Meeting Minutes

MOTION to suspend the rules for a presentation by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Gregorio.
Unanimously approved.

Chairman Gallitto presented former Commissioner Earle Roberts with a plaque in recognition of his 10 years of dedicated service to the South Fire District.

Former Commissioner Roberts thanked the Commission for the presentation and stated that it is time to take a break and step back and let new people judge the district's well being and business of the day. He plans to participate periodically.

James Mastroianni, President of South Fire District Firefighters Local 3918 read a statement regarding the Kleen Energy explosion. A copy of his statement is attached:

Good evening Chairman Gallitto, Commissioners, Chiefs, Brothers and Sisters sitting behind me, family members, and members of the public.

What an amazing and unbelievable few weeks it has been. A short few weeks ago, an unimaginable disaster happened and it happened here in South Fire District.

Sunday morning about 11:15, the on duty shift was getting ready to cook up some lunch in the kitchen. The Lieutenant was out in the back of the bay by the pickup truck when all of a sudden there was this loud bang and the ground shook so hard, it made him lose his balance. The on duty crew all gathered in the apparatus bay and started to get dress; they knew they were going out to something.

The house tones went off for an explosion in the area of River Road. The one lieutenant and six firefighters jumped on an engine and ladder truck and off they went to the unknown.

At the same time, off duty South Fire District Firefighters in the Middletown area, hearing the bang and feeling the shock wave, knew something was terribly wrong and immediately started heading to the firehouse.

On the way to River Road, the on duty Lieutenant sensing the scope of the incident, seeing the smoke cloud by the power plant, coolly and calmly started to ask important and key questions to Dispatch. The Lieutenant then started too deliberately and efficiently direct Dispatch on what other initial resources they were going to need at the scene and to start notifying all the appropriate Chief Officers from South Fire District and mutual aid companies.

Once they arrived on scene, in approximately 5 minutes, the entrance up to the plant was lined with workers waving to get up there as fast as you can, and they did. One Lieutenant and six firefighters were confronted with a scene you could not imagine.

Before them, there lie approximately a 450 by 200 foot building basically blown apart, a large gas fed fire that consumed half the back of the building, walking wounded that were yelling for help, and others screaming for help for the severely injured and for the mortally wounded. Your South Fire District Firefighters acted heroically. To quote one of your firefighters who was on the first arriving apparatus, he told me later "was I scared, you better believe it, but we knew what we had to do and we did it".

Your South Fire District Firefighters immediately started rescue operations. Getting injured people away from the building, treating the people injured, entering the building removing many of the severely injured and searching for others until they were ordered out for their own safety. To put it into a better picture, your South Fire District Firefighters were doing all what I just mentioned while a large uncontrolled fire was burning, small explosions going off and not knowing if larger ones were going to happen, the fear of building collapse at any moment and not knowing what was going to happen next. Your South Fire District Firefighters acted heroically.

By this time, just about all the rest of your South Fire District Firefighters and mutual aid companies started to arrive at the scene. The fire started to become under control, a majority of those severely injured were being treated and transported, and the Chief Officers started to take their command roles and perform them by not letting the magnitude and the stress of the incident hinder their decision making.

I am so proud of my brother and sister firefighters for how they have handled and conducted themselves from the beginning of this incident and to the present moment. You're South Fire District Firefighters worked round the clock heroically. The odd schedules and covering shifts and multi tasking functions they have been asked to do here at the firehouse and at the incident scene. At the incident scene, they were assisting by shadowing the investigators to protect them while they were investigating inside the building, crews outside the building ready to go help anyone who got injured while inside or outside the building and the recovery of damaged gas cylinders. This all was being done in a dangerous environment. Every one of your firefighters had done these requests without complaint or want of any type of recognition.

For the record, not one of the Union Members asked me to say something here tonight. As Union President, it is my duty and honor to mention all that I just did to be put into the record, of the hard work, dedication, and heroism of your South Fire District Firefighters. All your South Fire District Firefighters have acted in the highest traditions of the fire service, the going above and beyond of what is expected.

On behalf of the entire Union body, I express our deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. We offer them our support and respect. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with them.

In closing, I would like to thank on behalf of the Union the Commission during this incident, but in particular, Chairman Gallitto and Commissioner Gregorio for being here at the firehouse all day Sunday from picking up food for the firefighters and answering phones.

We would like to recognize our Chief Officers for an outstanding job in commanding this incident from the beginning to the end. Especially Deputy Chief Fongemie, for continuing the tone set by Lieutenant Handley that made the initial incident turn out the way it did.

We would like to recognize Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Krol and Union Member Deputy Fire Marshal Louie Bartolotta on their professionalism and expertise on the painstaking investigation to help determine what happened and the working with so many different agencies.

We would like to recognize all the mutual aid companies that helped us at the incident scene and here at the firehouse. They all were and still are a tremendous help.

We would like to especially recognize the good taxpayers of the District who could not be more generous. They have sent down food, repeatedly express their thanks for a job well done, and continually bestow well wishes to us. All of this we want you to know, has comforted us. We are truly honored and humbled by your support.

Lastly but most importantly, we would like to recognize and thank our families and loved ones. When this incident happened, they brought down food for all of us, changes of clothes, hugs and words of support and encouragement. We say again, thank you. They had to juggle the family commitments and the taking care of the household responsibilities without any of us, while we have been gone for long and odd amount of hours. We say again, thank you. We truly appreciate their understanding and patience. They understand the profession that we are committed to; we thank them for standing by us. They are, OUR HEROS.

I thank you for your time.

Former Commissioner Earle Roberts began by saying he appreciates the comments made by Union President Mastroianni and commented on the Kleen Energy explosion. He expressed his concerns in regards to oil being put in the tanks at the Kleen Energy site and how the the district participated in the safety of that transfer.

Mr. Roberts applauded Deputy Chief Fongemie for his efforts during the Kleen Energy incident.

Mr. Roberts read an article from the Hartford Courant regarding pipeline purging and safety regulations. (Click to view article).

Mr. Roberts commented on the receipt of the $215,000 payment from NRG and in closing wished the Commission good luck with the upcoming budget.

Dan Penney, 1101 Chamberlain Hill Road began by saying a job well done by all Firefighters and staff in regards to the Kleen Energy incident. He stated that Deputy Chief Fongemie did a great job being under the gun with cameras and reporters in his face while trying to give as much information as possible given the situation. He said it was one of the best jobs he has seen done as a Public Information Officer.

Mr. Penney continued to say that we must move on to the budget. He recommended that the drafts of the budget be posted online so the public can participate and that it remains an open process.

He also hopes the Commission looks to reduce taxes on the public and to look again at consolidation.

Mr. Penney commended the Commission on doing a better job of posting subject matter of Executive Session.

Mr. Penney also commented on the sale of the district's old pickup truck and would like an update.

Commissioners Russo-Driska and Darling abstained.

B. ANNUAL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 1, 2010
MOTION to approve minutes of February 1, 2010 Annual Meeting by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Sarcia. Unanimously approved.

Commissioner Russo-Driska abstained.

MOTION to combine both the January and February Tax Collector's report as one by
Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Russo-Driska. Unanimously approved.

Chairman Gallitto stated that as addendum to the above motion all approvals of reports
will be combined for January and February.

MOTION to approve Tax Collector's Report by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Darling.

Unanimously approved.

A. TAX REBATES
Commissioner Gregorio reported that there were no tax rebates for January.

MOTION approve tax rebates for February in the amount of $563.08 by Comm. Gregorio /Comm. Russo-Driska. Unanimously approved.

Ms. Maloney stated that in her January financial department report a major item of concern was that the manufacturing grant came in at $55,000 less than budgeted. She went on to say that the February report indicates the expenses for overtime for the Kleen Energy incident to be approximately $105,000 putting replacements and callbacks at $16,000 over budget. She stated that $100,000 of the NRG money received will go in to CNR and the remainder will stay in the general fund acting as a cushion for the $105,000 in overtime that was expended.

MOTION to approve Monthly Financial Reports by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Darling. Unanimously approved.

Before reviewing the audit report Ms. Maloney gave a brief report from Milliman on The Defined Benefit Plan. She said the plan is in pretty good shape but not earning the interest they would like it to. The recommended contribution for the year ending 2010 is $59,508.

The bill for the auditor's report this year came in at $1,000 less than last year. This is due to Ms. Maloney now being able to prepare various reports and worksheets that the auditor would normally do. The auditor also took in to consideration the financial condition of the district and reduced his fee.

B. REVIEW OF AUDIT REPORT FOR YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2009
Financial Advisor Sharon Maloney reviewed the audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 and answered questions of the Commission members.

Ms. Maloney explained in some detail the process of how the audit report is completed. The reports are government formatted reports. All of our accounting is done on a budget basis. The difference is there are certain things that have to get added into revenues when it's on the government-wide basis. She went on to explain that you take all of the income that came in for the year and the next three months and it gets added in to the year's income. We don't budget that way. We budget based on the actual year. We base it on when we actually get the money which is the proper way to do it. Therefore, some of the government-wide reports within the audit may look a little off.

Ms. Maloney continued to review various areas of the report. She commented that on June 30, 2009 our fund balance was $354,335 which is equal to approximately one month of expenses which is critically low. The reason is because for at least two years, all of the excess income over expense was used to offset the following year's expenses and that is how we kept from increasing the budgets. We can't keep doing that. We can't just have one month's worth of funds. If the NRG money hadn't come in we would have been down to approximately $200,000 after the Kleen Energy incident. One more overage and the district could run out of money.

Chairman Gallitto clarified that Ms. Maloney's recommendation is that we have three months worth of funds available.

Ms. Maloney commented on the accrued payroll entry and how it can reflect a difference in replacements and call backs based on when the auditor makes the journal entry.

She discussed specific line items. Electricity is under budget. Medical is over by $76,000. The Pension Defined Contribution came in at $53,000 under budget. Salaries were under by $56,000 and replacements and call backs were over by $151,000. Administrative salaries were under by $13,000.

Ms. Maloney stated that the bottom line was we were over budget by $8997.00.

MOTION to approve Audit Report for year ending June 30, 2009 by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Gregorio. Unanimously approved.

MOTION to approved Milliman Actuarial Report dated July 1, 2009 by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Gregorio. Unanimously approved.

Chief Badamo commented on the ISO review that the district may potentially be going under. ISO is the Insurance Services Office which sets insurance rates for a particular area. The insurance rates are based on police and fire service that you receive. We were last reviewed in 1996. He expects the review will go well and the rate we receive will be higher which will result in a lowering of the insurance costs for the taxpayers.

The city has chosen a new CAD vendor for Dispatch. They are trying to rush through it at this point due to some bond constraints with the state.

In addition, Chief Badamo reported on an accident involving Engine 30 where a vehicle crashed into a bay door and into Engine 30. Due to no security cameras and no parts left on the ground, we couldn't identify the vehicle. Except for the $250 deductible, insurance has covered the claim.

Chief Badamo gave the Commission an update on our new electric supplier, Positive Energy.

Chief Badamo commented on the Kleen Energy incident. He began by saying the day was surreal for everyone and there was an eerie silence all day. We were there for 19 days for multiple hours each day. We don't do that on a normal basis. The hazards we were presented with would be a major incident for any fire department. We rose to the challenges and had no problems overcoming those challenges. He continues to attend outside meetings regarding the incident and has appeared on Cable TV. In addition, he took a call from a Fire Chief in Carlsbad, California. They are building the same power plant there and were looking for advice. This is a national incident and is the largest gas fed explosion in the world and it happened here.

Chief Badamo went on to commend and applaud all that were involved.

As far as the overtime goes, Chief Badamo reported that a claim has been filed with the insurance company for Kleen Energy and has been accepted and is in the processing phase. He hopes we will be reimbursed relatively quickly. In speaking to representatives from O & G and Mr. Corvo, they are pushing our stuff through quicker than other parts of the claim.

Chairman Gallitto asked Chief Badamo to explain further on the claim process. Chief Badamo explained that the city has a lot more expenses than we do based on the number of agencies involved. The city felt they needed to further protect themselves by filing some form of a lawsuit to ensure that their claims were processed. Chief Badamo stated that our claims had been accepted prior to piggybacking on any city lawsuits. In the past, the city didn't allow us to piggyback on their claims. Due to this, we moved forward on our own process. As he understands it, as long as we have filed all of our paperwork within the correct time limits, we have every right to file a lawsuit if we do not get paid. Our claim is for overtime only. We had no injuries or loss of equipment.

Commissioner Darling asked Chief Badamo if he felt policies and protocols were being followed at Kleen Energy the day of the explosion. Chief Badamo said he could not comment as everything is still under investigation.

MOTION to approve Chief Edward Badamo's Report by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Darling. Unanimously approved.

Deputy Chief Krol advised the Commission that this year the district received a 10 year participation award for our participation in the Penguin Plunge.

Deputy Chief Krol commented on his conversation with the Fire Marshal in Carlsbad, CA. The difference in the power plant being built there is the placement of the turbines. They discussed issues regarding overhead power line blasting and issues that can arise as a result.

Deputy Chief Krol stated he felt it important to comment on Chief Badamo's exemplary performance as Commander in Chief of the Kleen Energy incident.

Commissioner Darling asked Deputy Chief Krol what the actual purpose was of what was being done the day of the explosion. Deputy Chief Krol explained the process of "gas blows" where they blow sections of the line from valve to valve to valve clear of debris, condensation, etc.

Commissioner Gregorio asked Deputy Chief Krol if the district will receive a copy of the final report on the blast when everything is done. Deputy Chief Krol said it will be public information but doesn't expect it any time soon.

Deputy Chief Krol responded in detail to a concern of Commissioner Sarcia's in regards to future regulations and protocols once the investigation is completed.

Chief Badamo added that the South Fire District will not write any policies stating that we will oversee any gas purging process or anything like that. That would imply that we have knowledge of the process and that we would accept liability in case of an accident or other error.

MOTION to approve Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Steven Krol's report by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Darling. Unanimously approved.

Deputy Chief Fongemie thanked the members of the public for their kind words in regards to Kleen Energy. He explained that he was so involved in what was going on that he initially had to use other resources including Al Santostefano from Middletown Fire to assist with getting information out to the public.

Deputy Chief Fongemie added that he is very proud of the Firefighters and staff for their performance during the incident. Everyone worked together and worked together well.

Training done during the month of February included SKED Stretcher training, Supplied Air Breathing Apparatus and Lock-Out/Tag-Out training.

Deputy Chief Fongemie also added that this past weekend many of our Firefighters participated in a fund-raising event for the St. Baldrick's foundation which raises money to find a cure for and treat childhood cancer. Our Firefighters raised approximately $2400.00.

MOTION to approve Deputy Chief of Operations Marc Fongemie's report by Comm. Gregorio/Comm. Russo-Driska. Unanimously approved.

Commissioner Gregorio went on to say that we will however transfer the defined benefits that are presently in the STIF account that are currently earning between .2 and .3%. They would be transferred to TD Bank which is offering a range of approximately .7%.

Commissioner Gregorio reported on the Cost Savings Committee. He is not requiring the Chief to attend these meetings. He stated that the only discussion that he feels reflects any cost savings is a recommendation to pull the Alarms Division out of the Middletown Fire Budget and pull it out of the general fund.

Commissioner Gregorio commented that the committee is amazed at how well The South Fire District manages with our budgets.

Further discussion ensued regarding the committee including Wesleyan students that were asked to do some cost saving research by Councilman Loffredo.

Commissioner Gregorio also discussed Pilot funds which came up at the last cost savings meeting. Middletown Fire District gets $107,000 of Pilot fund money. South Fire District has $198.5 million of state owned property which we receive $0 Pilot funds for. If we got the same rate the city did, we would get approximately $435,000 in Pilot funds. The only way we can get the money is to get the Legislature to change the rules. The rule now states that only one entity gets it and that's Middletown Fire.

Lastly, Commissioner Gregorio stated that right from the word go, he can't say how proud he is of everyone within our firehouse and throughout the city of Middletown who stepped up to the plate the day of the Kleen Energy explosion. It makes him very proud to be a part of the South Fire District.

Commissioner Darling reported on the Telecommunications meeting of March 1st. He said it was good to get back but not much went on. The Commission has asked for a 3 year CNR budget to be prepared. The CAD system is moving along. The cost of this one is $745,000. The Kleen Energy issue was discussed. Central dispatch took approximately 1,005 calls within the first two hours of the incident.

Commissioner Russo-Driska said it was nice to be back after being out due to surgery. She extended her thanks to everyone for their well wishes, cards and gifts. She also talked about the Kleen Energy explosion. Commissioner Russo-Driska's husband is the Deputy Director of Emergency Management who immediately responded to the scene. She thanked Commissioner Gregorio and Chairman Gallitto for their efforts that day on behalf of the Commission. Based on the information she received from her husband, he said he was amazed at the Command and the superior job that was done by our staff and Firefighters. She is very proud at how our district responded. She added that the Commission would like to sponsor a breakfast to say thank you. They are thinking of Saturday May 1st at this point.

Chairman Gallitto said there have been many questions posed to him regarding how the Kleen Energy incident will affect the district with regards to taxes. He stated that back in 2003, the city of Middletown negotiated the tax abatement plan with Kleen Energy in which the South Fire District is recognized. To date, we have realized a simple total of approximately $41,000. Due to the plant not being operational by July 1st, we will levy taxes based on an under construction assessment of $40,919,290.00 plus $3,035,170.00 for the water plant so we will realize some tax benefit.

Chairman Gallitto went on to say that it is our hope that through the contacts that the Chief and the district have made with Kleen Energy and their subsidiaries, we will be reimbursed for the overtime and will not have to go the route of a lawsuit.

Chairman Gallitto extended his thanks to everyone involved in the Kleen Energy incident. He commended the district and the officers on what a wonderful job they did and they were nothing short of amazing.

MOTION to accept Firefighter Michael Reiss off of one year probation as a permanent Firefighter of the district by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Gregorio. Unanimously approved.

Present in Executive Session were Commissioners Gallitto, Russo-Driska, Gregorio, Sarcia and Darling and Chief Badamo.

Executive Session was over at 9:15 p.m.

MOTION to increase the salary of Cheryl Creem from $18.85 per hour to $19.25 per hour, Kathy Kiley from $15.00 to $15.25 per hour, Deputy Chief Marc Fongemie an increase of 2.5% with a merit of 1% on top of that, Deputy Chief Krol 1.5% increase with a merit of 1% on top of that and Chief Badamo a 3% increase with a 3% merit on top of that. All increases to be effective July 1, 2010 by Comm. Russo-Driska/Comm. Darling. Unanimously approved.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:19 p.m.

Cheryl H. Creem
Recording Secretary