2021-09-13 Minutes
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – September 13, 2021
Page 1 of 3
Call to Order:
The Meridian Rural Fire Protection District meeting for September 13, 2021, was called to order at 4:00
p.m. by Commissioner Ward. Roll call was taken.
Attendees: Commissioner Marvin Ward, Commissioner Derrick Shannon, Commissioner Randy
Howell, Fire Chief Kris Blume, Deputy Chief Charlie Butterfield, Attorney John Fitzgerald,
Councilwoman Liz Strader (by telephone), Battalion Chief Tyler Rountree and Scott Arellano from Fire
Code Consultants Northwest
Approval of the Agenda:
Motion was made and seconded to approve the meeting agenda as presented. Motion approved.
Approval of the minutes:
Motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes from the August 9, 2021, MRFPD meeting.
Motion approved.
Treasurer’s Report:
Approve and pay bills as follows:
Check #5391, City of Meridian, $101,312.47, July 2021 A, B, & C Budgets, Inv. #2824
Check #5392, City of Meridian, $30,300.00, Lake Hazel Roadway Design Services, Invoice
#2828
Check #5393, ESI, $31,497.21, Lake Hazel Demolition and property cleanup
Check #5394, Fire Code Consultants Northwest, $982.31, Inspection Fees, Invoice #92749
Check #5395 ICRMP, $1,715.00, Liability Insurance, Invoice #08146-2022-1
Check #5396, John O. Fitzgerald, II, PC, $941.24, General Legal services for August 2021,
Inv. #2021-09
Motion was made and seconded to approve and pay checks numbered 5391 through 5396 as
presented. Motion approved.
Current net cash position is currently $4,409,610.20.
US Bank Statements for June and July and LGIP Statements for July and August were presented for
reconciliation and review.
Commissioner Howell asked John Fitzgerald to review the ICRMP changes that were sent to him
with the liability insurance invoice.
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – September 13, 2021
Page 2 of 3
Old Business:
1. Update on possible land donation to the Rural Fire District, Chief Blume. The parcel does fall in the
MRFPD boundaries, however, there is currently no city utilities available in that area which is a
consideration for the donation. The Mayor requested an analysis be done to determine if this location is
even the best location for a fire station before accepting. Chief Blume is working on the analysis and
will report back when that is available.
2. Update on Kuna merge proposal, Chief Blume. Chief Blume discussed the possible merger with Mayor
Simison and it was determined that the City is not interested in pursuing a merger with Kuna Fire.
3. Update on MRFPD election process for Sub-districts 1 & 3. There were no candidates that submitted
paperwork for sub-district 3 other than the incumbent, Commissioner Ward. No qualifying paperwork
was received for sub-district 1 and that position will need to be appointed by the Commission in
January, 2022. No election will need to be held in November of 2021.
New Business:
1. Consultant agreement with MRFPD and Fire Code consultants Northwest, Scott Arellano. Scott
Arellano provided a copy of the existing agreement between the District and Fire Code Consultants that
was drafted in 2013. With the recent growth to the south of Meridian near Kuna, Fire Code Consultants
has been asked to perform some new services such as fire flow testing and secondary access evaluations.
Fire Code Consultants would like to modify the existing contract to reflect these new services. After
review of the revised agreement, Attorney Fitzgerald commented that the original agreement provided
for a 60-day written notice to terminate; the new one provides for 30 days. The other item noted was
that the original contract provided for an 8-day turnaround time, which has been changed to a 10-day
turnaround. Attorney Fitzgerald suggested those changes be discussed. He would also like to see
verbiage in the new contract stating that this agreement supersedes and replaces the previous agreement.
Discussion followed. Scott Arellano will make the requested changes and provide an updated agreement
for the District by their next meeting.
2. Budget request with possible amendment for nine firefighters for fiscal year 2022, Chief Blume. With
the approval to construct Fire Station 7 & 8, Meridian Fire will be tasked with onboarding 24 firefighters
to fill those stations. There are concerns with onboarding that many personnel in such a short amount of
time. It would be beneficial to consider interval hiring such as bringing on a few of the new employees
every 6 months or so until we get to an opening date. This would allow us to be fully staffed and able to
competently move into both stations when they are completed. Chief Blume asked if the Rural may be
open to the idea of financially contributing to the salaries of 9 firefighters 6 months earlier than we had
anticipated or planned for, at the cost of roughly $500,000.00. This would be in addition to previous
conversations regarding the Rural temporarily supporting the fire station staffing for the south station. If
the District is willing, it would require the District to amend their fiscal 2022 budget. Councilwoman
Liz Strader asked that if the construction was delayed, would you know in time to push back the hiring.
Meridian Rural Fire Protection District
33 E. Broadway, Suite 210 - Meridian, Idaho 83642
Meeting Minutes – September 13, 2021
Page 3 of 3
Chief Butterfield stated that if, for some reason, the construction is delayed, we may be able to push the
remaining hiring out to coincide with the construction. Commissioner Howell asked for more clarity on
the proposal including timelines and a better estimate of costs. Attorney Fitzgerald clarified that a
budget amendment would be to use money the District has already collected; it would not be a budget
amendment to increase the tax levy, or to collect any additional taxes. The Commissioners asked Chief
Blume and Deputy Chief Butterfield to put together a few different proposals for the Commissioners to
review at the next meeting.
Motion was made and seconded to adjourn the September 13, 2021, meeting of the Meridian Rural Fire
Protection District. Motion approved. The meeting was adjourned at 4:47 p.m.