Windham – Windham WVFD Fire District met for their regularly scheduled meeting with all members in attendance. The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Ron Kilgore. The board approved the minutes, bank reconciliation and expenditures, before moving on to the chief’s report.
Chief Rich Gano reported that truck 2813 failed the pump test and needs a gasket. It also needs the wheel chocks fixed that were damaged in the accident. When the truck was purchased it was red so the district paid to have it painted the safety green/yellow color that Windham uses. Now the paint is bubbling. They agreed to go 50/50 with the paint company on the cost of repainting the truck. Truck 2817 had its gas tank replaced, as it was leaking. Gano stated that he has been looking for sheds, trying to find the best deal but he is waiting to hear back from the village to see what permits they might need before he actually purchases one.
They are still having communication issues. They did a drone flyover and videoed the top of Windham’s water tower but B & C Communications determined they can’t put an antenna on it. So, to try to improve communications, the dispatch services from Ravenna are going to put some money into a tower in Palmyra to see if radio communications improve. Currently, they are waiting on a steeple jack to become available so they can move the receiver to the other side of the tower. A discussion was held on what to do with the issues with B & C Communications system which has been problematic since its inception and how long should be given to resolve the issue. After the discussion they decided they’d give until the next meeting (May 9, 2019) before taking any legal action.
Gano Reported that they had 102 calls to date (03/31/2019) 34 EMS, 3 fire, 3 service calls, 2 false alarms, and one hazardous condition. They transported 27 folks, 23 to Robinson, and one each to St. Joe’s, Geauga, Trumbull and CCF Twinsburg. The average response time for March is 4 minutes and .08 seconds.
Lastly, in the chief’s report, was his recommendation of four new applicants. They are as follows: Jacob Bernard – Paramedic, Nicole Peters – EMT, firefighter, and in school for paramedic; Justice Bixel – EMT and Aaron Walker – firefighter and EMT. The board approved the hiring of these four.
In new business board member Brian Miller said he stopped in at AT&T store and they had offered some suggestions on cell phone communications. He presented the information to the board and the chief but no action was taken at the time regarding the issue.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
