El Medio directors wait for LAFCO help
Board meets, takes no action to close fire station
OROVILLE » The El Medio Fire Protection board of directors met Wednesday to discuss actions needing to take place following the closure of the department on Dec. 25.
Board clerk Vanessa Burdette said that the board is still waiting to meet with the Local Agency Formation Commission regarding the necessary steps to take.
Information regarding debt and future meetings was presented to the board on Wednesday, however no actions were taken.
Burdette said the process has been delayed by both the holiday season as well as COVID-19 illnesses and quarantine restrictions for board members but hopes to have an answer in the next couple of weeks.
Board members are uncertain of what to do or how to go about closing procedures, an answer that will not come until a meeting with LAFCO, Burdette said.
Needed advice includes how the department should deal with the $294,000 debt it owes for fire engines, as well as dues for Engine 3 which is still in repair. Burdette said she was unaware of a cost or timeline for the repair of the engine.
In addition to the advice on repairs, the directors are requesting LAFCO’s help on how to go about discarding the station’s list of asset’s as they belong to the department so they cannot just be thrown away.
Burdette said that prior to Wednesday’s meeting she was at the station wiping down desks and countertops as they had not been touched since the firefighters’ final day on Christmas. She said water tender operator Steve Terry, who works with Oroville Rescue Mission, cleaned out the fridge at the station as trash began to pile up.
The board of directors is planning to request the removal of six full time staff from their insurance policy to reduce the rate they announced Wednesday, however the board still plans to keep the station fully insured and covered, Burdette said Thursday.
Burdette said that she is addressing a letter to the union lawyer requesting access to the department’s Microsoft and Quickbooks as well as Emergency Reporting. The Emergency Reporting is necessary in case incident reports are requested, she said.
If any board member meets with LAFCO prior to the next scheduled board meeting on Feb. 10, the agenda will be posted on the Sunday prior to the Wednesday meeting by the El Medio Fire Protection District.
“They’re hoping to meet soon and we will provide updates when a meeting is scheduled in order to answer questions,” Burdette said over the phone Thursday. “Apparently we are still waiting on the city of Oroville to propose a possible contract to help us out and give an update on that as we still have not heard back on any potential contract with the city.”