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2020 01 21 FCPEMSD Minutes, SpecialMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BAYTOWN FIRE CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DISTRICT January 21, 2020 The Board of Directors of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District (FCPEMSD) met in a Regular Meeting on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, at 4:30 P.M., in the Baytown Conference Room of the Baytown City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas with the following in attendance: Brenda Bradley Smith President John Adkins Vice -President Maurice Watts Director Barry L. Hawkins Director Rick Davis General Manager Trevor Fanning Assistant General Counsel Leticia Brysch Secretary President Brenda Bradley Smith convened the January 21, 2020, FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting with a quorum present at 4:30 P.M., all members were present with the exception of Directors Gerald Baldwin and Richard Carr who were both absent. 1. MINUTES a. Consider approving the minutes of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District Regular Meeting held on October 15, 2019. A motion was made by Vice President John Adkins, and seconded by Director Maurice Watts to approve the minutes of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District Regular Meeting held on October 15, 2019. The vote was as follows: Ayes: President Brenda Bradley Smith, Vice President John Adkins, Director Maurice Watts, Director Barry L. Hawkins Nays: None Other: Director Gerald Baldwin (Absent), Director Richard Carr (Absent) Approved FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 2 of 8 2. PROPOSED RESOLUTION a. Consider a resolution adopting Rules of Procedure for the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District. First Assistant General Counsel Karen Horner presented the Board an overview of the proposed Rules of Procedure for the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention and Emergency Medical Services District. Mrs. Horner noted that the Board has already been following these Rules of Procedure and this item makes the said rules official. Mrs. Horner noted that the proposed rules are basically in seven different categories; she noted that said rules were included in the agenda packet, so she would quickly hit the highlights of the main points. The first item relates to the general rules. The board has a quorum when the majority of the members are presented, this is a seven member board, and so four members must be present for a quorum. Every member has a vote, which is recorded in the minutes by the Secretary, which is then approved by the Board, as was done in the previous item. She noted that questions that come before the Board should contact one subject, so the Board can say yes or no on each subject; we do not want to bring something before the Board that combine a bunch of different subjects, and you may like one but not the others. The Board elects its officers every year, to include the President, Vice President and appoints its Secretary, which is the City Clerk. The Board's General Manager present information, give recommendations on items and things of that sort; the General Counsel is at every meeting to answer any legal questions and also serves as a parliamentarian for the meetings; and there is also the Secretary who will be present to take minutes and prepare agendas. Mrs. Horner noted that the suspension of the rules is allowed, if the Board feels like the rules need to be suspended and that would just be by majority vote and the rules and can be amended at any time. Mrs. Horner noted that as it related to conduct, everybody is subject to the rules of procedure to the Directors, staff and citizens; so Directors can't be interrupted once they're given the floor by the Presiding Officer unless they're called out of order, and any of the Directors may present a motion to require that the order be established. As for staff, they must be recognized before they can speak before the board, and they must address in entire board, not just one member. Citizens again follow the same rules that staff must follow and should refrain from private conversation; citizens cannot bring noise -makers and banners, unless they are a part of their presentation, in order to limit the interruptions to the board. Mrs. Horner also noted that the board is subject to the Robert's Rule of Order and must recognize the citizens when the come before the board, they are invited to come and sign-up for the item they wish to speak on, they will give their name, address, and identify if they are representing a group in order to ensure that the board gets complete information, but not redundant information. Speakers should be concise and to the point as possible, so repetitious comments are not looked FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 3 of 8 upon favorably. Any charges against staff members are immediately called out of order and referred to the General Manager who will take it up with the employee. As it relates to the types of meetings, there are three types: (1) a regular meeting, which occur on a quarterly basis on the third Tuesday of the month, (2) special meetings, which are needed to handle items outside of regular meetings, such as the special meeting for the budget, and (3) emergency meeting when there's something of a public calamity that would require one hour notice and require special notices to the newspapers and media. Mrs. Horner noted that the Presiding officer is called to keep order at all the meetings, if the Presiding Officer is not present then the Vice President serves in his/her stead, and if the Vice President is not here, then those present will vote on serve as the presiding officer for that one meeting. The Presiding Officer will address if an item is taken out of order before votes are taken; he/she will call the item forward, and call for a motion on said item, and calls for a vote. Something particular to this board is that a majority of those present would be enough to pass anything with the exception that a three -fourths majority is required if there is a request and it's denied. Mrs. Horner noted that in order for an item to be placed on the agenda, it must be approved by the President or the General Manager and must be submitted eight days prior to the meeting, in order to have enough time for staff to get it all together and make sure it's posted properly. Mrs. Horner also noted that once it's on the agenda and voted on, the item cannot be reconsidered for another six months, unless the majority decides that they want to re -consider this item again. So it had to come up for a vote with the question of whether or not this item wants to be reconsidered and if there is a positive motion, and its vote is in favor, and then the board can reconsider the matter. As it relates to public comment, anybody can sign on the list provided in the foyer for the items listed on the agenda and are given a three minutes to speak before the board. Board business is handled through resolutions, which must be printed in a form approved by the General Counsel, provided to the board prior to the meeting, passed by a majority vote, approved, signed and maintained permanently by the Secretary. Mrs. Horner entertained any questions on the procedures, and hearing none, moved onto the next item. A motion was made by Director Maurice Watts, and seconded by Vice President John Adkins approving Resolution No. 67, regarding agenda Item 2.a. The vote was as follows: Ayes: President Brenda Bradley Smith, Vice President John Adkins, Director Maurice Watts, Director Barry L. Hawkins Nays: None Other: Director Gerald Baldwin (Absent), Director Richard Carr (Absent) Approved FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 4 of 8 RESOLUTION NO. 67 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BAYTOWN FIRE CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DISTRICT ADOPTING RULES OF PROCEDURE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF. 3. DISCUSSIONS a. Receive training on the Texas Open Meetings Act. First Assistant General Counsel Karen Horner presented the item and stated that she was going to give the board a quick training on the main points of the Texas Open Meetings Act (the "Act") as a refresher. Mrs. Horner noted that the Act is designed to give notice to everyone to ensure that the government body is open; said notice must include the time, place and the subject of what's going to be discussed. She noted that the Act applies when a quorum gathers to discuss public business, regardless of whether there's an action, or any vote taken. The Act also applies when a forum gathers to give or solicit information about a matter of public business, in both oral and written form. Therefore, the board must be very careful about discussing public business outside of the meeting. When are gatherings not subject to the Act? When the gathering is purely social; such as if board members are attending a workshop or if they are going to the legislature to testify, or if they meet at a candidate forum; however, this is only the case when formal action is not taken and any discussion is merely incidental to the reason that of the gathering. Mrs. Horner noted that agendas for the District must be posted on the bulletin boards located in City Hall and in the courthouse of both in Harris County and Chambers County, as well as, on the City's website. So because staff has to post this information at all of these locations, it is important to back things up to make sure that staff has enough time to get the Secretary plenty of time to get things done in a timely manner. So there are some exceptions to the these posting requirements, the first occurs when there is a very late night meeting and the board just can't go on anymore and just need to stop, the board can recess and reconvene the very next day and the second one relates to emergency meetings for an urgent public necessity. Mrs. Horner again noted that the meeting public notices must contain the date, hour and place of the meeting, along with a description of what the board will be considering, again. This is to ensure that everybody knows what's going on and if there is something on the agenda that they wish to talk about and also have the opportunity to do so. She further noted that the agenda items cannot be broad; such as old business or new business, the public must be able to discern the subject of what is being discussed. Mrs. Horner stated that when a topic is raised in an open meeting that is not on the posted agenda, the presiding officer can (1) recite policy of the board, (2) refer them city staff where, and (3) offer to put the item on the next agenda for discussion. However, there are some instances that an item of community interest can be discussed; such as congratulations, honorary FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 5 of 8 salutes to someone, maybe a reminder about a program, something that the board is sponsoring or the board members are going to, or of course of some sort of public calamity or something that is an emergency. Executive sessions are meetings of the board that are outside of the public, and are allowed under very specific exceptions in the statute; such as consultations with the board's attorneys, if there are some security issue or something that we were going to purchase, maybe a gift or property acquisition or anything of that nature. Mrs. Horner noted that to go into the executive session to talk about the item, first, the board would have to convene in an open meeting and announced that the board will be going into executive session and announce the section number that allows the board to go into executive session, and then recess into executive session. Once in executive session, the presiding officer must make a new announcement of the time of the meeting and the reason for the executive session. The board will be required to make a certified agenda if the board is in executive session for any other reason aside from the exception related to consultations with the board's attorneys. A certified agenda requires the presiding officer to sign it and list any comments on the form. Upon completion of the executive session, the board will reconvene into open session and note that no action was taken in executive session. Mrs. Horner noted that there are penalties for violation at the Act and can be subject to different criminal or civil penalties. Mrs. Horner entertained any questions from the board and thanked them for their time. b. Receive an overview of the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention and Emergency Medical Services District. First Assistant General Counsel presented the item and stated that this was an overview of the District that would give the Board an idea of their duties and responsibilities per the statute, but first she wanted to give them a history of the District. The Fire Control District was originally established in 2006, and since then there have been two continuation elections, each for five years intervals' the third continuation election is scheduled to take place this November. Mrs. Horner noted that the board members are appointed by the City Council with each member being nominated by one member of council and confirmed by the entire Council. Each member serves for two-year staggered terms; the Board elects a President and Vice President, and appoints a Secretary, which is typically the City Clerk who will attend meetings, keep the minutes and other duties as assigned by the General Manager. If there is a vacancy, the replacements are appointed in the same manner and serve for the remainder of the term for the vacancy. Mrs. Horner stated that the purpose of the district is really focused towards fire prevention, emergency medical services, district programs, which include personnel, administration, expansion and capital expenditures. The statute goes on specifically and addresses six different areas of which include the types of programs that the District can finance. Mrs. Horner noted for personnel there is the overtime for senior officers that can be done under special programs or generally; there is also the purchase fire apparatus; to include scuba gear or whatever the firefighters might need. Another item that can be financed relates to enhanced communication, FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 6 of 8 and these are expenditures dealing with dispatch and staff related to public training programs. Response training is more of the Fire Department's regional training and regional expenditures to include support systems for information; i.e. more computer type, techie things, and lastly, just capital items to improve response time, which can overlap with the general items, which can be anything from fire trucks to fire stations enhancements. So these areas are pretty general and broad and allow for the District to fit its expenditures into one of these six pegs or buckets in order for it to fit into a proper District expenditure. Mrs. Horner noted that 2016 was when the District held its last election and at that time the District established some priorities that fit into the six categories that included the fire training facility, fire response technology equipment, and communication technology as well as the safety technology, which all fir into the previously mentioned allowable expenditures. Mrs. Horner stated that the staff is required to present the Board with an annual evaluation of the impact and efficiencies of the different programs to let the Board know what has been with the money, how things are going, etc. Mrs. Horner stated that the District approves its budget every year and has a set budget process that will need to come back to the Board for updates in order for their budget processes to coincide with the City's new timelines in order to comply with Senate Bill 2. C. Review and discuss the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention and Emergency Medical Services District Continuation Election calendar and process. District Secretary Leticia Brysch presented the item and stated that at their places was a copy of the important calendar dates for the District's continuation election. She noted that in the last legislative session, staff was able to get an amendment to the statute language, which governs fire control, Chapter 344 of the Local Government Code that allows the District to hold its continuation election every five years instead having to hold the election a year earlier because of contradictory language. She noted that thanks to this change the District was able to hold its election in 2020 instead of 2019, so moving forward, this will no longer be an issue. Mrs. Brysch further noted that this is the first year in which the District will pay for its own election, as the District is no longer able to hold joint elections with the Baytown Crime Control and Prevention District ("CCPD") and the City of Baytown (the "City"). This change is precipitated by moving the election dates from May to November, as the District holds its elections in November; it is required to hold joint elections with Harris County and Chambers County who sees the District as a separate governmental entity from the City and CCPD. As the City does not have its own election equipment, it must adhere to the rules and guidelines set by the counties that contract election services. She estimated that the costs of the election would be around $100,000. Mrs. Brysch also reminded the Board that the educational materials related to the election would be created by the Public Affairs staff that would bring forth some ideas and thoughts to the next District meeting in April. She reminded the Board that the election will be called at their June meeting, along with their authorization to execute joint election agreements with Harris County and Chambers County. FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 7 of 8 d. Discuss the Fire Control, Prevention and Emergency Medical Services District 2020 Action Plan. Fire Chief Kenneth Dobson presented the item and stated that he and his staff have started to look at the District 2020 Action Plan. He noted that the 2015 plan had an estimated $1.5 million in projected revenues, and in speaking with Finance, the 2020 plan will have estimated revenues at $1.9 million. Chief Dobson stated that while this is a good thing, it was important to note that a lot of the District's monies were already earmarked for existing projects and expenditures, to include the $800,000 in debt payment for the Fire Training Field's Phase 3 construction, $400,000 in personnel costs for thee positions: QA/QI position, which is a lieutenant, the Division Chief of Training and one administrative assistant, and another estimated $400,000 in apparatus to buy a needed ambulance. Chief Dobson noted that after those expenditures, there was not a lot left; however, they would be looking at this to identify the best way to use the remaining monies in the best service of the department. 4. REPORTS a. Receive the Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District's Quarterly Financial and Investment Reports for the Quarter Ending December 31, 2019. Interim Finance Director Gina Guillory presented the item and stated that the District's financials are on track for the first quarter and is at 24% of the estimated revenue projections for this year. She noted that for the first quarter sales tax collections started down in October but started to trend upwards with a strong December, so while overall collections are down 0.08% from last year, it has started to an upward trend so staff is optimistic. As it relates to expenditures, the District has spent less than 10% of the budget, which is not a bad thing, but she noted that staff will begin the purchase of equipment and other needed materials soon. Lastly, Mrs. Guillory noted that the District's investments remain strong with an interest rate of 1.731 % and quarter earnings of $4,56.21. b. Present an update regarding the Baytown Fire Training Field. Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Smith presented the item and gave the Board and overview of the Baytown Fire Training Field's ongoing construction. Ile showed the Board and areal map of the site and pointed out the existing buildings, new construction and future build -out ideas. Chief Smith noted that the staff is very pleased with the quality work being conducted by the contractor and was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the work was progressing. 5. MANAGER'S REPORT a. The next Baytown Fire Control, Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services District meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at 4:30 P.M. in the Baytown Conference Room located at City Hall, 2401 Market Street, Baytown, Texas. General Manager Rick Davis reminded the Board of their next regularly scheduled meeting. FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting Minutes January 21, 2021 Page 8 of 8 6. ADJOURN With there being no further business to discuss, President Bradley Smith adjourned the January 21, 2020, FCPEMSD Board Regular Meeting at 4:30 P.M. L cia Brysch, Secretary City of Baytown