Wilton Fire Commission
Minutes of Regular Monthly
Fire Department Headquarters

December 6, 2004

Present:		Commissioners Richard McCarty, J. Casey Healy and Hesham El-abd
Others:		Chief Paul Milositz, Deputy Chief George Peters, Captain Stuart Carter, Lt. Kevin Czarnecki, Firefighters Jeff Locher and Dave Chaloux; Fire Marshal David Kohn; special advisor Troy Ellen Dixon and Corey Dixon Weeks.

1. Call to Order: Chairman McCarty, noting that a quorum was present, called the meeting to order at approximately 1834 hours.
2. Approval of Minutes and Review of Monthly Reports
   1. A Motion was made by Commissioner Healy to appoint Mr. McCarty as the Chairman of the Commission for the period effective December 1, 2004 and ending November 30, 2005. The Motion was seconded by Commissioner El-abd and unanimously approved.
   2. A Motion was made by Commissioner El-abd to appoint Mr. Healy as the secretary of the Commission effective December 1, 2004 and ending November 30, 2005. The Motion was seconded by Chairman McCarty and unanimously approved.
   3. A Motion was made by Commissioner El-abd to name Troy Ellen Dixon and Ken Walsh as special advisors to the Commission for the period commencing on December 1, 2004 and ending November 30, 2005. The Motion was seconded by Chairman McCarty and unanimously approved.
   4. A Motion was made by Chairman McCarty to schedule the Commission's 2005 meetings for the first Tuesday of each month commencing at 6:30 p.m. at Station 1. The Motion was seconded by Commissioner El-abd and unanimously approved.
   5. A Motion was made by Commissioner El-abd to approve the Minutes of the Commission's meeting held on November 16, 2004. The Motion was seconded by Chairman McCarty and unanimously approved.
   6. The Commission reviewed the Deputy Chief's report dated December 6, 2004 which noted that: (i) the Department received funds to replace the oil tank at Station 1; (ii) training during the month included school bus rescue and hazardous materials training for Class "C" Suits; and (iii) the Department had commenced a program by which Fire Department personnel observe operations at Wilton Dispatch Center located at the Police Department. Deputy Chief Peters also reported that the oil tank at Station 2 will have to be replaced in the near future.
   7. The Commission reviewed the Fire Marshal's Monthly Report for November 2004, which report noted that there were no major investigations during the month. Fire Marshal Kohn advised the Commission that Fire Inspector Meehan added fire safety information to the Department's web site and he has been working on providing business owners with information that can be downloaded from the Department's web site that will guide the owners on fire prevention and how to avoid common fire code violations. Chairman McCarty acknowledged and thanked the Fire Marshal for preparing the Memorandum dated October 30, 2004 regarding Code Enforcement and Public Education Program Planning. Mr. McCarty suggested to Fire Marshal Kohn and Chief Milositz that the power point presentation of the Department's 2006 budget include the Fire Safety Division's code enforcement and inspection and education program goals.
   8. Volunteers Attendance Report - Chairman McCarty reported that the Commission had scheduled a special meeting for December 7, 2004 to meet with the volunteers to discuss the volunteer department.
3. Old Business
   1. Radio and Dispatch - Chief Milositz reported that a cross patch of the new high band radio system has allowed the volunteer firefighters' low band pages to receive the high band broadcasts. The Chief also noted that the committee of the Fire Department, Police Department and the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps is meeting on a regular basis to too study and address radio and dispatch issues.
   2. Truck 5 - Chief Milositz reported that Truck 5 is at Firematic being fitted out. Chief Milositz also reported that driver training and certification to operate the ladder will commence in January 2005.
   3. Mutual Aid - Chief Milositz reported that Ridgefield Fire Department Chief Yarrish has executed an automatic mutual aid agreement with the Town of Wilton. In addition, Chief Milositz advised the Commission that he has opened discussion with Georgetown Volunteer Fire Department Chief Heibeck regarding the renewal of the expired automatic mutual aid agreement with his Volunteer Department. Chairman McCarty suggested that particular attention should be paid to the areas of Wilton served by Georgetown in these discussions.
   4. Web Site Update - Discussion of the Department's web site was tabled.
4. New Business
   1. After brief discussion, a Motion was made by Chairman McCarty to approve to schedule the Commission's monthly meetings for 2005 on the first Tuesday of each month commencing at 6:30 p.m. at Station 1. The Motion was seconded by Commissioner El-abd and unanimously approved.
   2. Utility Vehicle - Chief Milositz reported that he and Apparatus Supervisor Ralph Nathanson recommend that the Department purchase a Freightliner truck to replace the Department's existing utility vehicle #6. The Freightliner more than doubles the carrying capacity of utility vehicle #6 and the purchase price is within the budget approved in the Town's budget for fiscal year 2005.
   3. Budget for fiscal year 2006 - Chief Milositz distributed the Department's budget for fiscal year 2006. He reported that Deputy Chief Peters and he had met with First Selectman Hannah and Chief Financial Officer Joe Dolan to discuss the budget. Deputy Chief Peters noted that 92% of the budget is contractually mandated; leaving only 8% within the Department's control. While the budget as presented reports a 2.55% increase over the fiscal year 2005 budget, the Department has not received from the Finance Department the salary and benefit numbers based upon the collective bargaining agreement recently ratified by the Board of Selectmen and the Firefighters' union. Some discussion was had regarding the replacement of the two engines that were purchased by the Department in 1987, which replacement has been postponed by the Board of Selectmen until fiscal year 2007. The Chief reported that there is no overriding reason to replace the engines in fiscal year 2006; noting that it is Apparatus Supervisor Ralph Nathanson's opinion that the two engines should be reliable to fiscal year 2007. The Commission agreed that additional questions regarding the budget can be raised at the Commission's next meeting.
5. Adjournment: At approximately 2010 hours upon motion duly made and seconded the special meeting was adjourned.

The next regular meeting of the Commission will be held on January 4, 2005 at Fire Department Headquarters.

Respectfully submitted,

J. Casey Healy
Secretary - Fire Commission