Minutes of the Meeting held On September 7, 2005

Attending Members: Ron Snow (Chairman); Gerald Schiefer (VC); Mary Esther Putnam; Ryon Gardner

Also Present: Steve Robinson (Fire Chief), Beverly Udell (Secretary) and George Cropper (Treasurer)

Guests: Fred Pendleton, Blanda McKinley, Erle Snow

1. General Business: a/b. Welcome – The meeting was called to order at 6:02 PM by Chairman Ron Snow and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.

c. Review/Approval of the ‘Minutes of The Meeting’ from August 3, 2005 – Beverly Udell didn't have the Minutes from August ready for review, so they will be reviewed at next month's meeting.

d. Pine Valley Business Permits Reviewed: Plans were reviewed for a Robert Hodson in Lot 4 of the Ranchos (up past Layne Frei's house.) Discussion ensued about how hard it is to keep up with all of the new building going on in Pine Valley, as well as trying to keep up with all of the new codes regarding housing, sheds, garages, etc.

e. Board Member Reports: Ron - Finally reached Victor Christensen and he confirmed that Vic no longer wants to remain on the Board. The County will advertise for a new member. George suggested waiting until the first of the year to advertise for new members all at once since the terms of some other members might be expiring.

The water system in the campground is now completed. It is set to also fit the new campground design, which will hopefully be started in 2007. Logging is needed for the camp ground renovation, some of which will be done by a logging company. Other timber will be burned. * The relocation of the Pinto Rd. is needed to accommodate. It will be moved about ¼ mile, from where it meets the water to the old road. * We have been notified that the mitigation burn will start in October. * Gerald drafted a letter to the County Commissioners on behalf of the PVSSD, requesting that they consider making it a county wide action or ordinance having it be a requirement for all lands surrounding private homes to also practice fire mitigation. (See attached letter.) * Mary Esther asked what fires we have recently fought. There is a list of the 18 major fires, plus campfires, etc., in the past three years that could have potentially wiped out Pine Valley. We might want to post these fires on the wall, including their names, just so everyone would know about them. The fire department had chosen to stay home in Pine Valley for this summer's fire season due to gas prices, ages of our fighters, and the possibility of leaving the valley vulnerable.

Ryon - N/A

Ron - The possible $200 fee structure was not listed on the August agenda, so we couldn't vote or make any changes, This month it is on the agenda. We need to have a public hearing, etc., before any changes can be made. Audience member Erle Snow wanted justification for a rate increase. He was concerned of where the money had gone since he had left the Board. Ron explained to him that the grants are now drying up. George told Erle about the report that George had done showing that the money brought in each year only breaks even with what monies we use. We don't have any reserves or Capital funds that are required by our charter. We are required by law to have these reserves. There is also not any money for training costs, requiring that fire fighters have to pay their own way to training. It was also shared that the State now requires all fire fighters meet certain State standards for firefighting and training. Mary Esther asked that if there was an emergency, could lay men help with the fire fighting. The Incident Commander would have to make the final determination on that on a very, very limited, case by case basis (such as using these people to help in other areas besides direct fire fighting), but we could run into trouble with insurance and other issues while using untrained people. Erle was again worried over the justification of raising the fee another $100. * Ron motioned to have a County Attorney come up and discuss the fee structure and possible raising of it with us. Gerald motioned to put this into process, Mary Esther seconded and all were in favor.

g. Fire Chief's Report: Steve talked about the 5-County Association of Governments and their part in blocking grants to fire departments. Steve said that they seem to be spending the grant money on other things, such as community centers, pool repairs, etc. So we are no longer pursuing the 5-County Association as they are giving zero dollars to fire departments. * We had 8 call-outs in August for community fires, some were regarding private citizens thinking they could have fire pits. We had no EMT calls. * On Monday, Jim Barry from the State will be out to perform the pump test. * Saturday training is at 8:00 AM. * Erle told Steve that the hydrants should be flushed out each year, and even better if they were done twice a year. Steve will check with Ryon regarding this practice.

g. Reporting on the Pine Valley Dinner for 2005: Beverly said that they estimated 625-675 people were in attendance for the dinner. Gross income, including the sale of dinner tickets, auction, special gifts, etc., came to $11,075. The breakdown more specifically was: tickets at $6, 000 plus, auction at $673, surplus food sales at $473, and donations at $3800. Expenses came to $2963, leaving a net total of $8121.00. * Steve wanted to clarify that the Dinner Committee money cannot be looked on as part of the Fire Departments budget since the Dinner Committee also uses the money for other things in the community besides the Fire Department.

h. Treasurer Report: George reported that the expenses have been fairly routine over the last few months. The checkbook balance is at $16,797 which will need to last the rest of the year. * The auditor approved the reports for the 2004 year. * Mike Williamson did a donation can at the Heritage Center over the summer for the Fire Department which came to about $60. * PVSSD needs to send someone to Provo to the convention in November. Mary Esther motioned that we pay the costs for one of the Board to attend. Gerald seconded that motion and all were in favor.

At 7:25 PM, Mary Esther motioned for the meeting to adjourn. Gerald seconded. The next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2005.