Fire Commission - January 11, 2017

 

 

The Video can be viewed by clicking this link:  http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=26…

 

President Covington called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM.  

 

1. ROLL CALL

 

Commission President Francee Covington Present  

Commission Vice President Ken Cleaveland Present

Commissioner Stephen Nakajo Present

Commissioner Michael Hardeman Present

 

Chief of Department Joanne Hayes-White Present

 

Mark Gonzales Deputy Chief – Operations

 

 

Dan DeCossio Bureau of Fire Prevention

Tony Rivera Support Services

Jeff Myers EMS

Rudy Castellanos Airport Division

Jeff Columbini Division of Training

 

Assistant Chiefs

Dave Franklin Division 3

 

Staff

Mark Corso CFO

Olivia Scanlon Communication and Outreach Coordinator

Jesusa Bushong Human Resources Director

Clement Yeh Medical Director

Jonathan Baxter PIO

 

2. PUBLIC COMMENT

 

There was no public comment.

 

3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action to approve meeting minutes.

 

• Minutes from Regular Meeting on December 14, 2016.

 

Commissioner Hardeman Moved to approve the December 2016 regular meeting Minutes.  Vice President Cleaveland Seconded.  Motion to approve above Minutes was unanimous.

 

There was no public comment.

 

• Minutes from Special Meeting on January 5, 2017.

 

Commissioner Hardeman Moved to approve the January 5, 2017 special meeting Minutes.  Vice President Cleaveland Seconded.  Motion to approve above Minutes was unanimous.

 

There was no public comment.

 

4. CERTIFICATES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF APPRECIATION

Certificates and acknowledgment of appreciation of SFPD Officer Nadia Mohamed, Officer Raymond Fernandez and Officer Brandon Rock who took swift and decisive action that saved the life of a 13-year-old boy who suffered a gunshot wound to his upper leg, hitting a main artery.

 

Chief Hayes-White announced that she was delighted to have our partners in public safety with us today, members of the SFPD and personally acknowledged Chief Toney Chaplin and the tremendous job he has done as interim Police Chief.  Chief Chaplin spoke briefly and stated it’s been a tremendous eight-month run and they will keep moving forward.  He described the incident on October 9, 2016, where a 13-year-old boy was shot while standing on the sidewalk at Valencia and 26th Street and Officers from Mission Station, Officer Brandon Rock, Officer Raymond Fernandez and Officer Nadia Mohamed responded to a 9-1-1 call.  They secured the scene, assessed the victim’s injuries, and rendered aid.  He stated Officer Rock and Officer Fernandez applied direct pressure and secured a tourniquet on the victims’ leg preventing further blood loss.  He mentioned that as interim Chief of Police, he is very proud of these officers and their actions exemplify what it means to be a San Francisco Police Officer.  Chief Hayes-White also acknowledged that Deputy Chief Michael Redmond, Commander Robert Moser, David Stephenson, Sgt. Michael Andreychak and Captain Perea of Mission Station were in attendance, as well as family members of the officers being honored.  She stated that the SFFD also responded to the scene.  She acknowledged that Officer Brandon Rock could not be in attendance, read the certificates and presented the certificates to Officers Fernandez and Mohamed.  Officer Fernandez and Mohamed gave brief statements and thanked the Commission and Fire Department for the acknowledgment and the Fire Commissioners personally thanked and shook their hand.

 

President Covington asked Mr. Corso to return to the podium and continue with Agenda item 5.

 

There was no public comment.

 

5. REPORT ON FY 2017-2018 CAPITAL AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUDGET REQUESTS [Discussion and possible action]

Report from the Department’s Chief Financial Officer on the Department’s 2017-2018 Capital and Information Technology (IT) budget requests.

 

Item 5 was taken out of order.  Deputy Director Corso greeted the commission, staff, and members of the public.  He went through the Department’s Capital and IT budget proposal and asked that the commission approve it.  He presented the attached PowerPoint:  http://sf-fire.org/sites/default/files/COMMISSION/Documents/budget1.pdf.  He mentioned that this budget is strictly Capital and IT and it goes through a different vetting process before being incorporated into the Mayor’s budget.  He explained the Capital and IT budget needs and described some of the facility issues related to the department that are not covered by the ESER Bond program such as maintenance on apparatus doors, HVAC systems, exhaust extractors, boilers and generators, leaks, kitchen repairs and replacing outdated electrical infrastructure.  He added that in regards to the IT needs, they have been able to ramp up on staffing with the hope of working on other IT projects like consolidating data, both for public and departmental use and develop a consistent data provider with the ability to share information amongst departments and for public transparently so that members of the public can have easy, clear and readily available access to information about buildings, inspections and things of that sort.  He gave a brief overview of the approved projects including vehicle modems and Mobile Data Terminals.  He touched briefly on COIT and working with them to secure additional funding for a training simulator that would be of great use for the Department for training purposes to simulate real life incidents without actually having one, which is safer.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Mr. Corso for his report and agreed that the Department has a lot of infrastructure needs, particularly in the electrical and IT areas.  He asked if DPW has dedicated people that work with the SFFD so when work orders are placed they get the same people over and over again.  Mr. Corso answered that that is not the case, DPW does not assign personnel to specific departments, but it seems that they try and send the people that are familiar with the Fire Department facilities.  Vice President Cleaveland asked if the Department has explored leasing the training simulators to get them online faster at the Training Department.  Mr. Corso stated that it is something they can look into.  Vice President Cleaveland asked what Mr. Corso’s best estimate is to how much of the submitted proposal the Department will actually receive.  Mr. Corso stated that he could not give an estimate, but that the Capital and IT programs will potentially be reduced City-wide from what they were approved for last year, given the fiscal realities facing the City.  Vice President Cleaveland mentioned that he guesses the Capital Funding Committee understands that the critical services the fire and police perform need to be funded more quickly than other infrastructure needs.

 

President Covington made an announcement that she was going to recall Item 4 because the guests that were to be honored had arrived and following the presentation of certificates, she would go back to the budget discussions.

 

Mr. Corso returned to the podium to continue discussion.

 

Commissioner Nakajo confirmed that the Commission needed to approve this budget so it can be submitted by the deadline on Friday.  He commented that although it was a very large and intense list, it was broken down in all sections of the department and was easy to follow and he was glad it was an up-to-date comprehensive list with costs identified.  Mr. Corso added that it’s fair to say that the costs outnumber the funding they anticipate receiving.  Commissioner Nakajo stated that with regard to the IT request, the Department can be a modern department, but if the systems of communication are weak, it doesn’t help within the goals that they want to achieve in terms of communication and coordination.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Mr. Corso and complimented him on his ability to understand numbers and math.  He asked what the square footage was on the Chief’s residence.  Mr. Corso said he didn’t have that information off the top of his head but would get it for him.

 

Chief Hayes-White excused Mr. Corso so he could appear at the Budget and Finance hearing down the hall.

 

Vice President Cleaveland made a motion to approve the 2017-2018 Capital and Information Technology Budget requests as presented.  Commissioner Hardeman Seconded.  The motion was passed unanimously.

 

There was no public comment.

 

4. CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT’S REPORT [Discussion]

REPORT FROM CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT

Report on current issues, activities and events within the Department since the Fire Commission meeting of December 14, 2016, including budget, academies, special events, communications and outreach to other government agencies and the public.

 

Chief Hayes-White’s report covered events since the last meeting on December 14, 2016.  She announced that the current budget is on track for both revenues and expenditures and showing strong revenue with the Bureau of Fire Prevention and the overtime expenditures has seen a decrease since the 120th academy class graduated.  She mentioned that they will be reconvening the Budget Committee in the coming weeks and will update the Commission as those meetings happen.  She announced the promotions of the two Battalion Chiefs to Assistant Chiefs, Chief William Storti and Chief Jose Velo and five promotions to fill the re-opening of Battalion 5 on Saturday.  She announced that the 121st academy is in their seventh week and is comprised of 52 members, down two due to injuries and resignations due to those injuries.  She stated they anticipate two more H-2 academies, one in April and one in September.  She touched on the H-3 Level 1 EMT class that is to start on the 17th and thanked Chief Myers for taking on that process of assisting with the interviews and selection process.

 

Chief Hayes-White summarized special events, communications, and outreach, including meeting with the Mayor’s Budget Director, Melissa Whitehouse on budget discussions, a meeting with Sam Dodge on homeless issues, and an upcoming meeting with Jeff Kostisky, the Fire Marshal, Olivia Scanlon to discuss ongoing opportunities and challenges in the City related to making sure there are provisions for the homeless population.  She attended the monthly Labor Management meeting with Local 798 along with CD2 and CD3, the ceremony for the reappointments of Commissioner Hardeman and Commissioner Nakajo.  She thanked all the members of the Department that stepped up on New Year’s Eve, as it is always a challenging time for the Department and it went smoothly.  She touched on the New Year’s Eve event at Little Sisters of the Poor, Saint Anne’s home for seniors on Lake Street and acknowledged Assistant Deputy Chief Rivera, along with Battalion 7 and Engine 30 for attending that event.  She mentioned that PIO Jonathan Baxter, Captain Russell and the new community outreach investigator and inspectors attended at the request of the Mission District Arts Community, a public information meeting regarding fire safety that included a presentation and questions and answer component and it went very well.  She said that they will cotinine in all aspects of the city to put the message out about fire safety.  She met with MTA Director Ed Reskin regarding moving forward into the new year and the collective work together, and although they are not always in agreement, it was brought to her attention that on 94 percent of the projects that have been put forward, they Department has agreed to them.  She added that they all want Vision Zero to succeed and want improved safety for everyone in the city, however, from the Fire Department’s perspective, we need to make sure that our response times are met.  She attended the swearing in of the new supervisors at City Hall as well as the first Board of Supervisors meeting of the year.  She attended a meeting at City Hall regarding the scope and review of the Ambulance Deployment Facility to get updates from DPW.  She concluded by acknowledging the great work of each and every member of the Department as over the weekend, the average call volume is approximately 325 calls per day, and on Sunday they had 530 calls, such as trees down, wires down, weather-related issues and the members have been working very diligently and doing a great job.

 

There was no public comment.

 

REPORT FROM OPERATIONS

Report on overall field operations, including greater alarm fires, Emergency Medical Services, Bureau of Fire Prevention & Investigation, and Airport Division and update on recent discussions regarding establishment of H-23 classification.

 

Chief Gonzales’ report covered the months of November and December.  He mentioned that during the reporting period, there were two greater Alarms.  The first one was a second alarm on November 15, 2016, at 701 Brazil and the first alarm units on scene did a good job.  The other was also a second alarm on December 15, 20156 at 125 Cambon, one of the high-rises at Parkmerced.  The responding units did a good job.  He touched on other incidents including the December 5, 2016, first alarm at 744 Holloway where an elderly person was rescued, on December 6, 2916 another first alarm at 35 San Juan, where multiple rescues of reptiles were done, on December 13, 2015 a 13 year old boy collapsed due to a cardiac event and together with the SFPD, SFFD and SFUSC, assisting with this incident the outcome is that after CPR, paramedic care and community support, the boy is back home and expected to a live a normal life.  He described the cliff rescue on December 15, 2015 as well as a the major vehicle collision at a bus shelter with multiple patients, and the rescue of a female trapped under a vehicle with serious injuries at 3rd and Market Street, the first alarm at 760 De Haro where they rescued the life of a 90-year-old male and his cat and on December 30, 2016, another fist alarm at 3720 Scott Street, with one adult male rescued and saved by the SFFD, both those fires are still under investigation.

 

He touched on call volume and exploring a change of scope regarding response and BLS Tiers on a daily basis.

 

With regard to Community outreach, Chief Gonzales stated that they continue to do home escape plans, putting it out on social media and free giveaways of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.  He mentioned that Coastal Rescue Companies continue to give out the surf hazard education to the community while on calls or while out in the public and they have targeted the Ocean Beach area while the Cliff Rescue Units provide animal safety community outreach in areas such as Fort Funston.

 

Chief Gonzales stated that in regard to EMS, in November the ambulances responded 89 percent under 10 minutes and they grasped 75 percent of the market share and in December with call volume up, they responded 86.7 percent under 10 minutes.  He doesn’t see call volume going down, with the population growing and traffic conditions getting worse. He stated that on November 5, 2016, RC-4 was moved out of Station 49 and into the field.

 

In regards to Fire Prevention Investigations, he mentioned that he’s working with Fire Marshal DeCossio, Chief Hayes-White, Olivia Scanlon, MTA and ADC Rivera on the Turk Street bike lane, and their main concern is the aerial operations, the bus wires, but he feels the options they gave them will work for the Department operationally and it is a collaborative effort.  He reported that in regards to fire investigations, as of December 21, 20156 the open active reports is at 115 and there were two arrests in the month of December.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked him for his report and confirmed that the 121st Academy will be graduating on April 14, 2017, but the location has not been determined yet.  He asked if the ambulance deployment facility is on track in terms of being designed.  Chief Hayes-White answered that they are scheduled to meet at the end of the month with Mohammed Nuru, the Director of DPW, and Edgar Lopez to give a more robust disclosure of the cost associated with building that facility.  She confirmed that DPW has assured the Department that they’re going to expedite the project.  There were brief discussions about revisiting the determination of the code levels on 9-1-1 calls.

 

Commissioner Hardeman congratulated both Chief’s for their reports.  He was ecstatic to hear of the recent promotions.

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked them for their reports and asked for additional information in terms of the problem with the Code 2 to and Code 3 dispatched calls.  Chief Gonzales added that in his opinion a huge change of scope would be to add a BLS tier, which they did on a temporary basis with approval of the Medical Director and LEMSA to address anticipated high call volume on New Year’s Eve.

 

Chief Gonzales briefly gave an update on the recent discussion of the H-23 position.  He mentioned that when deliberations started with 798, it was made clear that this position was administrative only, the H-23 is a supervisory position.  798 is now asking it made into an administrative assistant.  He mentioned that they can push the classification through without 798, but in the spirit of good faith and negotiations, they are working with them before they push it out again.  He’s hoping it’s resolved by the end of the month.  President Covington agreed that she would have liked to have it come to some agreement before today and that time is of the essence.  She added that the positions have been budgeted and they are not yet filled and with the challenges they face and in competition with other departments and fiscal realities, we need to move quickly on this issue.  She suggested that she and Vice President Cleaveland get together and get it done.  She also would like to show a good faith effort regarding their concerns but would like to get it done.

 

President Covington asked for clarification in regards to the article she read in the Chronicle regarding response times and 9-1-1- calls.  Chief Gonzales explained that the article was about the staffing levels at DEM and how they are short on dispatchers/staffing and there is a delay in getting the call to the field.  President Covington added that she read they are expecting to put training classes through and that will reduce their mandatory overtime.  She invited PIO Jonathan Baxter to come and speak about the meeting that took place in the Mission in regards to the live/work warehouse safety issues.  Lt. Baxter stated the meeting was initiated by Spike Kahn from Pacific Felt Factory and has a live/work space facility here in San Francisco that is fairly new and is an amazing factory.  He added that she asked for the meeting because she was concerned that her community was vulnerable to dangers that fires or natural disaster could bring upon them no matter where they live and she wanted to have information on how they could be safe.  They worked collaboratively with partners at the Department of Building Inspections, as well as members of the community, specifically the arts community on what questions they may have and at the meeting, it allowed face-to-face questions and answers and it went very well.  Lt. Baxter added that they will continue to work with the communities all over San Francisco on how they can make the City safer, especially with the newly formed Public Education Team for 2017.

 

There was no public comment.

 

7. FIRE COMMISSION ANNUAL STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 2017 [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action to adopt the 2017 Annual Statement of Purpose. 

 

President Covington read the attached Fire Commission Annual Statement of Purpose 2017 into the record.  http://sf-fire.org/sites/default/files/COMMISSION/Documents/2017%20annu…

 

Vice President Cleaveland Moved to approve the 2017 Statement of Purpose.  Commissioner Hardeman Seconded.  Motion to approve the above 2017 Statement of Purpose was unanimous.

 

There was no public comment.

 

8. HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT [Discussion and possible action]

 

Jesusa Bushong, Fire Department Human Resource Director stated that shortly after the December 14, 2016 Fire Commission meeting she contacted the City’s DHR to find out the possibility of an annual department wide harassment prevention training.  She was advised of the cost, which is currently $17.00 per head and currently the Department does not have a line item for this cost in their budget.  She added that the one challenge would be that it takes the Department of Human Resources to devote three staff members, along with the City Attorney to review all the materials from the prior compliance year to test development, update the vignettes, create new relevant online scenarios and change lecture materials based on case law that may have come forth within those two compliance years.  She added that the Department recognizes the importance and the value of department wide training and they support the Commission’s recommendation, however, she thinks possibly recommending maybe the next department wide training could be in the next compliance year of 2019 with the understanding that the training will somehow be built in to the new recruit curriculum, possibly with the 121st academy class.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Ms. Bushong for her report and asked if she was suggesting this training every three years.  Ms. Bushong responded that they are recommending every two years but to coincide with the city wide compliance years.

 

Commission Nakajo thanked Ms. Bushong for her report and mentioned that he concurred with the report and recommendations in terms of coming into compliance.

 

President Covington sated that she was very heartened by the news that further exploration of the possibility of department wide training, as it is a very important issue and is something that all members of the Department need to know.  She added that she thinks it will help the Department have a more harmonious environment and will pay lots of good dividends down the line.  No action was taken on this agenda item.

 

There was no public comment.

 

9. REPORT FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL REGARDING AUTHORITY AND SCOPE OF BUREAU OF FIRE PREVENTION INSPECTIONS OF WAREHOUSES IN SAN FRANCISCO [Discussion]

 

Fire Marshal DeCossio clarified that general fire safety practices is important throughout all buildings and that we need to careful not to give a false sense of security to people that are living in buildings that were not permitted for that use.  There are more stringent requirements for an R-2, which is zoned for residential buildings, than there are for an S occupancy, which is zoned as a storage facility.  He went on to describe the Fire Department’s role in inspecting warehouses and what their scope and regulatory authority is.  He stated that in San Francisco authority is granted through the Health and Safety Code which gives explicit authority to the California State Fire Marshal for specific occupancies in the State of California.  Those occupancies are A (Assembly), E (Education), I (Institutions), R (Residential), C (Camps), L (Laboratories), and High Rises.  He stated that it was worth noting what is no mentioned on that list, which includes B (businesses), if you’re a low-rise business, it doesn’t fall under State Fire Marshal as well as S (storage facility), M, (mercantile) and F (factory), but there is a caveat that if any occupancy that involves installation of sprinkler fire alarm system, the Fire Department will review that across the board.  He also mentioned that the Fire Department will conduct an inspection on anything that requires a permit.  He touched on operational permits which require businesses to get an annual operating permit through the Fire Department and other annual inspections required by the Fire Department which include maintenance inspections, fire code inspections for specific types of buildings, R-1 and R-2 residential buildings, the Fire Department is mandated to inspect them annually as well as E, schools.  The Fire Department inspects every school in San Francisco at least once a year as well as all high rises.  Jails are inspected every two years.

 

Fire Marshal DeCossio discussed warehouses and mentioned that they are absolutely safe when used as permitted.  They are not safe when they are used for not its intended use.  He added that to date, they have had 15 complaints regarding illegal use of warehouses, people either living in them or having parties in them.  Of the 15, three of them were issued orders to vacate as the criteria used was that if a fire occurred, the occupants most likely would die in the building and it would be irresponsible for the Department not to take action.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Fire Marshal DeCossio for his report and asked how many warehouses are in San Francisco.  Fire Marshal DeCossio responded that he thinks about 1,000.  He added that once a notice to vacate is issued, they don’t physically go out and have people removed from the building, they refer it to the City Attorney’s Office which forms a task group and they go out with other departments and address it in a collaborative effort knowing that immediate action needs to be taken, which means that you are occupying a building that is unsafe and the chances of you dying in a fire in the building is so high that you should not be occupying the building for this use.  He provided a couple of examples of buildings that were given notice to vacate.  Vice President Cleaveland suggested that the Department do random inspections of warehouses and put the community on notice and you’re going to make sure that the public is protected.  Chief Hayes-White commented that there is competing feelings about random inspections and it is something they might work collaboratively on with other city agencies and the Mayor’s Office, so no one is put out on the street.

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked Fire Marshal DeCossio for his report on this very important subject matter.  He asked who enforces the notice to vacate out of imminent danger.  Fire Marshal DeCossio answered that the task force at the City Attorney’s Office would enforce it and dealing with the folks that are living or working within those facilities as well as the building owner.

 

Commissioner Hardeman acknowledged the good job Chief DeCossio is doing and was glad to hear there were so few complaints and was happy to see that a lot of people have not been displaced.

 

President Covington stated she’s looking forward to the City Attorney’s definition of imminent danger and when that information is forthcoming she would like an update.  She added that she thinks it’s important for the citizens to know that the Department is in the prevention business and sometimes the enforcement business.

 

10. PRESENTATION OF THE DRAFT STRATEGIC PLAN [Discussion and possible action]

Update from Mark Corso on the draft Strategic Plan.

 

Mr. Corso gave a brief overview and status update on the Strategic Plan.  He mentioned that the Strategic Planning Committee was put together to address the needs and the strategy for the Department over the next five years and the committee has been together for about a year and half working on a number of issues related to the plan.  The group was made up of all ranks, disciplines, inside and outside the department as well.  He added that the committee reviewed a number of strategic plans from other fire departments and city agencies and eventually a format was agreed and focused on.  The committee focused on five key areas that are represented in the plan; operations, community programs and partnerships, health and wellness, infrastructure, recruitment, and staffing and training.  He mentioned that the current draft plan is considered the most updated draft and is a jumping point for other discussions and other initiatives as it will be changing and evolving as the Department, the City, the environment and other factors change, and it will constantly be updated.  He added that they will report to the Fire Commission annually, and updated formally as needed at the request of the Fire Commission or the Department.  He stated that given the financial realities and uncertainties facing the City locally, the State and Federal agencies regarding funding, he thinks the need of having a strategic plan in place during the budget process over the next few years is a great benefit.

 

Public Comment:  Brendan O’Leary, retired Assistant Deputy Chief of Homeland Security thanked the Chief for including him as a member of the Strategic Plan Committee.  He acknowledged Commissioner Cleaveland and Commissioner Hardeman for their presence at some of the meetings and former Commissioner Andrea Evan and the fine work that Mark Corso just presented.  He talked about the work that went into the plan and stated that he sees it as an opportunity to create a source of revenue for the Department and he thinks that it’s time for the Department to move forward with the plan as presented.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Retired Chief Brendan O’Leary and stated he’s been so active in the community before he retired and seeing him sitting at the meeting with some authority was very refreshing.  He added that he thinks the plan is a fantastic document and acknowledged the great job Mr. Corso did.  He stated that it was important to him that 798 did not object to it.

 

Vice President Cleaveland commended Mark Corso for a job well done and thought the Strategic Plan is a good one. He congratulated Olivia Scanlon for all the time that she put into as well as Local 798 and their representatives.  He stated that he is comfortable recommending that they adopt the Strategic plan today. 

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked Director Corso for the report and acknowledged and reinforced the appreciation to all of the hard working committee member on their contributions to the plan.  He commented that he really appreciated page 37, goal two, where it states “creating a culture that values ongoing leadership development”. He stated that that statement is important and that he is prepared to adopt the plan today.

 

President Covington thanked everyone who participated in the Strategic Plan.  She asked how they were going to get feedback from the rank and file regarding the plan.  Director Corso stated it was done a bit informally.  Committee members were to seek input from their peers.  It was discussed quite a bit at the Planning Committee meetings and the results and recommendation of the committee was that there was enough outreach done at the committee level, and there were enough disciplines in areas represented at the committee level and the other corresponding sub groups, that it wasn’t necessarily needed to be put out to the field to solicit feedback prior to publishing.  Once it’s published, it will be available to all members of the department, possibly with a cover General Order.  President Covington suggested having an opportunity where people can gather as a community and give feedback verbally.

 

Vice President Cleaveland Moved to adopt the Strategic Plan.  Commissioner Nakajo Seconded.  The vote was unanimous to adopt the Strategic Plan.

 

11. FIRE COMMISSION ELECTION OF OFFICERS [Action]

 

a. Nomination and election of Commission President. 

 

President Covington nominated V.P. Cleaveland for Commission President.  Commissioner Nakajo seconded and the nomination for Commission President was unanimously approved.

 

b. Nomination and election of Commission Vice-President.

 

Commissioner Hardeman nominated Commissioner Nakajo for Commission Vice President.  President Covington seconded and the nomination for Commission Vice President was unanimously approved.

 

There was no public comment.

 

12. COMMUNICATIONS

 

Email from James Corrigan dated December 11, 2016

 

There was no public comment.

 

13. AGENDA FOR NEXT FIRE COMMISSION MEETING [Discussion]

Discussion regarding agenda for the January 25, 2017 regular meeting.

 

• Update on Promising Practices for Increasing Diversity Among First Responders

• Report on impact of homeless crisis on the Department

• Discussion on code 2 and code 3 call

• EMS-6 update

• Update on Dispatch Communication

• Budget discussions

 

14. ADJOURNMENT

 

President Covington thanked everyone and mentioned it was a wonderful experience having been President of the Commission and she feels the Department and members of the Department are fantastic.  She acknowledged the young and older people who are trying to get into the Department.  She added that the Department has some difficult days ahead and we should be ready to talk a lot to the people who hold the purse strings, and to be innovative on approaches to how to meet the fiscal challenges ahead.

 

President Covington adjourned the meeting at 11:57 a.m.