Windham – The W.V.F.D. Joint fire district met for their regularly scheduled meeting recently with all board members and fiscal officer present. First item on the agenda was the fire chief’s report. Chief Iwanyckyj reported that he has chosen different firemen to take responsibility for, policy and procedures for EMT’s, turn-out gear, Scot Air Paks, and truck maintenance. The chief presented to the board the need to have fire inspectors inspect the school 4 times a year and do random inspections of the businesses in Windham. The fire inspectors were requesting $12 an hour to do such inspections. After some discussion on the inspections, the board decided to have the chief look into the Ohio Revised Code and see what authority they have when they do the business inspections. Currently, they are only doing the school inspections which are required by state law. Other items in his report: rescue squad door locks require repair and transmission fluid changed, the equipment van needs new tires, other trucks need updated fire extinguishers, more emergency lighting (grass fire fighter), air horn switch replacement, new tail light needed on utility trailer.
Iwanyckyj stated that they are organizing maintenance schedules and will be keeping better record of their maintenance. The chief also stated that two fire helmets are also outdated.One voice pager and one walkie-talkie should be repaired or replaced. The board approved purchase of two new helmets, two fire extinguishers and one walkie.
The next item on the agenda was to set a meeting date. After conferring with new board member Scott Garrett they decided to keep the meeting night the same. The fire board will meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the fire station. All meetings are opened to the public.
Insurance Agent Mark Ellerhorst presented the annual insurance policy for building, vehicles and equipment to the board. After reviewing the policy the board approved the purchase of the annual policy for $7,316.
• The board then held two executive sessions, one to discuss officer appointments within the fire department and the other session to discuss the discipline of two firemen. After the first session the board returned to regular session to announce the officers. The 1st assistant is Jim Starkey, 2nd assistant is James Ward, Captains are Mike Zerucha, Lenny Polichena and Daryl Cottle and Lieutenant Gary Barnard. The board returned to executive session to discuss disciplinary actions against two firemen; after 15 minutes the board returned to regular session. There was no other business to discuss so they fielded questions from those in attendance.
One resident questioned the board on the EMS call system and stated they were disappointed in the board’s decision and felt they were putting the community’s safety in jeopardy by some of the decisions that had been rendered. She also stated that she had voted for the last levy and currently was not happy with the operations of the board and would not vote for another one.
Another resident questioned what they had decided to do about snow removal. Currently the village was handling it. After researching the snow plowing costs they decided they would inquire with the township to see if the village and township would consider doing the plowing on a rotating basis. Dann Timmons said he would bring it up at the next township meeting.
Before closing out the meeting the board thanked Linda Rininger for her service last year and welcomed Scott Garrett aboard. The village council voted to have Mr. Garrett represent the villages interest on the fire board.
