MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE NORTH FORK AMBULANCE HEALTH SERVICE DISTRICT
MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING OF THE NORTH FORK AMBULANCE HEALTH SERVICE DISTRICT
The Regular Monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the North Fork Ambulance Health Service District located in the Counties of Delta, Montrose and Gunnison, Colorado, was held at 110 E. Hotchkiss Ave, Hotchkiss, Colorado, on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 11:00 am.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: No additions to the agenda
ROLL CALL: Board members present – Dave Kreutz, Bonnie Eisenberg, Dan Miller, Peter Pruett and Marcus Roeder. Others present include: Kathy Steckel, Diane Perry, and Ben Leaton.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE: No conflict of interest.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes from the January 15, 2025 Regular Monthly Meeting were reviewed. Bonnie Eisenberg had one small change to the last paragraph a "the" needs to be changed to "that". Marcus Roeder made a motion that the minutes be approved with the change Bonnie suggested. The motion was seconded. All were in favor.
REPORTS:
FINANCE REPORT: Financials for January were presented and reviewed. Diane reports that it doesn't seem like we will need to get funds from our Colorado Core account to cover the monthly expenses. Dave Kreutz made a motion to approve the financials for January. The motion was seconded. All were in favor.
APPROVAL OF APPROPRIATIONS: The only unusual expenditure in January was for the purchase of the property in Paonia. Marcus Roeder made a motion to approve the appropriations for January as presented. The motion was seconded. All were in favor.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Tyrell Clock was present to read a letter in which he expressed concern for the long response time, equipment and provider care on a NF EMS call on Dec. 11, 2024. The Board directed Kathy to investigate this matter and get back to the Board at the next meeting to address his concerns.
DISTRICT CHIEF REPORT: Kathy Steckel gave an overview of her report.
Administration: Finished with the statutory compliance for the budget and other end of year reporting and posting.
Finance: The decommission of the ambulance is still on hold, waiting to hear from CareFlight. Should hear in the next couple of weeks. Kathy has a private party that is interested, if CareFlight doesn't what the vehicle.
HR: The HR Manual has been taken a lot of time this month. It has been reviewed by both the Employer's Council and our attorneys. The Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy has also been completed.
Communications/PR: Kathy has an interview with the DCI tomorrow about the new station in Paonia.
911 Operations: A major revision of the SOP's is still under way.
Updated the job descriptions of the station coordinators. Their roles have expanded and titles changed to station captains. That is going well.
Ben gave an update on the progress at the new station since we acquired it on January 29, 2025. The electrical upgrade to the garage is about 60% complete. Still waiting on a mini-split heating unit. The concrete is in and the gravel has been expanded to allow for more parking. The new garage doors are being fabricated and will take 6-8 weeks before they are ready to install. Can't move the ambulances over until the doors are installed. Should be ready to more crew members into the building by mid-late March. Still need some furniture, only have one bed set at the existing station.
Community Health Division:
The collaborative grant with Delta Health, DCAD CP and NF EMS CP has been submitted. Had hoped to hear by mid-May, but not sure what will happen with federal funding cuts.
SAIL continues. Region 10 has promised some funding for the program.
Firearm Safety Initiative is on hold due to the uncertainty of continued federal grant funding.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: No unfinished business
NEW BUSINESS:
a. HR Policy Handbook: There was some general discussion about the philosophy behind the policy changes and the comfort level we have with the Employer's Council and their recommendations. Dan Miller made a motion that we adopt the HR Policy Handbook draft dated February 17, 2025. The motion was seconded and all were in favor.
b. Drug and Alcohol Policy and Statement: Peter Pruett made a motion to adopt the Drug and Alcohol Policy and Statement as written. The motion was seconded and all were in favor.
Bonnie Eisenberg had questions about the booth fees for the Wellness Expo - $20 for non-profit and $40 for-profit. Kathy will get her an application for Senior Connections.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Next Regular Meeting is Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 11 am.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further matters before the board, Dan Miller made a motion to adjourn. All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 11:40 am.