2021-04-12 Minutes
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – April 12, 2021
Page 1 of 4
Call to Order:
The Meridian Rural Fire Protection District meeting for April 12, 2021, was called to order at 4:07
p.m. by Commissioner Shannon. Roll call was taken.
Attendees: Commissioner Derrick Shannon, Commissioner Randy Howell, Anne Wescott with Galena
Consultants, Councilwoman Liz Strader (by telephone), Fire Chief Kris Blume, Stacy Redman,
(Facilities Project Manager for the City of Meridian), Jace Hellman, (Kuna P&Z Director), Catherine
Feistner (Kuna Assistant City Engineer) and Jared Empey (Kuna City Treasurer), Attorney John
Fitzgerald, Deputy Chief Joe Bongiorno, Deputy Chief Charlie Butterfield, Chairman Ward arrived at
approximately 4:12 p.m.
Approval of the Agenda:
Motion was made and seconded to approve the meeting agenda with New Business item number 1,
Kuna Rural Fire District Boundaries and Old Business item number 2, Impact Fee Discussion moved
to the beginning of the meeting immediately following the approval of last month’s meeting minutes.
Motion approved.
Approval of the minutes:
Motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes from the March 8, 2021, MRFPD meeting.
Motion approved.
New Business (moved to beginning of meeting)
1. Kuna Rural Fire District Boundaries - The Meridian Fire Department, the Rural Fire Protection District
Commissioners and representatives from the City of Kuna met to discuss growth and expansion into the
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District area in the southern part of Meridian’s Fire District near Kuna. It
was discovered that three projects had been submitted to the City of Kuna without review by the City of
Meridian or the Meridian Rural Fire Protection District. Discussion was held on the Kuna plan reviews
process and expectations for what Meridian would like to see when a subdivision is being built in our fire
district in that area. Deputy Chief Bongiorno explained the process Meridian uses and the representatives
from Kuna agreed it would work for them as well. Deputy Chief Bongiorno will set up a meeting, to
discuss in detail, code requirements and additional information with Scott Arellano from Fire Code
Consultants Northwest. Fire Code Consultants reviews plans for Meridian for commercial buildings and
new subdivisions. Deputy Chief Joe Bongiorno agreed to attend Planning and Zoning meetings in Kuna
when necessary and to follow-up with Kuna regarding the collection of fees. Deputy Chief Bongiorno
will check with Fire Code Consultants to see if they may be able to include hydrant testing and will
follow-up with Catherine regarding a preference on the storz caps and cul-de-sac requirements. Jared
asked about Impact fees for the District; the Meridian Rural Fire District does not currently collect
impact fees.
Attendees from Kuna left the meeting @ approx. 4:33 p.m.
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – April 12, 2021
Page 2 of 4
Old Business (moved to beginning of meeting)
1. Impact Fee Discussion, Anne Wescott. Anne distributed a report prepared by Galena Consulting
regarding Fire District impact fees and discussion followed on the contents. A few years ago when the
City of Meridian was updating their impact fees, it was decided to not include the Rural Fire District at
that time. Councilwoman Liz Strader suggested that Chief Blume reach out to the City’s Finance
Director, Todd Lavoie to inquire why the District was not included. Chief Blume will provide an update
at next month’s Rural Fire District meeting once he hears back from Mr. Lavoie.
Treasurer’s Report:
Approve and pay bills as follows:
Check #5373, City of Meridian, $103,903.62, February A, B, & C Budgets, Invoice #2787
Check #5374, John O. Fitzgerald, II, PC, $971.24, General Legal services for February 2021,
Invoice #2021-04
Check #5375, Harris CPAs, $223.35, Payroll Accounting and Charge Summary, Invoice
#90023103
Check #5376, HomeGuard Environmental LLC, $1,010.45, Asbestos Removal – Lake Hazel
Property, Invoice #000983
A motion was made and seconded to approve and pay checks numbered 5373 through 5376 as
presented. Motion approved.
US Bank March Statement and the LGIP February & March Statements were presented for review
and approval
Current net cash position is currently $4,349,427.23
Check numbers were corrected from last month’s Treasurer’s Report. Check numbers were
approved correctly, but the Treasurer’s Report needed to be corrected for the record. Check #5369
should be 5371 and check number #5370 should be 5372 on the Treasurer’s report.
Market value report received from Ada County and was handed out to the Commissioners for their
reference.
Harris CPA’s has had some turnover in their office and communication has been challenging.
Commissioner Howell will reach out to Harris CPAs to see if the communication and customer
service problems can be resolved.
Old Business:
1. Presentation and acceptance of the FY2020 MRFPD Audit, Zwygart John & Associates, CPAs, PLLC
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – April 12, 2021
Page 3 of 4
At last month’s meeting, more information was requested from Zwygart regarding the asset portion of
the FY2020 audit. Zwygart followed up with more documentation showing why the assets had
decreased for the Rural Fire District. The documents showed that the reason was due to a more accurate
reflection of what percentage the District actually owned of land and improvements. Part of the
decrease of value was due to the City repaying the District for land previously purchased by the District.
Some percentages of ownership had been corrected based on historical records of ownership and
payments. Discussion followed on the asset portion of the audit. After discussion and further
explanation and review, it was decided to proceed with the approval and acceptance of the audit which
showed that the financial records of the Meridian Rural Fire Protection District were in accordance with
the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Motion was made and seconded to accept the MRFPD FY2020 Audit as completed by Zwygart John &
Associates, PLLC. Motion approved.
2. Impact Fee Discussion, (moved to beginning of meeting)
3. Review of estimate for weed removal at the Water Tower property. Ada County Weed Abatement used
to remove and spray for weeds on the Water Tower property when the property belonged to the Idaho
Department of Lands. They have stated that they will continue to do so and charge the MRFPD for just
the cost of the supplies. Estimate is $700 annually for the preemergent and $55 for spot treatments as
needed. Motion made and seconded to accept the cost proposal for weed abatement at the Water Tower
property as presented, motion approved. Division Chief Justin Winkler will contact Ada County to
proceed with the weed abatement.
4. Fire Stations 7 & 8 –
Design is moving along well. Preliminary floorplan should be available at the next Rural meeting. Fire
Chief Blume presented the construction proposal of both stations at the April 6th, Meridian City Council
meeting. No decisions were made by the Council at that time.
An MOU for Roadway Design between the City and the District was done in 2019. The Roadway
Design MOU allowed for the City of Meridian to invoice the District for a portion of the design not to
exceed $52,300.00. This amount is not in the District’s current FY21 budget as the project was initially
projected to be completed in FY20. The updated current estimate is now at $37,300 for the District’s
share. It was asked if there is a need for a budget amendment for FY21 for the District. Attorney
Fitzgerald explained that funds can be used from the District’s Capital Improvement Fund as this cost is
part of the construction costs for station 7, and therefore no budget amendment would be needed. Once
the project is completed, the City will invoice the District.
Lake Hazel property cleanup discussion. Stacy Redmond provided 3 quotes for cleanup of the Lake
Hazel property which includes capping utilities, decommissioning of the septic and well, removal of
debris from the house which will be burned down by MFD, removal of any underground storage tanks
and testing of soil for contamination. Cleanup also includes removing other structures on the property,
the protection of irrigation pipes involved, removal of any existing concrete or pavement, etc to get the
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – April 12, 2021
Page 4 of 4
property ready for construction. The District reviewed the three proposals. Motion was made and
seconded to proceed with ESI for the cleanup of the Lake Hazel property. Motion approved.
Chief Butterfield has asked Darwin that that all equipment belonging to him that is being stored at the
Lake Hazel Property be removed by the end of June.
5. Update of Legislative Senate Bill #1048. No updates since last session.
New Business:
1. Kuna Rural Fire District Boundaries, (moved to beginning of meeting)
2. Budget notification letter has been sent to Ada County announcing the Rural Fire District’s Budget
Hearing for August 9th @ 6:00 pm.
3. No other new business.
Motion was made and seconded to adjourn the April 12, 2021, meeting of the Meridian Rural Fire
Protection District. Motion approved. The meeting was adjourned at 5:56 p.m.