KERN RIVER VALLEY

FIRE SAFE COUNCIL

May 2009

Meeting Minutes

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KERN RIVER VALLEY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL

Board of Directors and Stakeholders Meetings

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Board of Directors Meeting


Those attending: Lloyd Smith, Christine and Gordon Hancock, Tom Parkin and Robin Wyatt-Little.

President Lloyd Smith convened the meeting at 8:30 AM.

Minutes Lloyd asked for approval of the April minutes. No corrections or additions. Motion to approve by Christine Hancock. Second by Gordon Hancock. Unanimous approval.

Lloyd asked for approval of the March minutes following approval of the correction made per Christine’s request. The correction reads: “Motion by Ed Royce to pay $149.00 match balance for the Bodfish Phase 1 Project. Second by Lloyd Smith. Unanimous approval.”

Motion made by Gordon Hancock to approve the corrected March minutes. Second by Christine Hancock. Unanimous approval.

Treasurer’s Report

Christine reports the following accounts balances: Operating account - $258.73 Pala Ranches 09BLM0190 1425 - $5,000.00 Bodfish Canyon Phase 11 09BLM0191 1383 - $5,000.00 Piute Meadows 09USFSSFA01921371 - $64,500.00 State Farm Living With Fire Inserts - $2,500.00

Bills/invoices/receipts called for. None at this time. We are expecting an invoice soon for the Living With Fire inserts. Each KC FSC will pay for their respective distribution costs due to a smaller grant amount this year.

Regarding Home Ignition Zone Workshop: Our FSC paid the total amount of $4000.00 to Pat Durland as our guest speaker. Mt. Pinos reimbursed us $1000.00. There is a question of the additional $500.00 owing on their portion of the Speaker’s fee. Robin will check into the status of the $500.00 balance owing. Debbie Santiago has received $1500.00 from the Tehachapi FSC for their portion. Debbie will forward the check to Christine for deposit. Gordon Ehmann will submit an invoice for the KRV FSC event on Sunday.

Christine tells us we will have a $650.00 insurance premium due 6/21 as well as the Kernville Chamber and the Kern Valley chamber annual dues ($25.00 each.)

Christine gave Lloyd the paperwork that is filed every year for taxes (990 form, Certificate of Insurance and the RRF Charitable Trust form) so that Lloyd can create an electronic file for continued record-keeping and easy referencing.

Christine reports that the audit will begin in two weeks. Our taxes were filed at a cost of $325.00. The charitable trust filing fee was $50.00.

Motion to approve the treasurer’s report by Robin Wyatt-Little. Second by Lloyd Smith. Unanimous approval.

Agenda Lloyd asked the Board for their cooperation in presenting only topics that require Board Action in an attempt to streamline the Board meetings and not have repetition of reports for both meetings. No changes to the agenda today.

President’s Comments/Issues Lloyd thanked all Board Members and participating agencies for their participation in the Home Ignition Zone Workshop event and for efforts during Wildfire Awareness Week. Those present agreed with Lloyd’s comment about the value of the “hands on” assessment experience during the Field Trip.

Lloyd suggested before the FSC participates in any effort concerning Kern County funding issues, we should investigate funding decisions, processes and policies. So noted by those in attendance. Committees Reports

Grants: No action needed

Fundraising: Lloyd sent thank you letter to Kennedy Meadows POA ($100) Lloyd sent thank you letter to Squirrel Valley POA ($100.00) Lloyd sent thank you letter to Fred/Teresa Zullo ($50.00)

Total funds for sustaining memberships – 2009 $1100.00.

Chipper Days:

Tom Parkin reports that he ordered two magnetic signs (12” x 18”) with the KRV FSC Logo for his truck. Tom surveys in advance, all chipper day project areas and felt it was reassuring for residents to see the FSC Logo and not be suspicious of a non-resident vehicle cruising their area. The cost of these signs is $45.00 each. Tom was prepared to bear the cost of these signs himself however Lloyd Smith made the motion that the FSC assume the cost and also made the motion to purchase two additional signs for placement on the chipper at a total cost of $194.86. Second by Robin Wyatt-Little. Unanimous approval.

Speaker’s Bureau: No action needed. Publicity: No action needed. Website: No action needed. Education: $2500 received from State Farm for Living with Fire inserts. Lloyd will secure the master design file for the insert so we can begin updating info for next year’s insert. Robin will check into the whereabouts & number of the “extra” inserts. Demonstration Lot signs need updating: remove Sacramento Foundation name and include new website info. Robin will check with Derrick about this. Gordon Ehmann will submit invoice for Home Ignition Zone workshop.

Old Business: None

New Business: · Lloyd felt that a lesson he learned from the workshop was that long range planning is important. · Cathy Brooks suggested we prioritize ALL future projects listed in our KRV FSC CWPP.

ACTION ITEMS: $500.00 balance from Mt. Pinos – Robin Tehachapi check/Debbie - Robin Scan tax filing paperwork – Lloyd Locate extra inserts – Robin Check w/ Derrick re Demo Lot signs – Robin Secure master file for inserts – Lloyd Submit invoice for Home Ignition event – Gordon Incorporate Alta Sierra & Myers Canyon CWPP’s into KRV CWPP – Lloyd Update maps for CWPP – Scott

Meeting adjourned at 9:45 AM.


KERN RIVER VALLEY FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
Stakeholders Meeting
Thursday, May 21, 2009


MINUTES

Additional attendees: Richard Grove and Scott Williams

Meeting convened at 9:55 AM.
Agenda was adopted.

President’s Comments: Lloyd thanked Scott Williams, FS, for his power point program at our Sunday event prior to the field trip with Pat Durland. Lloyd thanked all who were involved and felt the Home Ignition Workshop event was very successful. A big thank you to Debbie Santiago and Derrick Davis for taking the lead on this!

Calendar Updates: No new updates at this time.

Attendance List Updates: Updated lists were distributed

Committee Reports:

Grants: Patrick Pontes’ written report states:
Pala Shaded Fuelbreak – We are still in the Environmental Compliance process and awaiting the clearance from BLM/CFSC. There do not appear to be any environmental issues on this project. Once we have environmental clearance we will receive project funding and begin work. One of the two Chipper Days was completed on Pala Ranches May 9th. The 2nd Quarter Report was completed and submitted to CFSC.

Bodfish Canyon Phase 11 Fuelbreak Project – According to Derrick Davis, KCFD, there are no biological or cultural issues with the Bodfish Project. Kern Crew 7 has started work on this project. We have not received project funding from the State as yet. The 2nd Quarter Report was completed and submitted to CFSC.

Piute Meadows Community Roadside Brushing and Chipping Projects – The project is well underway and the crew has completed approximately two and one half miles. The 3rd Quarter Report was completed and submitted to CFSC.

2010 Grant Projects:

Bodfish 111 Fuel Reduction Project & Burma Interagency Extension – Both projects were fully funded and the Applications, Grantee Survey and attachments and map packages were submitted to the State on 5/l8/09.

CSFSC Update – Altogether, for the 2010 Grant Cycle, there were 397 Grant Proposals submitted totaling $70 million dollars. The preliminary decisions have funded 144 projects statewide, totaling $20 million. BLM funded 8 projects for a total of $522,000. The majority of funding was from the Forest Service and ALL five of our county Grants were funded by the Forest Service.
Wildfire Awareness Week: From my perspective the 4-day event was certainly a success and I think Pat Durland related well with the audiences. The FSC’s readily accepted the challenges in their areas and although there were some minor glitches, it all came together very well. People learned from the exercises and enjoyed the hands-on approach to looking for “fire brand” ignition sources at the homes. Pat Durland was impressed with our focus on Defensible Space and at the same time coordinating with BLM and the FS on adjacent wildland projects to further protect communities. He sent a nice note thanking us for coordinating his schedule and is extremely impressed with the FSC’s work in Kern County.

Cathy Brooke called to again thank us for hosting her “Site-Visit Project Review” to Kern County and all that was done to accommodate her trip. She enjoyed meeting folks and is impressed with all that Kern FSC’s are doing to assist mountain communities.

Patrick G. Pontes
Kern River Valley FSC, Grants Administrator

Fundraising:

Lloyd reports donations received from Kennedy Meadows POA - $100.00, Squirrel Valley POA - $100.00 and Fred & Teresa Zullo - $50.00. total funds for sustaining memberships in 2009 are $1100.00. Thank you letters have been sent.

Scheduled Events –
· Pala Ranches 5/9 – Successful with significant increase over 2008 event. A big thank you to Lonnie Blank for her commitment to making her neighborhood definitely more fire safe. Tom expects the final forms to be completed soon which will show the increase of fuels chipped.
· Squirrel Valley POA 5/l6 – Successful fuel reduction of chipped 53 thousand cubic feet. Chipper fuels crew and Camp Owen Boys assisted for the day-long event which included 44 stops for the chipper. A wonderful lunch was served. Again, Squirrel Valley POA set the bar higher for wildfire safety through fuels reduction.

· Walker Pass – Set for 5/23
· Alta Sierra – Set for 6/6

Pending chipper events:
· Valley View
· The Lodge at Painted Rock
· Isabella Highlands

Discussion about chipper day events centered on the need for the FSC to be sensitive to several factors which can influence FSC reputation in the community.
· Determining that property owners have given permission to have fuels on their property chipped to prevent trespassing possibility.
· Recognizing that any action involving a FSC chipper day event can affect Kern County Fire Department and Camp Erwin Owen.
· Adopting a flexible attitude in terms of establishing pre-conditions for property owners who request a chipper day event.
· Exploring the possibility of having Camp Owen personnel participate in Speaker’s Bureau programs to assist with public awareness of Camp Owen policies when Camp boys are working with community projects.

Tom Parkin will continue to coordinate with Camp Owen for Chipper Day events. Derrick Davis, KCFD will coordinate with Tom.

It was suggested that obtaining a list of Camp Owen procedures/policies
that governs Camp Boys when they are working on a Chipper Day project.

Tom provided a bigger form for resident sign-up for the chipper. Robin will make copies and attach to Chipper Day guidelines for handouts. Robin will also send a copy to Richard Grove for use in the Piute Meadows area.

Bravo to Tom Parkin for his diligence coordinating Chipper Days.

Speaker’s Bureau:

· Robin reports a neighborhood in Kernville has inquired about a program. No date scheduled as yet.
· Matt Pontes will present the Greenhorn Park Program to the Greenhorn Mountain POA 5/24.
· Robin spoke with Tom Ratigan about Havilah Days. The event has been cancelled but Mr. Ratigan is interested in a FSC Program for the area residents. Robin will follow up on this.
· It was agreed that a program for Piute Meadows POA residents
will be tabled for now.

Robin will develop an article about the Speaker’s Bureau.

Publicity:

Several articles in the past month. Barbara Likens submitted an excellent synopsis of what a Chipper Day is and how to contact us to schedule one. Thank you Barbara!

Several articles were published in our local papers regarding the Home Ignition Zone Workshop event here in the KRV as well as Bakersfield.

“Living with Fire” newspaper inserts were in the KVSun this week. There will be extra copies for us to distribute throughout the year.
Lloyd will secure the master file for this year’s edition and begin the design development for next year. There was agreement that next year’s cover should reflect a more positive approach, perhaps an example of defensible space.

Website:

Ed Royce and webmaster Thomas Simon have done an excellent job of editing our website. A continued reminder that we are now “.org”!

Education:

Robin shared brochures about a house venting which is designed to protect against an ember storm. Robin also looked for Whirly Bird
Roof vents that have an interior wire mesh cylinder designed to prevent ember intrusion into a building’s interior. No luck! Robin will research this further.

Home Ignition Zone Class & Workshop:

Unanimous agreement that this event was a success and very informative with hands-on experience in assessing home ignition zones during a fire event. Pat Durland was thorough and engaging as he presented the information for those attending. All of this information will be incorporated in FSC education outreach. Thanks go out to Debbie Santiago who conceived the idea for this program and for Debbie and Derrick’s coordinating efforts. BRAVO!

Gordon Ehmann did a stellar job coordinating our local event. Details were handled: beverage, food, seating, displays, transportation and publicity. Thank you Gordon!

Agency Reports:

· Forest Service – Scott Williams reports that the recent funding for our grant applications is a result of Federal Funding efforts by Senator Diane Feinstein.
· Scott reports there have been several small fires in the area but all were put down quickly.
· This season the Forest Service will have six engines available; 3 hand crews; 2 helicopters locally and a Type 1 Helicopter located in Porterville.

Kern County Fire Department-
· Derrick Davis reports good progress with the Piute Meadows road brushing grant project.
· Crew is about 7-10 acres into Bodfish 11 grant project.
· Crew 87 will be available approximately June 6th.
· New KCFD Chief is Nick Dunn.
· Camp Owen has committed to assisting with chipper day events.
· Derrick suggests long range planning to fund maintenance costs on previous grant projects.

Discussion regarding maintenance of grant projects included: Begin with continued annual photo monitoring of project areas to illustrate the regrowth of fuels to support grant requests for maintenance projects. There is a quote used amongst agency folks: “It is maintenance every three years, a new project in five years.” It was suggested that it might make good sense to combine several maintenance project areas into one grant request. Discussion to be continued.

ACTION ITEMS:
Final chipper day data from Pala Ranches – Tom
CEO participation /Derrick – Lloyd
Contact CEO Marc Bridgman – Tom
CEO policy list re Ward participation – Robin
CEO participation w/ Speaker’s Bureau – Robin
Article re Speaker’s Bureau – Robin (Barbara)
Follow up on Havilah FSC program – Robin
Follow up on Kernville FSC program – Robin
Copy new chipper sign-up forms/distribute – Robin
Schedule chipper days for Isabella Highlands, Homestead POA and Piute Meadow – Tom, Pete Shanley, Al Steuart & Richard Grove
Research vacant parcels for chipper use – Everyone
Research development for assistance to those unable to clear for defensible space – Everyone
Bodfish/Lake Isabella chipper Day – Gordon & Chris
Article re new Vents/Whirly Birds – Robin (Barbara)
Meeting adjourned at 11:45 AM

NEXT MEETING IS THURSDAY, JUNE 18TH: Board of Directors meet at 8:30 AM, Stakeholders meet at 9:30 AM. Supervisor McQuiston’s Conference Room, 1150 Lake Isabella Blvd., Lake Isabella, Ca.

Submitted by: Robin Wyatt-Little, Secretary

 

Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council ● PO Box 633, Kernville, CA 93238

General information: Lloyd Smith ● (760) 377-3542 or Robin Little ● (760) 376-6842

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Site last Updated On: 07/15/2009