Chelan Fire and Rescue adds Witherbee to commission

On Wednesday, June 13, the Chelan Fire and Rescue held its monthly meeting.  

Jay Witherbee was sworn into his new position as Chelan County Fire Protection District 7 Commissioner.

Jerry Isenhart, who has been involved for years in many community committees, spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. Isenhart met countless times with previous Commissioner Tom Peters who resigned back on March 12. According to Isenhart, Peters had a lot frustrations with meetings, laws and regulations. Due to this Isenhart was not surprised by Peters decision of leaving. Isenhart then started thinking about possible future options for District 7. One of them being changing the size of the Board of Commissioners from three to five.

In order to do so, Isenhart needs to collect 10 percent of voters’ signatures for a petition to go on the ballot. This will allow the rest of the community to vote for or against changing the number of Commissioners. Isenhart believes that people need to participate in the government.  

About 100 to 120 signatures have been collected so far, according to Mike Stowe, who is helping Isenhart collecting them. “I heard just way more positive feedback, good reasons to do it … it’s all about getting the community more involved,” Stowe added.

The Firefighters Association Report was delivered by the president of the association, Dan Crandall. The treasurers report for the month of May started with a sum of $36,628, only $380 were used towards expenses, ending the month with $36,247.

The Executive Committee, lost one of their co-secretaries who resigned. The committee is currently working on hiring  the temporary person who filled in at the last meeting.

The biggest takeaway from the report is the Priorities Committee’s concern on the way money is being spent. This new committee has been running for about a month or so.
The number one priority for money spending will be donations to the victims of fires and accidents of medical emergencies. Approved by the committee is the Walmart Gift Card Program, in which fire victims receive a $500 gift card to Walmart. Victims will also receive $1,500 per fire indecent and accident victims will receive $1,000 for every incident involving serious injury or loss of life. Each incident case will have to be approved by the committee first, however this helps set a standard for how much money is given away each time.

The committee will look into special equipment for the firefighters before making any purchasing decisions. Local food bank support will still be up and running, the committee will donate $500 every quarter to the food bank. Helping Chelan Valley Hope is also on their list, the committee will be there to give a hand in case of any fire disasters and during its Christmas toy drive. Orondo, Entiant and Manson will also be helped out by District 7 if needed, according to Crandall. Local youth organizations and event funding will also get their assistance.

Other items covered:
• Support Service member, Marcia Holmdahl, showed disappointment towards the Commissioners. As of right now, the Support Service department is running on 2016 budget,  Holmdahl stated “if I went to car dealership or if I went to the grocery store, I am not going to get very much.” The Commissioners didn’t pass a lobby that would help with this issue. Holmdahl solution is to present the community with the safety statics, so the department could get their support.
• Fire Chief Report Tim Lemon
2018 Budget: Towing vehicles had the biggest on the budget, $63,000 were given by California, another $52,000 will reflect in May’s revenue, April was a big revenue month, Property Taxes $617,00 were received.
Emergency Response Report: 111 calls for the month of  May, all time high since 2010.
In general, it was a busy month with fires.
Facilities/Apparatus/Equipment: Most of the apparatus is doing well, except for Rescue 71 which is getting a part replaced.
• Deputy Chief Operations Report Mark Donnell
Operations: Memorial Day Weekend was a busy one.
Career Staff: Firefighter Darrick Meyers shift was on Saturday, June 16. Transitioning recruits into operations.
Fire Prevention: On Saturday, June 16, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Donnell, spoke to the Home Owners Association at the Senior Center and answer any questions they had.
• Assistance Chief of Volunteer Services Brandon Asher
Volunteer Recruitment and Training: 27 recruits - 20 from Chelan, 5 Entiant. 2 Orondo. The recruits have been assigned stations, given uniforms and gear.    
• Resolution 2018-05 Alternative Fuel Exemption – Passed
• VFW FF/EMT Adam Jones was named Firefighter of the Year. Jones will receive this award on June 22 in Bremerton.
• The Emergency Assistance Committee will donate $1,500 to the family that lost their home and all their possessions in the Apple Acres fire.
• The Pancake Breakfast was a success, raising $2,700 last June 2.