MINUTES
Board of Directors Meeting
Jasper County Emergency Services
October 5th, 2021
Chairman Fries called the meeting to order at 12:09 p.m. Meeting was held at the Board office, 13870 Dispatch Lane, Carthage, MO as per public notice. Present in addition to Chairman Fries, Tim Wilson, Carl Francis, James Harrison, Dan Stanley, and Greg Dagnan. Representing staff was Executive Director (ED Ford) April Ford and Office Support Clerk Amber Madison.
No Representing Public
Review and Action of Minutes
Open and closed meeting minutes were reviewed for the Board of Director’s Meetings on September 7th, 2021.
Director Wilson motioned to approve the open and closed meeting minutes for September 7th, 2021. Director Harrison seconded the motion. Vote: 6-0. The motion was adopted.
Public Comment and Correspondence
No Public Comment
Financial Report and Payment of Bills
The sales tax deposit for August was received on September 7th, 2021, in the amount of $241,900.60. We have not received the sales tax check September or October.
Total bills submitted for approval today $47,752.02.
Checkbook balance after payment of bills will be $12,554.10.
Accounts receivable balance: $617.93. (Records Request x2 and Joplin Fiber).
The Money Market account balance is $1,584,923.79.
Director Stanley motioned to approve the financial report and the payment of the Bills. Director Wilson seconded the motion. Vote: 6-0. The motion was adopted.
Executive Director Report
See Attached Report
ED Ford advised the Board that AT&T has completed the credit on one of our AT&T accounts that we have been waiting on for a year. We are still waiting on the account with our 1-800 number to be closed. We also still have two open contracts with AT&T that we are trying to resolve. ED Ford advised the Board that she is looking into incentives for our employees. She advised that our Attorney Frank Foster and the Lobbyist is also looking into the rules for incentives for 9-1-1 Centers. April also advised the Board that Fire West is still having problems. Steven Williams and Steffen Weist are looking into this further and hopefully will come up with a solution. There could be someone using our frequency. ED Ford advised the Board that we passed our MULES audit. April also advised the Board that the Jasper County Jail tower took a lightning strike on Saturday October 2nd, 2021, and so far our repairs will be under $5,000.00. The Avilla tower is also down, so we are having to tone out departments individually. Once we have the quotes to repair the tower, we will schedule the repairs. ED Ford stated that she met our new neighbors that moved in at 13893 Dispatch Lane. The new owner Keith Spurgeon advised April that he is not interested in selling the property, and they will be cleaning up the property.
Unfinished Business
Avtec Update
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we are making sure that there isn’t and damage to the antennas caused by the lightning strike. We are also not sure if MOSWIN will allow us to use this tower for radio equipment.
MOSWIN Update
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we are waiting for the Company out of St Joseph to install the cable to the consoles for $1,100.00. As of right now we are direct connected to MOSWIN, but we do not have the backup equipment installed yet. The Jasper County Sheriff if finishing up the patrol vehicles and we should be live by the end of October.
Tower Engineering Study
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we passed our load study that was completed on the tower. We can put 4 more antennas 30 ft and below on the tower.
Building Maintenance/Expansion/Parking Lot Update
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that Anderson Engineering will be sending us paperwork to get the RFP’s completed.
CPE/9-1-1 Phone System Replacement
Executive Director Ford stated that we have approved contracts and signed the contract. AT&T is setting up equipment with Intrado. Joplin needs to sign the contact and we will get the funds from the Missouri 911 Service Board grant soon. We will be live with the new phone system before the end of the year. The funds from the grant will be disbursed to JASCO and then we will bill Joplin for their part. The agreement with AT&T will be for $367.00 a month for 60 months. There will also be an agreement with AT&T Firstnet for backhaul.
Director Wilson motioned to approve/enter into the 60-month agreement with AT&T. Director Stanley seconded the motion. Vote: 6-0. The motion was adopted.
Overtime Compensation
Office Support Clerk Amber Madison advised the Board that the employees are signing up for shifts and are appreciative of the overtime compensation change. Amber presented a spreadsheet to the Board showing what has been spent on overtime, and she advised the Board that employees are covering shifts easier. We are also down 1 full time employee, so our overtime has increased. The Board agreed to keep this temporary policy in place for this month. The Board advised that they would approve or deny the compensation on a month-to-month basis.
Ensuring Rapid Dispatching of 9-1-1 and Non-Emergency Calls for Service
Executive Director Ford stated that we are having difficulty finding good applicants. We are completing a wage study, so that we can be competitive with local businesses and other Dispatch Centers. We are losing trainees during the call taking phase because of the stressful calls that they take. The Board and April discussed the substance abuse policy and how marijuana use is still Federally illegal.
Cyber Security Insurance and Changes
Executive Director Ford stated that Kelly with Southwest Insurance Agency will come to the Center and go over some cyber security quotes and plans.
Countywide Public Safety Radio System
Executive Director Ford stated that she has three companies scheduled for phone calls on the consultant project. She will be getting quotes for all the phases of the project. ED Ford will be using the Missouri Office of Administration Bid point system when reviewing consultant bids. The categories for points will be cost, reputation, service, and experience.
New Business
Staffing and Recruitment
Executive Director Ford stated that we are still trying to figure out different ways for recruitment.
Health Insurance Renewal
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that our Health Insurance with Anthem has increased 4.9 %. April’s recommendation would be to keep the current Insurance with the increase. The Board agreed to keep the current Health Plan with Anthem.
Medical Loss Rebate
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we did receive the 2020 Medical Loss Rebate check from Anthem in the amount of $17,186.58. The total Company Premium Cost for JASCO was $208,860.99, the rebate percentage is 8.23%. The employee rebate would be $1,940.44, and the rebate for JASCO would be $15,246.14.
Director Harrison motion to give the Medical Loss Ratio rebate check for the employees, back to each individual employee. Director Dagnan seconded the motion. Vote: 6-0. The motion was adopted.
Amendment to the Virtual Consolidation Agreement with Joplin
Executive Director Ford advised the Board that herself and Attorney Frank Foster will be revising the agreement one more time before final approval. Once the agreement is complete, April will forward an electronic copy out to the Board members. ED Ford will have a conference call with Peter Edwards and Frank Foster before the agreement is sent out. Once the agreement is final, we will have a special Board meeting for approval. The Board discussed the radio project, in reference to buying and reimbursing for radios. The Board agreed that if agencies buy radios ahead of time, that we won’t be reimbursing radio costs. When the time comes, we will come up with a plan for purchasing radios. ED Ford advised the Board that Mike Runnebaum will be retiring in 2022. ED Ford advised the Board that she is thinking about hiring a Deputy Director and 2-3 people for the radio project. ED Ford stated that she is wanting to have the radio contract signed by December/January at the latest. April is also getting a group of Fire/EMS Chiefs to do some testing with the MOSWIN system.
12:58 p.m. Director Wilson motioned to adjourn. Director Harrison seconded the motion. Vote: 6-0. The motion was adopted.
The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 2nd at 12:00 p.m.
On the________ day of ________________2021
I, Jeff Fries, Chairman ___________________________certify these Jasper County Emergency Services Board Meeting Minutes for___________________________. They have been reviewed and are accurate.
On the ________day of_________________2021
I, Dan Stanley, Director __________________________ attest the Jasper County Emergency Services Board Meeting Minutes for ___________________________. They have been reviewed and are accurate.
