. Donahue to interview all three candidates for Lieutenant. FIRE PERSONNEL Sherry reported that she had not received any applications for a firefighter COMMITTEE MEMBER representative to the Committee. By consensus, it was decided to extend the INTERVIEW application deadline to Friday, December 27. FIRE CONSOLIDATION Chief Smith reported there had been a meeting to review the proposed draft of a REPORT joint powers agreement. He said some changes were made and another meeting would be scheduled to review the final draft. OTHER BUSINESS None ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the Fire Personnel Committee adjourned at 10:10 pm. Respectfully submitted, Sherry Draper Chair Fire Personnel Committee December 10, 1996 Page 1