Sutter Basin Fire District Minutes 5/14/2024

Opening

The regular meeting of the Sutter Basin Fire Protection District was called to order at 8:01 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at the Robbins Fire Department by Mark Richter.

Present

Mark Richter, Samuel Martin, Anthony Van Ruiten, Marty Creel, Kim Richter, Joan Stephens, and Mike Bush were in attendance.

Approval of Agenda

The agenda was approved without amendments. Motion by Anthony Van Ruiten. Second by Samuel Martin, and unanimously approved.

Public Comments

There were no Public Comments.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the April 9, 2024, meeting was approved with amendments. Motion by Anthony Van Ruiten. Second by Samuel Martin, and unanimously approved.

Fire Chief Report

Robbins Fire Chief, Marty Creel reported on upcoming events, firefighter status and ongoing maintenance. On May 28^th, 2024, there will be a Career Day that will be attended by Fire Chief Creel.  Also, a Fire Safety Day will be held on October 29, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. for the students of Robbins School.

Fire Chief Creel spoke to the ongoing maintenance of the Robbins Fire Station.  Engine 48 is still in West Sacramento awaiting completion.  Ladder testing has been scheduled.   

Fire Chief Creel is still awaiting information on the Yolo Fire Department Water Tender. In addition, Chief Creel is developing the five-year plan for testing, apparatus repairs, development of company officers, and maintenance of facilities.

Old Business

Status of Volunteers was provided by Fire Chief Creel.  Chief Creel reported that there are a total of thirteen active firefighters with the Robbins Volunteer Fire Department.  Acknowledgement was given to Hayden Samply as a very motivated firefighter who can respond during daytime fire calls with permission from the Sutter Basin Water Company.

Status of the Paid Firefighters was discussed.  Chief Creel stated that there are now three part-time firefighters.  Each part-time firefighter works approximately six to eight days a month.

Tax Assessment with SCI was discussed.  Since Sutter County’s Steve Smith is in the infancy stage of the Sutter County sales tax initiative, the Commissioners discussed their next steps for funding the SBFPD.  Mark Richter initiated the discussion of going forward with the Tax Assessment through SCI.  Discussion followed on how the initial tax assessment proposal has too many designated commercial lots, which alters the amount of revenue the tax assessment will provide.  It was discussed that if commercial lots were decreased, then the price per acre would have to increase.  With concerns and questions, the Commissioners decided to ask Mark Richter to reach out to SCI for a timeline and additional revisions to the parcels on the initial proposal.  Motion to move forward with the SCI Tax Assessment was made by Anthony Van Ruiten. Second by Samuel Martin, and unanimously approved.

Insurance Quotes for 2023 – 2024 Fiscal Year were presented to the Commissioners.  ARM Multi Insurance Services will be taking over for Driver’s Insurance as of June 8, 2024.  Derba Abele will be stepping down as Broker due to her retirement, so Rochelle Garcia will be handling the SBFPD’s insurance needs.

New Business

Facilities Maintenance was discussed.  There are electrical needs that need to be updated at the Fire House.  After much discussion, Samuel Martin made a motion that Chief Creel will get two bids to update the electrical in the Fire House.  Anthony Van Ruiten provided a second and it was unanimously approved.

Correspondence – there was no correspondence.

Approval of monthly bills was discussed. At present there is a balance of $366,440.47 in the Sutter County Treasury, and $36,532.55 in the First Northern Bank account.  All bills were approved, a claim for $13,231.90 to restore the First Northern Bank account was approved by Commissioners and signed. In addition, all invoices and timecards were reviewed by Commissioners, and payable checks were signed by the Commissioners.

Agenda for Next Meeting

To be determined.

Closed Session

There was no Closed Session.

Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 9:16 a.m. by Mark Richter. Motion by Anthony Van Ruiten. Second by Sam Martin, and unanimously approved.

Minutes submitted by:	Kimberly Richter
Approved by:	Mark Richter