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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP May 8, 2001 ~)u:t CWJ Ün l.tG-h 1.£ /5/ ò I CITY of ANDOVER ANDOVER SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MA Y 8, 1001 MINUTES A Special Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache on May 8, 2001, 7:00 p.m., at the Andover Fire Station No. I, 13875 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Don Jacobson, Mike Knight, Julie Trude CounciImember absent: Ken Orttel Also present: Fire Chief, Dan Winkel City Administrator, John Erar Others ANDOVER FIRE DEPARTMENT ANNUAL REPORT Introductions were made of all those present. Chief Winkel explained the annual report is dedicated to the Andover firefighters and their families for their service and dedication to the citizens of Andover. Currently there are 47 firefighters, and they will be adding three to five members within the next month. He provided the background regarding the decision to have three fire stations to respond to emergencies in the City. Response on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. is "All Call." From 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., the station within the district of the call responds. There were 771 calls in 1998, 915 calls in 1999 and 927 calls in the year 2000. He noted the number of mutual aid calls last year increased. The Department responds to all medical calls, as does Allina ambulance and, in most cases, the Sheriff's Department. All firefighters are First Responders, 13 are EMTs and 2 are paramedics. When the sirens sound in Anoka County, they staff the stations but do not go anywhere unless called. The Farmstead does account for some of the increase in calls. That facility generates almost 100 calls a year. About half the time the clinics in town do not call them for medical emergencies, choosing to just call the ambulance. Chief Winkel predicted the number of calls will double within the next five years with the development of Grey Oaks, plus the new high school and elementary school, the commercial center as well as growth in general. He also noted the three-year comparison of calls by month, by year-to-year and by station. Chief Winkel reported on the fire along the railroad tracks. The City did receive reimbursement for its expenses. All agencies are still meeting and developing communications and strategies for dealing with such emergencies in the future. Councilmember Trude asked about the response of the Sheriffs Department to emergencies. Chief Winkel stated they show up at least 70 percent of the time. The Fire Department's response time is about six minutes, and most of the time a squad car is on the scene already. He then reviewed the comparison of calls in other cities in the county. Mr. Erar wondered why the number of calls in some cities similar in size to Andover is about half. '4. _.... r-- Special Andover City Council Meeting Minutes-May 8, 2001 Page 2 (Andover Fire Department Annual Report, Continued) Chief Winkel stated those cities do npt respond to any type of medical calls. Andover responds to all medical calls. Mr. Erar wondered if it is necessary to have an emergency response to every type of call out there. Chief Winkel stated one of the things to evaluate is the level of service. Do they need to provide the service for medical calls? Ham Lake is not going to Band-Aid calls any more. Andover doesn't know what type of call it really is until they get there. Mr. Erar felt it would be good to have an analysis of what the response times are to the various calls in terms of discussing another fire station. Chief Winkel stated those response times can be determined. In response to a question on how many people respond to a call, he explained there are NFP A standards and vehicle guidelines. Not every firefighter who responds to the station is sent on the call. They would wait at the station until the rig comes back and is made ready for service again. They get paid one hour minimum. In discussing property insurance, Chief Winkel stated the City still is classified Class 9 in the northern part of town, but is rated 3 in the urban area, which is hard to achieve because they are a volunteer department. Not all insurance companies follow the ISO guidelines. ISO is a tool. One of their requirements is having a ladder truck within one mile of any multi-level building. Grey Oaks and the new elementary school will be multi-story buildings; so the City will lose points because it doesn't have an aerial apparatus near those facilities. It is a balance Chief Winkel noted the fIre calls by station, noting that traditionally Station I receives half the calls because of the high dense area. The trend is that Station 3 will continue to see an increase within the next five years because of the development. The high school is currently located in the Station 3 response area. The total day calls almost equals the total night calls. Chief Winkel reviewed the chart of estimated cost for fire service per capita. The largest amount was in 1992 when the bond was issued for the fire stations and equipment. That cost has decreased every year since then. The drop in the year 2000 was the result of a zero capital outlay budget, which they hope to change for next year. He didn't have the exact figures of how that compares with other cities; but from the last survey done, Andover is right where it needs to be. A big factor is not having wages to pay. Chief Winkel also outlined the buildings and plans worked on in the year 2000, including the issuing óf73 burning permits. That number is down because of the burning ban in the spring and fall. Public buildings and businesses are not inspected every year because they don't have the Staff to do so. He is ablê to keep up with the new buildings but did not do any inspections unless there was a complaint. Last year there was a part-time fire marshal that did almost all of the commercial and industrial inspections. The Department lost points because they didn't do annual inspections. He then noted the percentage of time spend on the various activities. About 25 percent of the time is spent on training, 15 percent on EMS responses, and 10 percent for fire suppression. They try to do pre-planning of every business so they know what is in the facility when they respond. Those plans are in a book form but haven't been updated for a number of years because of the lack of Staff. They are just now looking at software that would allow them to enter that information into the computer. He also higWighted the 200 I goals and objectives regarding fire protection. -~ - -. -- Special Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - May 8,2001 Page 3 TRAINING Chief Winkel reviewed the rigorous training schedule of the firefighters, noting they train every Wednesday except in July. Plus they hold a quarterly business meeting. In the year 2000 they spent about 4800 total hours training, with each firefighter averaging IOS hours of training. In addition, each firefighter spends about 220 hours responding to calls. Most of the training is mandatory. OSHA requires them to have proof of training for each function they do. It is a big commitment. Firefighters are not allowed to miss three consecutive training sessions, though excuses are granted for vacations, etc. If the training missed is mandatory, the firefighter must make it up. In addition to the fire service training, there are a number of people certified in various other specialties, which require additional training outside of the Department. They do a lot of training through the tech colleges. Firefighter Dave Szyplinski explained the meaning of the different colored hats and the training levels involved for each. They are talking about adding seven new people, but it will take two years before those will be replaceable on the scenes. They have to plan two years in advance for people to be replaced. There are a number of levels of commitment involved in the service. Do they have to train for the Columbine-type incident? What level of activity does the City want them to train for? Those are issues to be decided; then Firefighter Kathy Reitan who is in charge of training must schedule the necessary training. Right now it is almost a two-year rotation to go through the mandatory training and recertifications. Chief Winkel stated they work very closely with the Sheriff Department, seeing them every day and even training with them on occasion. Training Officer Kathy Reitan stated they work closely with Allina, so they like to have their people competent and at a high enough care level to feel comfortable going in the ambulance. She also pointed out they stress the high time commitment needed to the new recruits. They want the families to know of the time commitment. Firefighter Dave Reitan stated in talking with a Deputy, he was told they do receive First Responder training when hired. However, they do not keep up with the continuing education. Chief Winkel stated other cities have the same minimum standard, but they are all different in terms of level of service. The philosophy of some is not to respond to medicals; some do not enter buildings. If the City decides to have the function, the firefighters have to train for it to meet the fire protection standards. Chief Winkel understood that some insurance companies are no longer using ISO ratings to determine insurance rates, that they are recouping from the many recent natural disaster losses by raising rates everywhere. He continued that safety is a big issue for them. They do routine checks of the equipment and discuss safety at almost every drill and business meeting. They also have a 20- year plan for the replacement of their apparatus. That plan is updated yearly. The thing to notice in the plan is that there are a number of rigs to be replaced about 2010-2011, which will have a financial impact. There needs to be some planning to meet that need, though he thought that some of the trucks might have a longer life span. .-- ---- - - r Special Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - May 8, 2001 Page 4 RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION Chief Winkel stated in the year 2000 the City paid $9.2S per hour. Most cities are now in the range of $1 0 to $11 per hour. They have had good success in recruiting firefighters through the Andover newsletter, the Anoka Union, the electronic board at City Hall and by word of mouth. They have had about 20 applications within the last I Y, years that they consider good candidates. They look at station needs, then go back into the file. Firefighters must be within a five-minute response time ITom the station. They also bring in families to let them know of the commitment. About 30 percent of the firefighter roster has been on the Department five years or less experience. Retention is a big issue. Each time someone leaves, it costs $1 ,SOO over two years to train the new firefighter. They always want to keep ahead of that. They do have a pension plan, but most don't join for that reason. In order to qualify for the pension, they must serve at least five years and wait until age SO. It is a split-the-pie fund. The position pulls them ITom their jobs and their families. The Department tries to promote family. A firefighter was appreciative of the nice facilities at the fire stations for use while waiting, at training, etc. Another noted the firefighters are very respected throughout the community, and they know that they can cover just about anything they have to deal with. It helps knowing they have the best and are well trained. Councilmember Knight stated he has received a number of compliments from residents about how appreciative they are of the way the firefighters approach them and the general respect they have. It always nice to hear that. Chief Winkel stated they do a wonderful job of training to understand emotional issues and being sensitive to feelings. If the Council hears negative comments, he'd like to know about it to look at them. Firefighter Szyplinski felt training is what keeps most of the people on the Department. They feel very competent. They have family activities and social gatherings like the Christmas party, but they need the support of the City Council to have those things happen. He suggested having an Explorer program. Many people join before having children or while the children are small. As the children grow, the firefighters tend to drop out because of family commitments. He felt an Explorer program for the 13, 14, IS year-olds would be similar to the police department. The kids would have some training. It would reduce some of the training needed when they join the Department at age 18, and it is a way to keep the families involved. It would take a volunteer and money to do it. He felt that is a way to keep the retention up. The issues are getting the volunteers to foster these programs. The number of calls is increasing and will continue to do so. Plus there is the training. It is a lot to ask of one person. Whatever can be done to continue to build that family relationship and keep them on the Department also reduces the cost to the Department to train in a new recruit. Chief Winkel stated one of the things he will propose in the 2002 budget is to pay an additional ten or fifteen cents for different levels of training and/or years of experience. It relates to retention, saying the extra training and time is appreciated. - - - ,- .~-- ---. ._----, Special Andover City Council Meeting Minutes - May 8, 2001 Page 5 (Recruitment and Retention, Continued) Chief Winkel also pointed out the other items in the Council's packet including the first quarterly report for 2001, the burning permit rules and legislative tracking lists. Discussion with the Council was also on the financial impact of the new communication systems for the county and speculations on how much will be needed, funding mechanisms and when it will be in place. (After the meeting was adjourned, the Council was invited to tour the apparatus bays and inspect the equipment.) Motion by Knight, Seconded by Trude, to adjourn. Motion carried on a 4- Yes, -Absent (OrtteI) vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~~J- Marcella A. Peach Recording Secretary - - --------