Metro Chiefs Executive Board Meeting May 13, 9:30 am Executive Board Dinner & Meeting Agenda Hyatt Regency Long Beach, 200 South Pine Avenue Executive Board Members Present Ken Block, President Rhoda Mae Kerr, Vice President Maurice Kemp, Secretary Otto Drozd, Treasurer Jon Hannan, Board Member Shorty Bryson, Senior Board Member Teresa Deloach Reed, Alternate Board Member Larry Few, Immediate Past President Staff Support Members Present Luther Fincher, IAFC/NFPA Board Representative Ken LaSala, IAFC Liaison Russ Sanders, Executive Secretary Long Beach Staff Mike DuRee Rich Brandt Arantxa Chavarria Call to Order President Block called the meeting to order at 9:30 am. He thanked Chief DuRee for his team s hospitality and efforts to make the Metro Chiefs 2016 conference a success. He also recognized Chief Sanders efforts. Overview of the Long Beach Conference Chief DuRee introduced his planning team to the Metro Chiefs Board. He also reviewed the overall plan of conference activities. The conference has 117 chiefs attending, along with 53 sponsors. The conference is expected to produce a surplus.
2017 Orange County Conference Update Treasurer Drozd announced that the Metro Chiefs 2017 conference would take place in Orange County, Florida from April 7 to April 14 at the Hyatt Regency hotel. He has a website and video ready to launch. President s Report President Block announced that he attended the following meetings: July 2015 - NFPA 1710 meeting in Chicago. Aug 31 Sept 6, 2015 - CTIF meeting in Zagreb with Chief Fincher. Fall - Went to Copenhagen to discuss Metro Chiefs issues October 2015 - NFPA Responders Forum January 2016 Executive Board meeting in Salt Lake City March 2016 Meeting with IAFF leadership in Washington DC Chief Block also is participating in NFPA committee on decontaminating duty gear. Chief Block also gave an update on the spread of presumptive cancer legislation around the world. In Australia, almost 100% of firefighters are covered by presumptive legislation. In Canada, only two provinces do not have presumptive legislation. In the United States, more states are adopting the legislation: Kentucky recently passed legislation and Georgia s governor regrettably vetoed a bill at the last minute, despite a large fire service effort including a trip by Chief Block to Georgia to advocate on the legislation s behalf. European nations are beginning to examine the issue; Chief Block is working with Germany and the Scandinavian countries on this issue. FirstNet Update Chief Jeff Johnson, a FirstNet board member, updated the Metro Chiefs Board. FirstNet issued its RFP for a commercial partner in January. FirstNet expects to award the contract by November 1. It hopes to deploy the network in 2018. After the contract is awarded, FirstNet will have to present the state plans. State governors will have to decide to accept the plan; do nothing and let FirstNet build its network; or reject the plan and build the state s own network to FirstNet s requirements. FirstNet wants to make sure that public safety organizations in large metropolitan areas participate in the governors decisions. He also discussed the statutory requirement that public safety agencies vacate their T-Band spectrum. At this point, the Federal Communications Commission will have to answer basic questions about how the transition will be implemented. Organizations, like the IAFC, are educating Congress about the problems that the T-Band transition will create.
Vice President s Report As Vice President of the Metro Chiefs and IAFC President and Chair of the Board, Chief Kerr represented IAFC and Metro Chiefs at a number of functions: February 2016 Testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the fire and EMS perspective to terrorism response. March 2016 Testified before the House Homeland Security Committee s Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications Subcommittee about terrorism response, homeland security grants, and information sharing March 2016 Attended the meeting with IAFF leadership March 2016 Attended the IAFC Board meeting in Reno, Nevada. April 2016 Gave interviews to the Wall Street Journal and The Hill with Chief John Sinclair (IAFC 1 st Vice President) and Chief Tom Jenkins (IAFC 2 nd Vice President). This IAFC delegation also met with their Congressional staff to advocate for funding for federal fire service programs. May 2016 Attended National Fire and Emergency Services dinner and met with the leadership of the National Volunteer Fire Council. Vice President Kerr has a busy travel itinerary for the rest of her term as IAFC President and Chair of the Board, including attending Fire-Rescue Med, the IAFC s Hazmat conference, the Western Fire Chiefs forum, Wingspread, the Great Lakes Division s meeting and Fire-Rescue International. Vice President Kerr announced that the January Metro Chiefs Board meeting will be held in her hometown of Austin, Texas. She also thanked Executive Secretary Sanders for his help in managing the educational program for the 2016 Metro Chiefs Conference. Secretary s Report Secretary Kemp reported that the Metro Chiefs have 105 Metro Chiefs and 95 Senior members. Treasurer s Report O. Drozd Treasurer Drozd reported that the the carryover from last year was $574,050.38. So far, revenue has been $40,100 ($51,260 budgeted) and expenses have been $10,273 ($28,110 budgeted.) The total balance is $603,877.38. Treasurer Drozd also reported that he attended the NFPA 1616, Standard for Mass Evacuation and Sheltering meeting. He also represents the Metro Chiefs on the IAFC s
UAV task force. In addition, he is working with Chief Dennis Compton and Dr. Lori Moore-Merrill to integrate EMS into NFPA 1001, Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications. Board Member s Report Chief Hannan reported that the NFPA Communications Committee meeting was delayed. He also reported that the Accreditation Commission met in Orlando and is meeting again at FRI. Senior Board Member s Report Chief Bryson updated the board on the status of the revision to NFPA 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments. He will present new developments about the Labor-Management Alliance at the conference. He emphasized the importance of continuing a close relationship with the IAFF. Alternate Board Member s Report Chief Reed attended last year s Emergency Responders Forum and updated the Metro Chiefs Board on its progress. The forum is just getting established and developing its mission. The forum members will meet again at the NFPA conference in June. Immediate Past President s Report Immediate Past President Few thanked the Metro Chiefs for the opportunity to serve as their president and serve on its board of directors. Last year, he attended the CFOA meeting in London and gave a presentation about devolution. He also attended the Global Fire Service Leadership meeting in South Africa and met with the South African Fire Service Institute. IAFC-NFPA Board Representative s Report IAFC International Director Fincher updated the Metro Chiefs Board of Directors about recent discussions at the IAFC about the role of divisions and sections. There is a new group examining the role of sections on which Chiefs Fincher and Sanders are representing the Metro Chiefs. It is not expected to affect the Metro Chiefs. Chief Fincher also attended the following events: August 31 September 6, 2015 CTIF Executive Board meeting in Zagreb, Croatia. This was his last meeting representing the Metro Chiefs and the U.S. Fire Service.
November 11-15, 2015 Attended the IAFC VCOS Symposium in the Sun in Clearwater Beach, Florida. March 5-10, 2016 Attended the IAFC Board of Directors meeting in Reno, Nevada. April 14 Attended the funeral of Past IAFC President and Metro Chief David Hilton of Cobb County, Georgia. He also discussed the following proposed donations that will be considered by the Metro Chiefs membership during the business meeting: Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition - $1,500 Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation - $3,500 National Fallen Firefighters Foundation - $5,000 IAFC Liaison s Report Mr. LaSala announced that the Metro Chiefs meeting at FRI will be on August 19 at 10:00 am. It will be followed by a luncheon sponsored by Zoll. He also discussed a potential resolution in support of the Urban Search and Rescue System. In addition, he discussed the possibility of reviewing pro-rating membership dues for Metro Chiefs who join the organization within six months of the renewal of their IAFC dues. Executive Secretary s Report Executive Secretary Sanders updated the Metro Chiefs Board on the Emergency Responders Forum and the draft paper on civil defense. He stated that he is coordinating the Metro Chiefs dinner for FRI on August 19. He also announced that the Urban Fire Forum will take place on September 20-22, 2016. He also discussed the need for the Metro Chiefs to purchase a new set of awards to hand out. Executive Secretary Sanders also discussed the need to renew the Memorandum of Understanding with the National Association of State Fire Marshals. The original MOU was signed in 2009. NASFM would like to work with the Metro Chiefs on a project concerning safety at construction scenes. Executive Secretary Sanders has the following travel itinerary: June 2016 - Global Fire Leadership Alliance July 25-30, 2016 Institution of Fire Engineers meeting in London, United Kingdom. September 6-10, 2016 CTIF meeting in Helsinki with Chief Kerr. September 10-14 CFOA meeting in Birmingham, United Kingdom with Chief Block. January 2017 Winter Metro Chiefs Executive Board meeting in Austin, TX. Old Business No old business.
New Business President Block and Vice President Kerr requested an exception to pay for upgraded travel status for international travel. They will provide cost estimates for the flights. Adjourn Chief Bryson made a motion to adjourn at 1:20 pm, which was seconded by Chief Kemp. The motion was unanimously accepted.