The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular monthly board meeting Nov.16. All board members were in attendance. Richard Shearer, legal counsel for the district and his co-counsel, Paige Mackey-Murray, were also present. Fire Chief Trent Harwig was not present.CorrespondenceDeputy Chief Jeff Petersma reported that the district has received a letter from the Insurance Services Office confirming a new ISO rating of 3/10 effective Feb. 1, 2017. The improved rating is the result of an ISO audit conducted in August, and could mean lower home insurance premiums for some district residents.Petersma said any occupancy within five road miles of an FFPD station or within five road miles of a recognized station belonging to an automatic aid partner qualifies for an ISO rating of 3. Currently, ratings for occupancies within five road miles of a station are a 5, if there is also a fire hydrant within 1,000 feet, or a 7 in areas without hydrants. Occupancies farther than five road miles from a recognized station will still be rated as a 10.Treasurerís reportPetersma reported that the fiscal year was 83 percent complete as of Oct. 31. The district has received 99 percent of its anticipated revenue. General fund expenditures are at 73 percent, but there are upcoming expenditures for truck-mounted equipment and items related to buildings and grounds maintenance.Chiefís reportPetersma reported that reservists have logged more than 8,000 standby hours so far in 2016. By comparison, only 769 reservist standby hours were logged in all of 2015.StatisticsFFPD logged 161 calls for service in October, which represents a 14.8 percent decrease in call volume, compared to 189 calls in October 2015. Even with this decrease, the year-to-date total of 1,715 represents a 4.1 percent increase over the same period in 2015.Pension boardAll current pension board trustees were in attendance.The district sent a letter to all current volunteer pension recipients and eligible members requesting letters of interest to fill the pension board seat vacated by Mike Collins when he was appointed to the district board. Rex Weir, a founding member of the department, was appointed to fill the vacancy.The pension board voted to request an actuarial study to determine the feasibility of monthly pension amounts of $520, $540 and $560.Resolution P11162016-1 warranting payment of pension benefits as set forth in the resolution was unanimously approved.The pension board approved the 2017 budget for the volunteer pension fund.Next yearís pension board meeting dates will be May 17 and Nov. 15.U.S. Highway 24/Old Meridian Road intersectionDirector Tom Kerby reported that the county is proceeding with the hard design for this intersection. He also noted that county crews had been ìpotholingî various utilities during the week prior to the board meeting. Director Dan Kupferer said the county needs to take into account the ballot box location in the Station 3/HQ parking lot, as well as the additional traffic volume generated during this yearís presidential election.Station 4Kupferer reported that the exterior walls have been framed, fiber optics installation has been started, and prep work for curbs and gutters has begun.Board members raised questions about a change order for the Station 4 project. Following extensive discussion, directors authorized payment of the change order only after Chief Harwig has verified all items in the change order and received satisfactory explanations of the charges.2017 budgetThe 2017 budget hearing will be held at the boardís next meeting on Dec. 14, which is one week earlier than usual in order to meet the statutory deadline.
