1 MINUTES OF AUGUST 11, 2022
REGULAR MEETING
OF THE
FIRE COUNCIL OF THE CENTRAL MARIN FIRE AUTHORITY
HELD VIA ZOOM VIDEOCONFERENCE
ON
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022
AT 6:30 P.M.
Or upon conclusion of the CMPA Police Council meeting, whichever is later I. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Regular Meeting of the Fire Council of the Central Marin Fire Authority was called to order at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom videoconference.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:
Eli Beckman, Council Chair, Town of Corte Madera
Fred Casissa, Alternate Council Member, Town of Corte Madera Catherine Way, Council Member, City of Larkspur
Scot Candell, Alternate Council Member, City of Larkspur COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:
Kevin Haroff, Larkspur (Scot Candell attended as Alternate) Bob Ravasio, Corte Madera (Fred Casissa attended as Alternate) STAFF PRESENT:
Todd Cusimano, Corte Madera Town Manager
Dan Schwarz, Larkspur City Manager
Ruben Martin, Fire Chief
Daria Carrillo, Finance Manager
Nick Gabbard, Association Representative
Tom Bertrand, Authority Counsel
Rebecca Vaughn, Authority Clerk
II. URGENCY ACTION
A. Resolution No. 2022/05 – Authorizing remote teleconference meetings of the Central Marin Fire Authority Council pursuant to Brown Act provisions Authority Clerk Rebecca Vaughn introduced the item and presented the staff report. There were no questions from the Council members or public comment.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Candell) to approve Resolution No. 2022/05 – Authorizing remote teleconference meetings of the Central Marin Fire Authority Council pursuant to Brown Act provisions, which carried by the following vote: Roll call vote: 4-0 in favor of the 2 motion. (Ayes: Beckman, Candell, Casissa, Way; Noes: None).
III. OPEN TIME FOR PUBLIC EXPRESSION
Emailed public comment was received from Dr. Bob Bundy and read into the record by Authority Clerk Vaughn. The emailed correspondence can be viewed here.
IV. PRESENTATIONS:
A. Update On Recent Fire Academy
Presentation provided by Ruben Martin, Fire Chief
Chief Martin provided the following introduction: The Fire Department is frequently recruiting and he wanted to provide an opportunity for the Fire Council and Executive Management team to learn more about what they do at the Fire Department to onboard new members. Firefighter Paramedic Mike Zita will provide the presentation. He is the lead Cadre member with the regional Marin County Fire Academy, which works with all of the departments throughout the County and is the most efficient and effective away to train all of the new firefighters.
Firefighter Paramedic Mike Zita introduced his presentation on the Marin County Regional Fire Academy, where he discussed the purpose of the Academy, introduced the Central Marin Fire Authority’s three new recruits: Ian Van Metre, Spencer Giansante, and Alex Miller, discussed the agencies involved in the Academy, and the structure of the Academy throughout the 12 weeks of training. The presentation concluded with photos and video of the Academy participants in action throughout their training.
The presentation slides provided by Firefighter Paramedic Zita can be viewed here.
Firefighter/Paramedic Zita and Chief Martin answered questions from Council.
No public comments were received from online attendees or via email.
V. REPORTS AND COMMENTS
A. COUNCIL MEMBERS:
No reports
B. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Outgoing Corte Madera Town Manager Todd Cusimano introduced Interim Corte Madera Town Manager, Adam Wolff.
C. CHIEF’S COMMENTS
Chief Martin provided the following updates:
Provided an update on what has been going on around the State during wildfire season.
There are currently 8 active fires throughout the State. Cal Fire reports that around 180,000 acres have burned, and they have recorded approximately 5,000 that have ignited, since January 1st.
We have six members assigned to out of county incidents On the fire prevention side, regarding the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority (MWPA):
3 inspections are still continuing. Staff are focusing on re-inspections, which are second and third follow-ups. Then they will move on to voluntary abatements or enforcement, if needed.
Regarding the Greater Ross Valley Shaded Fuel Break: that work began on August 3rd in the San Rafael cemetery / San Anselmo Sleepy Hollow area, and then they will move on to the Corte Madera portion of the shaded fuel break, beginning in the Horse Hill area and behind the homes that divide the Scotts Valley and Meadowcrest area. The Department is continuing to look at opportunities to improve shared services.
Countywide, the fire agencies are looking at shared services for Battalion Chief coverage to provide a safety net in the event that one of the agencies gets overtaxed through incidents, injuries or the next pandemic that may happen.
No public comments were received from online attendees or via email.
VI. CONSENT CALENDAR:
Chair Beckman asked if there were public comments or requests from Council or the public for removal of items from the Consent Calendar. There were no comments received from online attendees and no comments received by email, and there were no requests were received from the Council or the public to remove items from the Consent Calendar.
Chair Beckman then called for a vote on the Consent Calendar.
MOTION: It was M/S/C (Casissa/Way) to approve Consent Calendar items VI A-C.
Roll call vote: 4-0 in favor of the motion. (Ayes: Beckman, Candell, Casissa, Way; Noes: None).
The approved Consent Calendar consisted of the following items:
A. Acknowledge and Accept Report on Preliminary Revenues and Expenditures for Fiscal Year 2021-2022
B. Acknowledge and File Accounts Payable Checks, May through July, 2022 and Transfers to Payroll Account, May through July, 2022
C. Approve Minutes of May 12, 2022 Regular Fire Council Meeting VII.BUSINESS ITEMS: None
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Beckman adjourned the Council meeting at 7:52 p.m. to the next regular meeting scheduled for November 10, 2022.
/s/
___________________________
Rebecca Vaughn, Authority Clerk
Central Marin Fire Council