River Falls First Responders,
Inc.
Business Meeting
6:15 p.m.
Present:
M. Milder, J.
Covelli, D. Gedatus, M. Waters, C. Clement, T. Heineman, V. Nygaard,
D. Dartch, M.
Brehmer, D. Keatley, S. Nygaard, M. Ward, T. Sorenson, D. Johnson,
D. Wilkens
Excused: J. Rixmann
Unexcused: S. Ward, Z. Ward
Approval of previous
meeting minutes: Motion made by D.
Dartch to accept minutes as written; second by S. Nygaard. Motion
carries unanimously.
Item 1: Treasurer’s
Report:
As of November 20 2002,
there is $1,281.29 in our checking account.
Item 2:
Administrative Director’s Report:
Excused absence.
¨ You must be identified at every scene, remember to wear your
reflective vest at all times.
¨ Stay on the scene until the ambulance crew has released
you. You never know when they may need
extra help.
Item 3: President’s
Report:
¨ Financial update: Pagers that still need to be purchased
will cost $2,500. If there is not enough
money in the account, RFFR will consider using the loan that is available.
Motorola has agreed to not bill us for 60 days.
Wal Mart Corporation has assigned a $1,200 donation, but Wal Mart
requests the IRS to electronically confirm RFFR as a 501 (c) (3)
corporation. J. Covelli spoke with the
IRS and they indicated RFFR will be listed in Publication 78 in January 2003. Shopko donated $1,000.
¨ On December 18, 2002, new Responders will be receiving their
Mantoux shots and either provide proof of Hep B vaccinations or sign a
waiver. The Mantoux will also be offered
to any responders who have not had the shot in 2002. If you have had the shot in 2002 already, Dr.
Goblirsch is not requiring you have the shot again until December 2003. If the shot is refused, a waiver must be
signed. Mantoux tests for TB exposure.
¨ Discussion about establishing a Financial Audit Committee
due to the fact that we must report our finances to the City of River Falls by
the end of January 2003. T. Sorenson, D.
Gedatus, and D. Johnson will spearhead.
A motion was made by T. Heineman to establish a committee to meet after
the end of the year to audit our financials. Seconded by D. Johnson. Motion
carries unanimously.
¨ Discussion about establishing a Personnel Committee. The committee would be responsible for
responder candidate interviews, filling positions within the personnel roster,
and handling all personnel matters.
Based on a group discussion, it was agreed that the committee would
consist of the Executive Board (Administrative Director, President, Vice
President, Secretary & Treasurer) and Captain for the respective
township. This committee would meet once
a year at minimum and as required. A
motion was made by M. Waters to establish a Personnel Committee and was
seconded by T. Sorenson. Motion Carries unanimously.
¨ The AED’s will be ready to go in the field as soon as we get
approval from the State. We are approved
as an organization to have them, but each Responder that will have them in
their possession must be licensed by the State, each Responder was asked to
fill out a form for J. Covelli to send in and once we get approval, Responders
can start using them. A second batch of
responder applications will be mailed on
¨ M. Waters is inquiring about obtaining updated maps of respective
townships.
¨ J. Covelli has written up a tentative budget for 2003. This budget will be posted on the meeting
bulletin board in the ambulance hallway.
If you should have any questions, please contact him. The 2003 operating budget will be voted on by
the membership at the
¨ Holding a financial donor appreciation event was
discussed. The group thought that this
would be a good idea to have in the first part of the year. Most likely this will be coordinated with
River Falls Ambulance when they host an open house following delivery of the
new ambulance and trauma trailer.
¨ EMT classes are set to start in January. There is approximately 6-8 First Responders
that are taking the class. The deadline
to enroll was last Friday, but if you are interested, contact J. Rixmann to see
if any availability exists to join.
¨ There are two amendments to the RFFR Bylaws that were
discussed, one of which was to add “Training Reimbursement”. With RFFRs securing its funding from
community donations, it must act in a responsible manner with use of
funds. Prior to starting new responder
training, the individual must provide a minimum two year commitment to
RFFRs. On behalf of the individual,
RFFRs agrees to sponsor them and pay agreed upon costs. In the event a responder does not fulfill the
two year commitment regardless of reason, they would be responsible to
reimburse the organization within ten days of notice being provided. Payment terms may be arranged should
reimbursement present a financial hardship for the responder, but in all cases
shall not exceed 60 days. Tuition,
training, and book material costs are examples of reimbursable items. A motion was made by M. Waters to allow the
reimbursement as follows: 100% reimbursement
if one year or less of active duty, 50% reimbursement if more than one year but
less than two years of active duty, and 0% reimbursement if more than two years
active duty. Seconded by T.
Sorenson. Motion Carries unanimously. The
second amendment discussed was adding the “Captain Positions” to the Board of
Directors. Captains in each town are
responsible to coordinate the placement of AED’s, medical equipment,
communications equipment, and general knowledge of First Responder availability. Motion made by M. Brehmer to accept the
addition of captain positions to be on the Board of Directors. Seconded by D. Keatley. Motion
Carries unanimously.
¨ J. Raehsler is working with Fleet Farm to provide jumpsuits
to FR at low cost (approximately $25).
Updates to come at future meetings.
¨ K. Bennett and Mary Waters have offered to attend a four-day
training to be a car seat safety technician.
If anyone is interested in attending, please let J. Covelli or J.
Rixmann know.
¨ Current Responders are using the Motorola Minitor III pagers
and they do not receive the radio traffic on the
¨ There have been two recent resignations – S. Bilike in
Kinnickinnic and S. Heineman in Clifton.
A motion was made by D. Dartch to accept the resignation. Seconded by D. Gedatus. Motion
Carries unanimously.
Item 4: Vice
President’s Report:
¨ D. Gedatus had the opportunity to act as a First Responder
for first aid at a basketball game (this was perceived by outside sources as a
welcome and beneficial service). There
is a December tournament where the FR’s have an opportunity to attend a game as
a FR. D. Gedatus will coordinate dates
and times with J. Rixmann and a sign-up sheet will be made available for those
interested in participating.
¨ The Tri-County meeting is Thursday, November 21, 2002 in
Milltown. For those wishing to go, the
ambulance will be leaving at 5:15 p.m.
D. Gedatus stressed that everyone is welcome to attend.
Item 5: Secretary’s
Report:
None.
Item 6: Training
Officer’s Report:
¨ L. Ross will be receiving a copy of the training requests of
the FR. If there are any additions or
concerns, please let M. Brehmer know.
Kinnic/Pleasant
Valley: The rebate for the AED’s was presented at the
last town meeting. There was a personal
donation of $100 from a resident to go towards oxygen equipment presented for
the FR’s.
Town of
Troy: The rebate check
for the AED was presented at the last meeting.
The five new FR’s were introduced.
Item 8: Open Discussion:
¨ Candy bar sales have been going well. There were 48 cases to sell and as of today
39 boxes have been sold. We have made
$828 so far with 9 boxes more to sell.
Once these are sold, we will have made $1, 296 profit.
¨ Nextel phone users were asked to put their cell phone number
on a sign-up sheet. The goal is to have
everyone’s number stored in each user’s phone so that it will be easier to
contact them if needed. Nextel phones
will be installed in each ambulance in December.
¨ The code for the ambulance bay will be changing on
Adjourn
meeting: A motion was made by D. Wilkens
to adjourn the meeting, seconded by V. Nygaard.
Motion carried unanimously.
Adjourn at 7:10 p.m.
Next business meeting:
A reminder that mandatory
Hazardous Materials training is December 18, 2002 from
6 p.m. to 10 p.m. A RN from RFAH will start at
Respectfully
submitted,
Valerie Nygaard