Attendance: |
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| Mary Ellen LePage, President | Bob Bowman |
| Anita Holser, Secretary | Nelson O'Connor, Member at large |
| Owen Gooding, Treasurer |
| The meeting was called to order at 12:15 pm at the LePage's. The minutes of the last minutes were read and approved with amendments. |
| Locks
Mary Ellen had found out that the company that used to make the sturdy combo locks was no longer making them. She did some research and was unable to find a company making something suitable, and has ordered a few more of the current locks for us. Nelson has a couple of new locks for the lower gate. Mary Ellen has also had a couple of the vandalized locks from the upper gate repaired. We will continue to use the old locks and repair or replace them as needed. Nelson reported that Pat Condon from POST wants to install an electric gate where the current lower gate is located and wants to work with us to get estimates. Nelson will work with him. Bob made a motion for Nelson to work with Pat, Anita seconded, and it passed unanimously. |
| Insurance
Mary Ellen has gotten estimates for liability insurance for the Board. It seems a bit high for our limited funds. She is checking into the possibility of the County covering it. Bob suggested that we check with Don Gage to see if there is some way we can be covered on their current policy. Mary Ellen will check. |
| Non-firefighters at fires
During the Uvas fire, there were several untrained residents at the fire in fire department gear. Untrained people at fires present a danger to both themselves and trained firefighters. Mary Ellen asked how we should deal with the situation in the future. Owen suggested we lock up the fire gear. Mary Ellen is working on obtaining photo IDs for the trained firefighters. It was suggested that we clearly label the fire gear of our trained firefighters and control access to it. It was also noted that at least one untrained person had obtained fire department communication equipment inappropriately. Untrained residents, no matter how good the intention, should not get involved in fighting fires. The CLVFA encourages all residents who would like to help fight fires to come to the monthly training sessions. Training must be kept up to date so that volunteers are familiar with the current equipment and techniques, and have appropriate firefighting gear to protect themselves while fighting fires. It was agreed that we clearly identify the fire gear of our trained firefighters and control access to it in the future. Nelson and Mary Ellen will work on this. |
| Uvas road work
A group of local residents has been working on Chy Road the past couple of months. This section of road has been maintained by the CLVFA and is outside the Road Association maintenance area. It was suggested that the CLVFA allocate a portion of the funds generally used by the CLVFA for maintaining the road to the group responsible. Nelson made a motion to allocate $1000 of the CLVFA funds for repairs to the Chy Road. Owen seconded the motion. It passed 4 in favor, 1 abstain. |
| Hot water heater
The hot water heater at the upper firehouse is out of gas. It was also noted that the water heater needs to be secured for earthquakes. The current gas tanks are the old style tanks, which can no longer be filled. It was suggested that we get one of the new style 5 gallon tanks. This should be adequate for the short times we need hot water at the upper firehouse. We will also get straps and strap the water heater down for earthquakes. |
| FEMA Grant
Mary Ellen has secured a FEMA grant for equipment for the firefighters. Our match is 10%. Mary Ellen made a motion that we purchase 6 new pagers and battery packs. Nelson said that Mary Ellen has been investigating the equipment needs of the firefighters for several months, and made a motion that we give Mary Ellen approval to use the grant moneys to purchase equipment that she has determined is needed by the firefighters. Owen seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mary Ellen said that she would also like to purchase a floating pump. She said that during the Uvas fire, the floating pump used by CDF was far better than those we currently have on hand. There was some discussion about if they could be used on both upper and lower roads. Although there are fewer ponds on the lower road, there are enough that they would be useful in both locations. It was also pointed out that our radios are old, and that during the Uvas fire our firetrucks were not able to communicate well with CDF because our radios could not access the frequencies used by CDF during fires. Owen suggested we get at least one of the new radios for each firehouse. We will check with CDF to find out where we can get them. |
| Fire Truck Signs
Nelson said that we need new signs for the three old firetrucks. He will get a price from the place in Morgan Hill that supplies them. He will also check with them about applying CLVFA identification to the Nomex. |
| Fire Trucks
Mary Ellen said that Ron knew of some used firetrucks that may be available. They have the small wheelbases needed for our roads. One of them holds 1500 gallons of water, far more useful than some of our current 500 gallon capacity trucks. If we can get the large capacity truck, we should station it at the upper firehouse and move one of the older green firetrucks to the lower firehouse, replacing the old red one. She will check into the possibility of getting the new truck. |
| Chy Road again
Mary Ellen made a motion that the CLVFA provide lunches for the volunteers working on Chy Road. The CLVFA normally does this for volunteers working on that road on CLVFA road maintenance projects. Owen seconded the motion and it passed 4 in favor, 1 abstain. |
| CLVFA and CDF at fires
Bob Bowman raised the issue of whether or not CLVFA firefighters should be independent or follow CDF directives during fires. During the Uvas fire, the CDF was positioning our trucks at their discretion, not ours. He felt that our firefighters should be more independent and work as we felt necessary. CDF trucks often pull out at the end of their shifts, while ours generally stay without regards to shifts. Nelson felt that during a large fire, we should cooperate as much as possible with CDF. |
| Christmas Party
The Christmas Party is scheduled for December 15th. Craig Ponke has volunteered to make one of the turkeys. Anita volunteered to cook the other. Mary Ellen asked about a freezer to store the turkeys in, since they are currently on sale. Anita has a large freezer in her basement that is not being used, so the turkeys will be stored there. We need to find someone to get the children's gifts. Anita will check with Shelley Lee. |
| Barricade
Mary Ellen reported that the company making Barricade will replace the product we purchased as a group last year with an improved version. Most residents who had tried to apply it during the Uvas fire were unsuccessful. Mary Ellen said the company was very concerned about the problems we experienced. |
| The meeting adjourned at 1:15 pm. |
| Respectfully, |
| Anita Holser
Secretary |