1. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Love called the (EFD) Board meeting to order at 5:35 P.M.

ROLL CALL

Present: Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Boardmembers: Chair Love; Boardmembers Bolles, Keller, and Skrede

Also: Excelsior Fire District Chief DuCharme and Firefighter Hoo

Also present: Deephaven Administrator Young; Excelsior Administrator McGrath, Shorewood Administrator Dawson; and Tonka Bay Administrator Irvine

Absent: Boardmember Hill

1. Approval of July 15, 2003, EFD Board Minutes

There were no matters from the floor presented this evening.

6. FIRE CHIEF REPORT

Deephaven Administrator Young offered the possibility of housing the equipment at the City’s maintenance shop to facilitate response times to the East Side of the EFD. Chair Love commented he thought this would be most beneficial.

Boardmember Skrede stated there were a number of people in Deephaven that believed the best solution would be to renegotiate the lease for the current building and work from there. Chair Love stated the amount of rent was irrelevant at this point, as the purpose of forming the EFD was to provide the fastest response times possible. He stated it was important to focus on the conclusions of the firefighters, as all cities were sharing the same concerns related to drive times for firefighters and response times to calls.

Boardmember Skrede requested response time data prepared as part of the drive tests which supported the proposed conclusion be shared with Boardmembers. He also asked is their was any concern regarding liability issues with housing the EFD equipment in the Deephaven maintenance building, as it was an easy place to access.

Chief DuCharme stated he would bring this information back to the Firefighters and would provide response time data to members of the Board via email.

3. Use of Trustees as part of the Grievance Process and on EFD Board

Chief DuCharme shared a draft of the use of trustees in a formal grievance procedure for the EFD. He noted the proposed three trustees would be elected by the Firefighters for a rotating three-year term.

Boardmember Bolles stated the Board had never completed formal action on by-laws regarding inclusion of a Firefighter to act as a trustee to sit on the EFD Board.

Discussion ensued whether three trustees would be adequate for the position of an Ex-Officio Board member, or whether a fourth trustee should be elected at-large for this position.

Firefighter Hoo stated he believed the Firefighters wanted representation at the Board level, and suggested asking the membership about this issue. Chief DuCharme explained a decision could be reached on this matter at a meeting in September and reported back to the Board after that time.

Skrede moved, Keller seconded, Asking the Firefighters to Determine a System of Representation and Process of Election for Representatives to the EFD Board in a Non-Voting Position.

Boardmember Skrede stated he thought it was important for the Firefighters to be part of the discussions at the Board level, and would support letting the firefighters decide how this would happen and who would represent them in this position.

Motion passed 4/0.

4. Relief Association

Chief DuCharme shared the Annual Financial Report of the Firefighter’s Relief Association, noting that according to the report, the Relief Association was under funded as of December 31, 2002 by approximately $282,000 and would require a mandatory contribution of $38,965.00. He also noted the Pension Fund for the Association had increased by approximately $100,000 from January 1, 2003 to date.

Boardmember Skrede stated this contribution to the EFD had not been part of budgetary preparations for the next fiscal year, and questioned where the funding source might come from for payment of the mandatory contribution. Chief DuCharme explained consideration should be given to utilizing the monies from the City of Orono for the Relief Association monies needed.

1. Letter of Rebuttal Regarding Additional Architectural Fees

Chief DuCharme stated TSP, One, Inc, had submitted a request to the Shorewood EDA for additional fees. After meeting with Executive Director of the Shorewood EDA and its legal counsel, Chief DuCharme explained a letter of rebuttal had been issued stating that the items in question did not fall outside the original agreement contract and the architectural firm was not due the fees requested.

Chief DuCharme also explained TSP had submitted plans and drawings for the East Side Facility to the City of Minnetonka who performed all building plan reviews for the City of Deephaven. He also shared a proposed schedule for advertisement of bids and award of contract for the East Side facility, noting award of contract could take place as early as October 6, 2003.

2. Discussion of Location of East Side Facility Legal Description

Chief DuCharme explained it was unfortunate that the building shown on current plans for the East Side Facility was not situated on the legal description of the site. He stated it was not in the best interest to move the station to the East as the stated location in the legal description. Rather, it was recommended the legal description be amended to include the current location of the building. Chair Love clarified the site had not changed in any way, but how the description of the site had been written was incorrect. Chief DuCharme responded affirmatively, and also noted the associated agencies with the East Side Facility, such as the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, had reviewed it the current plans, and not the survey so he believed the approval would still remain.

Boardmember Skrede and Chair Love expressed interest in determining any professional liability issues in this matter, as well as potential impacts to the construction schedule. Chief DuCharme stated the building process could proceed with the advertisement of bidding and award of contract schedule. Shorewood Administrator Dawson suggested the description be corrected prior to construction of the project.

Discussion ensued regarding the legal responsibilities and ramifications associated with the survey information and the legal description of the property. Discussion also was held regarding the opportunity to reject any and all bids. A decision was made to move on the recommendation of awarding bids as soon as possible. Bid opening was scheduled to take place at the Deephaven City Hall.

To that end, Boardmember Skrede brought forward a resolution from the Deephaven City Council asking for requests for proposals inviting all qualified general contractors to bid on the East Side project.

Chair Love stated the EDA Attorney’s opinion was that the EDA might be at risk in taking such an action, and the EDA would not put itself at risk in this manner. He also noted the EDA did not take direction from any one City.

Boardmember Keller noted satisfaction with the current contractor, and stated he was satisfied with the job Kraus-Anderson had performed thus far in the project. He further stated he would rather get rid of Deephaven than get rid of Kraus Anderson.

Boardmembers then held discussion on the roof, design insulation, and vapor barrier.

Boardmember Bolles expressed his concern that the design chosen would be prone to condensation. It was noted the Architect and Shorewood Building Inspector had previously approved the proposed roof design and materials.

2. West Side

Chief DuCharme noted the purchase of furniture, fixtures and equipment items would be undertaken according to the list provided to Boardmembers. The budget allocated $86,000 toward these items outside contractual obligations.

He also noted low voltage bids had been received with a recommendation to accept the proposed bid from Connectivity in the amount of $35,000.

3. Consideration of Construction Invoices

Boardmember Keller recommended Chief DuCharme be given an extra week of vacation time, as a bonus, due to his involvement, concern, and dedicated spirit to the EFD throughout the past years. He noted this seemed a small gesture the EFD Board could extend to the Chief to express gratitude without expenditure.

Keller moved, Skrede seconded, EFD Chief DuCharme be given an extra week’s vacation time, to be taken during the Year 2004, as a reward for all the time spent working for the EFD. Motion passed 3/1, with Bolles dissenting.

Boardmember Bolles then requested the Board consider its position regarding WAFTA. Chair Love stated discussions on this issue had taken place with the decision remaining that as a Board the members would not recognize responsibility.

Discussion ensued regarding warranty information for the Public Safety Facility project. Chief DuCharme stated Kraus-Anderson was expected to provide a letter of warranty, and until such time, no advice could be given regarding the roofing, mechanicals, and plumbing concerns that Boardmember Bolles had expressed concern for in recent discussions.

9. NEXT MEETING (S)

The next EFD Board Meeting was planned for September 16, 2003, beginning at 5:30 P.M. at the Southshore Community Senior Center.

10. ADJOURNMENT