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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04 15 2015 CM Study Sessiontot CITY OF CHUBBUCK April 15, 2015 4:00pm COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MINUTES Minutes of a special study session meeting held at the Chubbuck City Council Chambers, April 15, 2015. Present were: Mayor England, Councilmembers Morrison, Lewis, Ellis and Marshall. Attorney Tom Holmes, City Clerk Rich Morgan, Public Works Director Steve Smart. At 4:00pm Mayor England called the study session to order. GENERAL BUSINESS: 1. Discussion of the Chubbuck and Pocatello Fire Department Coordination of Effort Analysis. Mayor England explained that this meeting is in no way to circumvent the meeting scheduled with the City of Pocatello's council on Monday April 20, 2015. The Mayor explained that Chief King has been working with the Pocatello department on the study for several years. The City is constantly trying to hold the line on tax increases and yet needs to continually provide services to an expanding population. This study facilitates a discussion to see if a coordination of efforts between the two cities' departments would help with improve services while helping to control costs. Councilmember Ryan Lewis explained that the reason for him asking for this meeting was to allow Chief King to explain the coordination of effort analysis. Chief King explained the City of Chubbuck's issues with equipment, response time, and number of responders. He explained that he measures these things with the NFPA guidelines. NFPA guidelines are not law, however, they are tested guidelines that ensure proper service and safety. The Chubbuck Fire Department would like to meet this standard. One of the benefits Chief King believes will happen with the implementation of a coordination effort is the reduction of the insurance rating for the city that insurance companies use to set homeowners insurance rates. Chief King believes the rating would go from a 4 to a 3. He believes this would result in an insurance savings between 8 to 10 percent for structures in Chubbuck. Chief King explained one of the reasons for having done the analysis is to see if some kind of coordination effort can help strengthen two struggling departments. Councilmember Lewis would like to ensure the 7 different types of coordination efforts eluded to in the analysis are looked at so the best decision, if a change is considered, will be made. He also asked how the staff in each department viewed the analysis. Councilmember Ellis asked what the format for the April 20, 2015 meeting with Pocatello would be. Chief King explained that Chief Gates and he want the council's feedback on the analysis. The Chiefs want the proposal fully vetted and all questions answered. Councilmember Ellis would like more information from jurisdictions that have already done something similar. Councilmember Marshall expressed his concern over the claims of saving money when analysis has the City of Chubbuck increasing the Fire Control budget by over $300,000. Mayor England asked the council to get their questions to staff as they come up. At 4:46pm Mayor England adjourned the meeting. KEVIN EN De AYOR t,� RICH MORGAN- Y CLERK Zo3