Fire Safety is a huge concern for people across the nation

 

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay 

 

Fire Safety is a huge concern for people across the nation. 

Whether one lives in a huge city with a fully staffed fire department or a small rural area with a minimum staff and a huge volunteer fire department, having the equipment plus training is an absolute necessity for everyone.

The Arkansas Fire Training Academy is the official fire training institution for the state of Arkansas. The main campus is located on the grounds of Southern Arkansas University Tech in Camden, Arkansas. The Academy offers both in-house and remote training with certification for firefighters.

Small rural communities face challenges; Fire trucks fully equipped, trained personnel and water.  

In the small rural community of Holiday Island the fire department is operated by the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID). 

In 2023, the HISID board of commissioners (BOC) faced the challenge of a huge upgrade in its fleet of fire trucks and equipment. 

Years of neglect or just "kick it down the road mentality" roared NOW!
A former Fire Chief was straight forward upon arrival accessing the inadequate department. The replacement Fire Chief had all his notes and presented the same conclusion. 

A preliminary evaluation for the upcoming end-of-the-year ISO rating drove the community to insist on taking action.  

"An ISO fire rating is a score provided to fire departments and insurance companies by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The score reflects how prepared a community and area is for fires." Bank Rate

Within six months, four fire trucks, new fire hoses plus equipment for each truck, necessary equipment for a water rescue boat, radios, tires, uniforms, etc. with a spending of nearly $300K in a six month time period. This was a necessary expense for the Health and Safety of not only the community but, the surrounding communities that depend on mutual aide.

Once the proper fire fighting vehicles and equipment were at the community fire stations, the recruitment began and continues.

The local community, Holiday Island Fire Department (HIFD) currently includes a Fire Chief and three shift commanders consisting of an Assistant Chief and two Lieutenants. All are certified Firefighter 2 (FF2) and interior firefighting qualified.

The HIFD part-time firefighters consists of nine interior qualified firefighters, which is a significant increase of eight interior qualified firefighters in the last six months. 

The volunteer staff totals 25 personnel that includes two interior certified firefighters, two driver/operators, and 13 exterior firefighters and eight fire fighting support volunteers.

When asked How is the Health of the Fire Department currently?
District Manager Danny Presley replied, "The overall health of the HIFD is good in many aspects, however, HIFD needs more volunteers who are willing and able to meet the physical demands and rigorous training required for interior firefighting. We understand the commitment that is required of volunteers but, without the participation of younger volunteers, our goals are more difficult to achieve."

Chief Ates contact info is located at the HIFD website page.

"As an elder, giving support to younger citizens places my stories into the position of the Mentor and Storyteller" Circle the Wagons 

Infrastructure Water Problems are a Local and National Concern

 

Image by rony michaud from Pixabay 

Infrastructure water problems in older communities across the nation are a concern that both the Federal government and State governments are stepping-up to the plate to begin funding of major water projects in the United States.

1. Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC)
2. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law water funding
3. Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act (WIFIA)

Cities, communities, towns and counties are addressing the amount of water infrastructure problems. Some have created new positions to hire an in-house engineer or there is the standard contract labor for engineers.

Hiring an in-house engineer is costly based on the professional salary and hiring availability.
An engineering firm with their own project managers that handle multiple areas is the normal means of getting needed work done. 

Either way, these are the professionals that understand the work, have the expertise to look for the funding and the knowledge needed for filling out the paperwork for projects needed.

Over the past four months, CNj has submitted FOIA forms every month to obtain a copy of a contract between Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) and Engineering Services Inc. (ESI) Jeff Dehnhardt, P.E. (project engineer).

CNj also includes an FOIA for all paid billing statements and invoices since October 2020 to date. (4/13/2023 last FOIA request.)

The community of Holiday Island has known since January 2022 that the area has $1.4 Million in water infrastructure problems. 

The HISID board of directors (BOC) announced in December 2022, during final budget planning, that HISID did not receive the grant they had submitted for $1.4 Million. 

What is really being processed? All FOIA requests for the ESI contract and the paid billing / invoices from ESI from Oct. 2020 to April 13, 2023 return the answer every time that there are none.

This is the schedule for applying for ANRC grants, which is what the district manager states is being processed.

CNj attended a Bid Opening on April 13, 2023 for PRVs at the HISID district office just to ask Jeff Dehnhardt in person if he had a contract. His answer was NO.

The bid opening was short. There were NO bids to open.
There was NO district manager present either.

A detailed advertisement was placed one time in both the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (March 12, 2023) and the Carroll County News (March 14, 2023). 

The last contract on file for ESI Jeff Dehnhardt, P.E. was in 2017.
The contract pricing six-years-ago had the rate for a small project like PRVs at $2000 to prepare and $500 to be present for the bid opening.

Before leaving, this editor asked Jeff Dehnhardt for permission, which he granted, to ask HISID Chair Phyllis Sarratt to give this person a contract!

Her response with a giggle, "we just tell people he likes us."
Mayor Dan Kees was also present. He was on the HISID BOC in 2017. The last year that a proper contract was written with former District Manager Lawrence Blood and ESI.

Holiday Island Needs a Fire Truck

 

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay 

Arkansas does have one of the finest Open Meeting Laws in the Nation and yet, the community this article is concerning has years of difficulty understanding "How It Works."

The previous article, Smoke & Mirrors, intros into a "Special Meeting" called by the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) board of commissioners (BOC) on Monday, March 20, 2023. 

The Creekside News Journal (CNj) received the mandatory two hour notification by phone for this Special Meeting. It was later that CNj became aware that HISID had sent email notifications to the public at large. Upon arrival to this meeting, the meeting had an agenda and was conducted as a "Regular Meeting."

With a public comment section, one individual, new to the neighborhood, participated in this section to state interest in learning about the neighborhood.

This editor, also a resident, inquired about a line item printed on a submission included in the Tax Assessment Statement indicating a pay-off amount for AOB.

The District Manager (Danny Presley) and the Chair (Pat Sarratt) stated they could not comment on that topic. 

So, for the record, CNj announced that this was a "Special Meeting" being conducted as a regular session meeting. 

Fire Chief Ates gave a short presentation about a used 2007 E-ONE Typhoon Fire Truck
that is offered For Sale through Bradford Fire Apparatus.

There are exchanges between the Fire Chief and District Manager regarding email info. 
The Fire Chief took a mechanic with him to view the truck.
(CNj has receipts for that trip.) 

Discussion regarding how fortunate for the district that this truck is available that there are not other trucks available. 

(CNj does have a rather long list of other brokers selling this year and model truck.)

The BOC spent approximately an hour talking about the fire department and insurance but NOT the specifics of the truck, which was to be the "Special Meeting" topic. 

CNj got a few questions in with answers during the second comment section.
The purchase of the truck will include an engine replacement.
Hoses not included.
The odometer reading was known but not the hours of service for this truck.

 
Some points CNj was not allowed time to ask due to a comment section time restraint:

The engine replacement, a Cummins but, some of these engines have been recalled by the government and there are other issues including a flow issue. Details?
Exactly whom is the One Year warranty with for this truck purchase?
The truck is a Diesel.
Will it take off-road diesel or need to go to the White Oak Station to be filled?

Will it fit there?
One point that the Fire Chief questions: "Will it fit in Station #1?"
Why did he not know this?

According to Bradford Fire Apparatus the measurements for a 2007 E-ONE Typhoon Fire Truck: Length 33' 4"   Height 9' 4"   Width 8' 4"

The HISID BOC approved the purchase of this truck.
The HISID BOC canceled the regular business meeting for March 27, 2023, simply because the District Manager would be out of town. 

Fancy This! ~ Another Timeline: blog posts | Editorial Opininon

 

Creekside News Journal (CNj)

Smoke & Mirrors

Monday, March 6, 2023

Fancy This! ~ Another Timeline: blog posts | Editorial Opininon

While this reporter waits for news worth reporting, here is a list of blog posts that I wrote over the years, that might assist in understanding this writer.

Editorial Opinion: This Dadaist Sorts Hats

Word For The Day: Plagiarism, Copyright Infringement, Intellectual Property

Word for the Day: Social Media

Word for the Day: Executive Session

Word for the Day: Special Meeting

Note: Creekside News Journal is the Press ### notification for the 

Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District (HISID) special meetings