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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Garden City Fire District Board Meeting

Chris Coray, Reporter
Rich Civic Times


GARDEN CITY, Utah, Fire Board Meeting October 17, 2013.The governing board of the Garden City Fire District held its regular monthly meeting October 17, 2013, at the Garden City fire station.  Present were Terry Allen, Randall Knight, Perry Wakefield, Christina Gracey, and Travis Hobbs.

The remaining funds from the $14,000+ wild land grant will be used for personal gear for existing and future firefighters.  In the same vein, unused funds received from the Laketown Canyon propane spill and from the annual pancake breakfast will be used for equipment based on recommendations of the firefighters.
 
Unless there is a formal change to the current formal policy of the board, attendance at board meetings must be in person and not electronically for a member to be counted as present.

Discussions are continuing on pending changes to the policy manual for firefighters concerning a mandatory drug testing program and a collection of driving data from the Utah DMV.

At the next regular meeting in November, the 2013 budget will be opened to allow accounting for grants received, insurance reimbursements, etc.  When an existing budget is opened a public hearing is required and will occur on the same evening as the regular meeting in November.  This is not a hearing about the 2014 budget but is a legal requirement to allow modifications to the 2013 budget.

The fire department has a useful web site, gardencityfire.us  The web site will be operated and maintained by Joey Stocking.  The annual cost for providing the server and monthly maintenance is $360.

Fire Chief Dan Kurek attended his last meeting and his last day of work was October 18.  A description of the position of fire chief, which is now open, has been sent to newspapers in SLC, Ogden, Logan, and is on many electronic forums.  Applications will be accepted until November 8.  Assistant Chief Mike Wahlberg will handle administrative duties until a new chief is named.  Additionally, the terms of 3 board members expire (Allen, Knight, Hobbs) at the end of this year.  Postings announcing these openings will be done in November. There was some discussion about whether Garden City proper has the right to directly appoint one member to the board.  Tom Weston, county commissioner, who attended the meeting, did not think this was the law and wanted to check with the county attorney.  Chief Kurek believes that it is the law.  A copy of a section of Utah State Law that may be applicable is immediately below this paragraph, in italics.
 
Chapter 1
Special Service District Act
Section 303
Election or appointment of administrative control board members.           
17D-1-303.   Election or appointment of administrative control board members.
            (1) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b)(iii), a county or municipal legislative body that creates an administrative control board may provide for board members to be elected or appointed, or for some members to be elected and some appointed.
            (2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), each member of an administrative control board shall be elected or appointed as provided for the election or appointment, respectively, of a member of a board of trustees of a local district under Title 17B, Chapter 1, Part 3, Board of Trustees.
            (b) (i) A municipality or improvement district under Title 17B, Chapter 2a, Part 4, Improvement District Act, may appoint one member to represent it on an administrative control board created by a special service district if:
            (A) the special service district was created by a county;
            (B) the special service district provides the same service as the municipality or improvement district; and
            (C) the special service district includes some or all of the area included within the municipality or improvement district.
            (ii) An institution of higher education for which a special service district provides commodities, services, or facilities may appoint the number of members of an administrative control board of that special service district that are equal in number to at least 1/3 of the total number of board members.
            (iii) With respect to an administrative control board created for a special service district created by a county of the first class to provide jail service as provided in Subsection 17D-1-201(10), the county legislative body shall appoint:
            (A) three members from a list of at least six recommendations from the county sheriff;
            (B) three members from a list of at least six recommendations from municipalities within the county; and
            (C) three members from a list of at least six recommendations from the county executive.
Enacted by Chapter 360, 2008 General Session
The department Christmas Party will be Dec 4, after the public hearing on the 2014 budget.   
The board conducted a preliminary 2014 budget review, item by item, and members were invited to study and bring recommendations to the next meeting.
Meeting adjourned.

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