MINUTES Board of Directors Meeting Jasper County Emergency Services October 6th 2020

Chairman Fries called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m. Meeting was held at the Board office, 13870 Dispatch Lane, Carthage, MO as per public notice. Present in addition to Chairman Fries, Vice Chairman Tim Wilson, Ron Brewer, and Dan Stanley. Representing staff was Office Support Clerk Amber Madison and Executive Director April Ford.

No Representing Public

Review and Action of Minutes

Open and closed minutes for the Board of Director’s Meeting on August 11th, 2020 were reviewed.

Director Wilson motioned to approve both open and closed meeting minutes for August 11th, 2020 Director Stanley seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

Public Comment and Correspondence No Public Comment

Financial Report and Payment of Bills

The sales tax for August was received on September 4th, 2020 in the amount of $196,206.10. We have not received the sales tax check for September.

Total bills submitted for approval today $126,647.42. The Checkbook balance after payment of bills will be $35,802.22. Accounts receivable balance: $718.79. (Medical Insurance (FMLA), and Joplin Fiber).

The Money Market account balance is $1,210,550.12. Director Stanley motioned to approve the financial report and the payment of the Bills. Director Wilson seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

Executive Director Report See Attached Report

Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we are still waiting on AT&T to clear up our bill dispute. April advised the Board that we currently have an unemployment claim that went directly to PAYCHEX instead of coming to us. April advised the Board that she has spoken to PAYCHEX and April has filed a full claim dispute. Angela Russell is the employee that the unemployment claim is on and at the time of the claim, Angela did not work for JASCO. April spoke to Angela, and Angela stated that she did file for unemployment before she was employed at JASCO and that she only told the unemployment office that she applied at JASCO, but was on leave from another employer. April spoke to JASCO Attorney Frank Foster and he stated that he will send a letter about their breach of contract and duty if needed. April has also contacted Gene Mense for a quote from his company to do payroll. April stated that we are saving money by using PAYCHEX, but we might go back to ADP because of this. ADP only messed up on our w2’s. April advised the Board that we have decided to not use the COVID-19 sales tax break that is being offered to companies that have been impacted by the COVID virus because of the expense to the
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employees and possibly JASCO later into 2021. Director Brewer agreed and stated that it would not be in the best interest of the employees. April advised the Board that we would be using the Anthem premium that was paid to JASCO for the appreciation dinner and team challenges. April stated that due to staffing issues, we are having to go to below minimum staffing to 3 employees during the hours of 0600 – 1000 hrs. If there is a problem during this time, then Carthage Police Department would take over their dispatching during this time and our 9-1-1 lines are the priority, so non-emergency lines may go to the auto attendant more often. April stated that we had individuals spoofing our 9-1-1 lines. Dispatchers would get phone calls from individuals stating that we just called them. April spoke to AT&T and they would make our 9-1-1 trunk numbers not able to be dialed, AT&T said this wouldn’t cause any problems and that they shouldn’t have been able to dial in the first place. As soon as AT&T shut the numbers off, outside agencies couldn’t call us. April had to work with AT&T to get this fixed.

Unfinished Business Avtec Update Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we are waiting on Jasper County Sheriff’s Office to make a decision if they are moving NexEdge equipment or moving to MOSWIN. Chairman Fries stated that he is going to be contacting Radio Communications Specialist because Morris Strom is not working on R-9 transportation equipment or returning his calls. April stated that she is waiting on Brian O’Dell or Rex Capen to program encryption back in our Patrol One P25 radio.

Fire East Tower Agreement Executive Director Ford stated that the Fire East Agreement is complete and has been signed by Josh Martin. April will call Command 1 and schedule a time for them to come down as soon as it is time. April will give the Board updates on the progress of the tower build when she gets them.

Building Maintenance/Expansion/Parking Lot Executive Director Ford stated that John with Springfield Striping stated that we don’t need to do an RFP. John thinks we don’t need a retaining wall for the parking lot. Aprils concern is that the slope is too high and would cause ice and water problems. April advised the Board that there are three options that she was given by John. Option 1 would be 6 inches of rock and 3 inches of concrete and overlay, with this option we would have 36 parking spaces. Option 2 would be to do 6 inches or rock and 6 inches of concrete and overlay, so that trucks can go on it. Or option 3 would be to do 6 inches of rock and 6 inches of concrete and overlay and either excavate the ground down to move the parking lot back to the trees or move the spaces down along either side of the existing drive and make a decision on adding a curb or side walk, which could add more parking spaces. April advised that we have a quote from Liberty Utilities for moving the electric if needed. Chairman Fries advised April to work with an engineer for the expansion and have them work on developing an RFP for this project. April stated that she will contact the architect and get them involved to see what engineer to work with. April also stated that the old wells that are in the ground are not removable, and that they would have to stay where they are.

New Business CARES Act Executive Director Ford advised the Board that she has been told that overtime, laptops, and software will be allowed for reimbursement under the CARES Act. April advised the Board that we have been keeping track of items purchased and time during this pandemic.

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Peer Support Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we have completed the Peer Support Policy and it has been sent to Frank Foster. Frank stated that we needed to “drill” it down to 1 page. April stated that the policy is long because we have our CISM and our Peer Support policy combined. April stated that she sent Amber Madison to get peer support certified and we have a peer support committee now that has been set up. April has also been speaking with Dr. Doyle at College Skyline and he is going to be involved. April will work on revising the policy and make it 1 page. April will be working with Dr. Doyle at College Skyline in December on training and future policies and procedures for peer support. This will all be volunteer work and we will keep Frank Foster and Dr. Doyle involved.

Comtech Telecommunications Maintenance Renewal April stated that the contract for Comtech has been renewed. June of next year is when the contract will be up.

Medical Loss Rebate – Anthem Office Support Clerk Madison advised the Board that Anthem sent our Medical Loss ratio rebate checks. Amber went over the rebate calculator that was sent over by Lorie with Beimdiek Insurance. Amber explained the percentage that JASCO was getting back and the percentage that the employees would get back.

Director Wilson made the motion to give the Medical Loss Ratio rebate check for the employees, back to each individual employees. Director Brewer seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

DC Group – UPS Maintenance Executive Director Ford stated that we replaced the UPS because of the lightning strike. DC Group has given 3 options, a 1 year, a 3 year or a 5-year maintenance renewal. April stated that she is comfortable with doing either a 1 year for $1,600.00 or a 3 year for $1,568.00.

Director Wilson motioned to approve for the DC Group UPS Maintenance renewal for 3 years at $1,568.00. Director Stanley seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

EMS Legal Services Agreement and Increase Executive Director Ford stated that EMS raised their price for the year from $750.00 to $950.00. April stated that Frank Foster has a partner now.

Director Wilson motioned to approve payment for the increase for EMS Legal Services. Director Stanley seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

Southwest Missouri Bank Service Charge Executive Director Ford advised the Board that SMB charged our payroll account a $10.00 service fee because our balance fell under $1,000.00. April told SMB that we would have to close our account because we can’t be charged service fees like that. SMB called April back and advised her that they would waive the fee and discontinue any service fees like that in the future.

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Pop/Snack Machine Executive Director Ford advised the Board that our current pop and snack machine that is owned by the employees is breaking and is old. April stated that we have kept the machine and items in the machine off of the JASCO books but she suggests that JASCO purchase a new pop/snack machine for the employees and the FUN committee still purchase items for the machine and the funds go into the employee fund so JASCO would only be buying the machine. Director Brewer said that there might be a problem with buying the machine and then using it for employees and not making money off of it. Brewer suggested for JASCO to buy the machine and the snacks/pop. April tried calling Attorney Frank Foster during the meeting to ask if we could purchase the machine and snacks/pop and then the profits be used for the appreciation dinner, however he didn’t answer. April stated that she will contact our auditor Gene Mense and see if there are any concerns. Chairman Fries and Director Wilson advised to check into Jackson Brothers vending service and see if they could take over the machines. Chairman Fries stated that they are the ones taking care of his vending machines at the bus barn. Director Brewer also said that you could also use vouchers, like money on the machine and it could be used as an employee incentive. Amber will contact Jackson Brothers vending service and have them come to the center and give us a quote on what they would charge.

Southwest Agency Insurance Renewal and Increase Executive Director Ford advised the Board that our Insurance premiums and deductible increased due to the two lightning strikes that we had. The Board agreed and stated that they think everyone’s insurance will be going up this year because of the economy.

Director Wilson motioned to approve the renewal and increase for Southwest Agency Insurance. Director Stanley seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

FPU – Dave Ramsey’s Smart Dollar Program Executive Director Ford stated that she would like to start a program called Smart Dollar for JASCO employees. April explained that Smart Dollar is a Dave Ramsey program that could help employees schedule payments and help them financially. April stated that after the Joplin tornado they had the employees go through Financial Peace University and it was very helpful. The program would cost $2,000.00 a year and it would have helpful tools for employees that are stressed over finances. April stated that we could mandate the training of the program and pay them while they are trained on it. We could do this while they are working a console. No extra cost for us while they are using the program. We could also use this as an employee incentive. The Board agreed and approved the purchase and implantation of the FPU Smart Dollar program, they also stated to not make it mandatory but make it available to the employees that want to take advantage of it.

Unemployment Claim – Incident with Paychex Executive Director Ford stated that the unemployment claim that Paychex didn’t handle properly might go to court. April stated that Frank Foster will get involved if he is needed. Director Brewer stated to go ahead and have Frank Foster write up a letter and have it available for April to send to Missouri of unemployment office. April stated that the unemployment office shouldn’t have used us as an employer, because she was not employed with us at the time of the claim. Director Brewer mentioned that the unemployment office might be collecting information quarterly and pulled our information
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instead of the correct previous employer. April stated that she will keep Frank engaged and he will do the letter if it is necessary.

Missouri 911 Service Board 2nd Round of Grant Funding Executive Director Ford advised the Board that they took out the availability to upgrade equipment on this round of grant funding. April stated that we are waiting on quotes for a possible connection to Newton Co with Joplin and JASCO, but it is unknown if this will work. If so, we will schedule a special meeting for final approval before sending any grant application out. As it stands with their rules, we will not get any funding with the current project with Solacom and just Joplin and JASCO unless we physically consolidate.

COVID19 Part Time Data Entry Employee Executive Director Ford advised the Board that we are getting overwhelmed with COVID entries from the Health Departments. We are having to enter at least 7 pages of address for COVID patients a day. April advised the Board that Newton County Dispatch hired a part time employee to take care of all of their COVID entries, and that she would like to look into doing the same. Newton County will be paying for the employee with the CARES Act funding. April stated that Brandon McClintock has been doing the entries and so his job is not getting done. He has not been able to do QA’s on team leaders and he is not able to take his vacation because he is getting behind on his work. Brandon is trying to burn off some of his vacation hours that he has on the books, so Amber has started taking over the entries. Chairman Fries suggested to pay out Brandon’s vacation. April stated that she would be fine with paying out his vacation time however, she is worried that he would be put into a higher tax bracket. April advised the Board that for the past 3 years this is always a problem with Brandon being able to take off his vacation time. April stated that she hasn’t used much of her vacation time either, it is a constant battle. The Board agreed to pay Brandon’s vacation out one week at a time, to help him avoid being taxed as much. The Board also agreed that they are against hiring a part time employee for COVID entries. The Board agreed to hire more full time employees for the Comm room. April advised the Board that she might need to hire five people to fill the positions open and two to three added positions. The Board encouraged filling these positions.

Closed Session Announcement and/or Report:

Jasper County Emergency Services Board announced to close for legal action, personnel records and evaluations and hiring, firing, disciplining and promoting pursuant to Mo. Statute Section 610.021 (1) (13) (3).
1:35 p.m. Director Wilson motioned to go into closed session. Director Stanley seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.
Vote: Fries – In Favor Wilson – In Favor Brewer – In Favor Stanley – In Favor

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1:46 p.m. Director Wilson motioned to come out of closed session. Director Brewer seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.
Vote: Fries – In Favor Wilson – In Favor Brewer – In Favor Stanley – In Favor

Director Brewer stated to start looking into schools and see if there could be an internship program that we could get involved in. April stated that she has reached out to MSSU before and that Carthage Technical Center has a class that she is involved with. April stated that she would love to have an internship program, because we are seen as a stepping stone right now and not a career. Director Wilson request that April try and set up a “mock” dispatch room with something like a simulator so that he could look into teaching a “communication” portion at MSSU. April will work on setting up some kind of “mock” station and get with Director Wilson, so that a communication lesson can be taught at the school and bring more interest to the position.

1:54 p.m. Director Brewer motioned to adjourn. Director Wilson seconded the motion. Vote: 4-0. The motion was adopted.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10th, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. On the_________________day of ________________2020 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_____________________2020 I, Dan Stanley, Director ______________ attest the Jasper County Emergency Services Board Meeting Minutes for ___________________. They have been reviewed and are accurate.