Warwick Emergency Services Alliance
(WESA)
315 Clay Road
P.O. Box 308
Lititz, PA 17543-0308
(Lancaster County)

Board of Directors

Meeting Minutes / Action Items

April 17, 2006

Attendance:      All member organizations were represented at the meeting which was held at Warwick Township starting at 7 p.m.

People Profile Program – discussed program and lack of participation and the need to change the manner in which we utilize the space provided by the Lititz Record.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator will produce an informational article on a monthly basis in the Lititz Record based on topics provided by the member organizations or on a safety related topic if no information is provided by the members.

Radio Project Equipment Surveys – discussed current status of the project within Lancaster County and the funding that will be necessary for the member organizations to purchase equipment.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator to produce a list that shows the number and type of equipment that will be needed by WESA organizations and project cost for same to be distributed to all member organizations.

EMA Update – members were provided an update on EMA activities by the Administrator and Dan Zimmerman. EMA currently holds a quarterly meeting to discuss training and activities related to plan updates.

ACTION ITEM – Mike Smith from Lititz Fire Company requested that all updates be made available to the member organizations in electronic format. Administrator will confirm with EMA that this is available and desired.

LOSAP Update – Administrator and Dan Zimmerman provided information in regard to the current status of the program and insured the Board of Directors that this program is still under review. Discussion took place in regard to programs in place in NJ and NY and the need to continue research at the DCED level post our last meetings with Dean Fernsler from DCED.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator to follow up with Dean Fernsler to seek additional information from DCED in regard to their current findings on this program.

Strategic Planning Process – Rothsville Fire and Ambulance – Administrator has held an additional meeting with the member organization and there will be one additional meeting to complete this project and write the plan.

ACTION ITEM – Complete and share the results of the strategic plan with the Board of Directors for all organizations to learn and benefit from.

EMS Week Festivities – Administrator discussed activities that will be occurring at the Heart of Lancaster Hospital during EMS Week. A meeting was held with the ambulance organizations within WESA to discuss these activities and the main event will be held on Saturday May 20^th from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Recruitment and Retention – there was a great deal of discussion in this area and the need to focus on this area and move forward with the various ideas discussed as soon as possible, therefore the following actions items came out of the discussion:

ACTION ITEMS – Administrator will form a recruitment and retention sub committee of the member organizations and hold meeting(s) to implement ideas and programs in regard to this area. Member organizations to provide the name of their representative to this group no later than Friday May 12, 2006.

                        Administrator to implement 1-800 FIRE LINE program through signage, brochures and newspaper press release.

State Act 13 Grant Application – there was discussion in regard to the feasibility of compiling a joint grant application for recruitment and retention. After discussion it was determined that this would not be possible under this particular program.

Auditor Services – Rothsville Fire and Ambulance is currently seeking the services of a firm to perform auditing services for their organization. A discussion was held in regard to what other member companies do in this situation, who do they use and would there be a potential cost savings to look at a joint effort in this area.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator will develop and send out a survey to gauge interest of the member organizations in regard to Auditor services.

Traffic Emitters for Ambulance Member Organizations – Board held a discussion in regard to the pros and cons of placing the devices in ambulance vehicles. The consensus of all in attendance was that we should proceed forward with the development of a plan to install the devices in ambulance vehicles.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator will survey ambulance organizations to obtain the number of necessary emitters and develop cost analysis for the project. As well, Administrator will assist Brunnerville Fire Company with the completion of their emitters into the fire apparatus.

Warwick Township Fall Newsletter Publication – discussion was held in regard to compiling a general statistical report WESA wide for the call volume, training hours, etc for all WESA organizations for the prior year. This information would then be published in the fall to give the public a complete picture of the time spent by the volunteers throughout the year.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator will produce the article based on the information provided by the member organizations. All organizations need to submit a 2005 year end report to the Administrator for inclusion (Rothsville Fire and Ambulance is complete).

General Discussion Items / Requests – Mike Smith from Lititz Fire Company requested that the mailing names and information be confirmed for Lititz Fire Company to insure proper distribution. As well, Mike requested that minutes of the Board Meeting be produced with action items noted and distributed to the Board Members.

ACTION ITEM – Administrator will insure that the mailing address for Mike Smith is updated and Administrator will produce minutes of the meeting as requested.

                        Ron Oettel from Lititz Fire Company mentioned that there is still a need for the Fire Chief’s to meet and discuss items such as training standards that would be outside of WESA meetings.

Municipal Requests to Administrator – as a result of the discussion at the Board Meeting in addition to the items already covered the following additional action items came out of the municipal government leaders to be worked by the Administrator:

ACTION ITEM – Review how many municipalities are using the municipal service tax and are they using the funds toward emergency services.

                        Establish a process for buying material on a bulk basis. Review the current options available under the Lancaster County Co-op Program.

The minutes have been prepared to the best of my recollection and notes from the meeting of this date. If I have missed anything or reported an area in error please bring the correction to my attention as soon as possible.

Respectively Submitted,

Scott K Ryno

Administrator

Warwick Emergency Services Alliance