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
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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
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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
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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
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