El Dorado County Fire Safe Council

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The mission of EI Dorado County Fire Safe Council is to protect the people of EI Dorado County and their property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire through education, cooperation, innovation and action.
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Board Meeting – 1/24/2014

Post Date January 24, 2014 Posted By Posted In Agenda, Board Meetings

Agenda

Click here to download the agenda in a .doc format.

USFS Headquarters, 100 Forni Road, Placerville
9:30 am to 11:00 am

  1. Meeting Call to Order
  2. Roll Call: Sign In
  3. Approval of Agenda: 01/28/2014 Board Action Item
  4. Consent Agenda: Board Action Items
    1. Approve November 19th, 2013 Board Meeting Minutes
    2. Approve Board Schedule for 2014
    3. Approve 2014 Goals
    4. Ratify Mountain Enterprises Contract Extension through March 31, 2014
    5. Ratify Wildland Rx contract for 2014
  5. Public Comment –Time limit is 3 minutes per person. The Board will receive comments from the public regarding items not on the agenda. Any action requiring Board intervention must first be on the agenda for Board action, and no action can be taken at this time. The only other time the public will be permitted to comment is prior to a vote on an action item listed below. That comment must pertain to the subject to be voted on and is limited to 3 minutes. 
  6. Information Items:
    1. Ready-Set Go Campaign
    2. Web master update and new Website demonstration, Luke Miller
    3. Chairman’s report:
      1. Recognize Linda McDonald for service to the Council
      2. Introduce Christine Swensen PSS and Board Secretary Volunteer
      3. Grant Awards
      4. BOS Meeting
      5. Friends of Seniors Spaghetti Feed
      6. Insurance
      7. Chipping & Dumpster status 2012 Grant Balance
      8. 8. Title III
      9. 9. RCD Mutual Support
    4. Treasurer’s Report: Ken Hasse 
      1. Financial reports
      2. Accountant
    5. Governance Committee Report: Jim Stewart
      1. By- laws update
      2. Policy Update
    6. Projects Committee
    7. Board member/ Satellite Reports
  7. Action Items
    1. Approve Christine Swensen as Board Secretary/Volunteer PSS
    2. Foundation Day of Giving
    3. Dumpster Policy
    4. Senior Assist Procedures
  8. Good of the Order
    1. Adjourn to February 25th, 2014 Meeting

Minutes

Click here to download the minutes in a .doc format.

USFS Headquarters, 100 Forni Road, Placerville, CA
“Draft Minutes”

  1. Meeting Call to Order: 9:28 am, Pat Dwyer, Chairperson
  2. Roll Call & Sign In: Pat Dwyer, Ken Hasse, Ernie Lory, Steve Willis, Bill Bergen, Jim Stewart, Richard Krek, Ray Griffiths. Members absent: Dylan Thomas, Bill Brandt
  3. Approval of Agenda: Added Action Item f., Required Signatures for CWPPs. Added Item 10, Correspondence. Richard Krek made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Ray Griffiths second the motion. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
  4. Consent Agenda: Board Action Items: Richard Krek requested item d. “Ratify Mountain Enterprises Contract Extension through March 31 2014 be pulled for further review. Item d. was pulled, Richard Krek moved to approve Consent Agenda as modified, and Ernie Lory second the motion. Motion passed by unanimous vote. There followed discussion on the responsiveness and accountability of Mountain Enterprises. It was suggested, however, that the best course of action at this time would be to extend the current contract in order to maximize the use of our remaining funding and re-compete the contract in April under the new grant funds. Ray Griffiths made a motion to ratify the contract extension through March 31, 2014. Jim Stewart second the motion. The motion passed by a majority vote.
  5. Public Comment: Dave Crespo from SMUD provided a summary of SMUD,s fire fuels reduction program, including ongoing efforts at Iowa Hill and future efforts at Sly Park. Karen Hess from Arrowbee Lake Estates attended hoping to gather information to facilitate creating a fire safe council there. George Schwab from Georgetown Fire Department asked if there were any fire safe councils that crossed jurisdictional lines. There was discussion on the various maps in existence and being created. Darin McFarlin from CalFire is preparing a map that will contain jurisdictions, CWPP boundaries, and Fire Safe Council boundaries. Any relevant maps should be provided to Darin McFarlin in GIS format. He will incorporate them and share his final map(s) with us.
  6. Information Items:
    1. New CalFire AEU Chief Mike Kaslin was not available for his scheduled introduction, so it has been moved to the February meeting. Pat advised that Grizzly Flat has asked for Defensible Space Certification training and it will be provided in the USFS conference room after the February 25, 2014 meeting, at 12:30pm. The training is open to the general public. Darin McFarlin offered to provide maps of areas CalFire will be inspecting so that we don’t duplicate their efforts.
    2. Luke Miller was unable to attend but sent Pat Dwyer a PowerPoint presentation of his efforts on our website. Pat Dwyer offered to show the presentation at the end of the meeting, but the meeting ran long. Pat can email the presentation to anyone interested in viewing it.
    3. Chairman’s Report:
      1. Linda McDonald: Chairman Dwyer recognized Linda McDonald for her service to the Council, but she was unable to attend the meeting to accept her certificate and flowers. Arrangements will be made to deliver them to her.
      2. Christine Swenson: Chairman Dwyer introduced Christine Swenson as the new volunteer PSS. The Board unanimously passed the revised volunteer agreement between Ms. Swenson and EDCFSC.
      3. Grant Awards: Chairman Dwyer announced that El Dorado County received more grant funding, $299,680, than any other California county. There was discussion of the possibility this landfall might reduce our chances of receiving significant funding in the future. It was agreed that some sort of prioritization method should be employed for grant applications.
      4. BOS Meeting: Chairman Dwyer attended the January Board of Supervisors’ meeting to thank them for their letter of support.
      5. Friends of Seniors Spaghetti Feed: Board members were provided flyers and tickets to sell for the Friends of Seniors Spaghetti Feed scheduled for Sunday March16, 2014 at the Placerville Lyons Hall. He also ask for volunteers to help serve and for each Fire Safe Council to donate one “Basket” for the raffle. Funding generated from the Spaghetti Feed along with matching funds from our council, will be utilized re-start our Senior Assistance program.
      6. Insurance: It was clarified that if an organization has a separate fiscal sponsor they are not covered under our insurance except under a co-sponsored event. It was offered that possibly there may be a way to be included as a rider on the EDCFSC policy, if that were cost effective. Steve Shortes from Motherlode Insurance will be invited to address the Council at the April22nd meeting.
      7. Chipping and Dumpster status/2012 Grant Balance: Discussed under Treasurer’s Report.
      8. Title III: The funds from the County Board of Supervisors have not been transferred to our bank. There is an item on the BOS consent agenda on February 4th to authorize the transfer. Additional Title III funds may be available for 2014. The Executive Board will work with the Sheriff’s Office and the County Administrative Office to insure a smooth and equitable distribution.
      9. RCD Mutual Support: Supervisor Briggs requested a meeting with Chairman Dwyer regarding a Mutual Support Agreement with the Resources Conservation District. The possibility of sharing an address and perhaps support staff was investigated, but determined not feasible at this time.
      10. Correspondence: We received a newsletter and invitation to the Volcanoville FSC. The newsletter contained an excellent FEMA article about evacuating people with disabilities. A registered letter of Contract Termination sent to our previous web designer was returned unopened. Chairman Dwyer received an email from Dave Pratt from the County Planning Commission regarding the replacement of the Buck’s Bar Bridge. There is a public meeting on January 30th at Pioneer Park at 6pm. The project may affect evacuation routes.
    4. Treasurer’s Report:
      1. Financial reports: Ken Hasse summarized the current financial status. The Chipping program has $37,635 remaining from the 2012 funding. He will request the remaining $12,000 due on that grant. Ken cautioned against overspending, especially considering the high demand and fair weather. Richard Krek requested a budget for the additional $26,000 Title III money we are expecting, plus the extra $25,000 that we hadn’t counted on.
      2. Accountant: We are using the accountant that bought our old accountant’s business. Ken Hasse will file the necessary changes.
    5. Governance Committee Report: Jim Stewart
      1. By-Laws Update: Steve Willis summarized the changes suggested to the bylaws. The revised version will be provided to the Board of Directors for review. Board member comments and suggestions are to be submitted by February 15 so that the finalized document can be distributed at the February 25 meeting and voted upon at the March meeting. Richard Krek will be submitting a change to the by-laws limiting each Fire Safe Council to not more than one member on the EDCFSC’s Board of Directors at any one time in order avoid any appearance of impropriety and to ensure all decisions are equitable.
      2. ii. Policy Update: Updates to the Policies and Procedures has not begun yet, awaiting completion of the By-Laws update.
    6. Projects Committee: Steve Willis requested any changes to any projects be sent either to him or to Steve Hupner. They will maintain a spreadsheet of all projects.
    7. Board Member/Satellite Reports: Steve Willis reported on the Lakehills fuel reduction project that is going well. Ray Griffiths stated the Georgetown CWPP projects will be reviewed in two days and will be sent out for comment shortly. Doug Forrest reported that Auburn Lake Trails is doing chipping for their residents and the demand is overwhelming. They have a grant for a fuel break to be accomplished by the end of March. Ernie Lory thanked Chairman Dwyer for attending the Grizzly Flat Fire Safe Council meeting. Ernie will forward a listing of their proposed volunteer activities. Ken Hasse followed that Logtown also received a grant and are seeking a new contractor to do the work. Pat Dwyer reported that Logtown is having Jeff Mussell, Vegetation Manager from PG&E brief the Logtown FSC on Feb 8th and a Fire Incident and Evacuation “tabletop” exercise is being planned for the March 8th meeting. The exercise will include multiple scenarios and cover fire behavior and evacuation plans.
  7. Action Items
    1. Christine Swenson was approved as Volunteer PSS
    2. Foundation Day of Giving: Chairman Dwyer just reminded that this is coming in May
    3. Dumpster Policy: Will be addressed at a later date
    4. Senior Assist Procedures: Will be addressed at a later date
    5. Defensible Space Training: Training is scheduled for February 25, 2014, 12:30 pm in USFS Building.
    6. CWPP/BOS Involvement: Ed Grout and Doug Forrest from Auburn Lake Trails reported that they were working to get Supervisor Briggs and the Board of Supervisors to sign off on their CWPP. Chief Schwab emphasized that presenting their CWPP to the BOS is a great opportunity to get some “face time” with the BOS and encouraged all of us to take advantage of this. Chairman Dwyer will accompany Ed Grout and Doug Forrest to the BOS meeting next week to lend his support.
  8. Discussion: Chief Schwab reported several statistics reinforcing how severe the current drought is. He also mentioned that in the future the Fire Department’s time to attend our meetings will be limited. Chairman Dwyer will plan to attend every Chief’s meeting so that he can carry their message to the Board in lieu of a Chief having to attend. Richard Krek volunteered to work with Luke on the website design/updates. Lastly, Chairman Dwyer reminded everyone that we are again emphasizing the CalFire Ready-Set –Go approach to Fire Protection and reminded members to pass out the brochures at their local meetings.
  9. Good of the Order: Meeting adjourned to the February 25th meeting at 12:10 pm.

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