Calhoun County 9-1-1 District Board of Commissioners Meeting

November 19, 2021
Lee Evancho

Meeting Called to Order
Roll Call of Members
1. Board Chairman – Chief Gary Sparks, Oxford Fire Department – Present
2. Board Vice -Chairman – Sheriff Matthew Wade, Calhoun County Sheriff Office – Present
3. Director Randy Reaves, Safety and Security, Calhoun County BOE – Present
4. Chief Van Roberts Sr., Quad Cities VFD (Retired) – Present
5. Trooper Herbert Palmore, ALDPS (Retired) – Absent
6. Chief Shane Denham, Anniston Police Department (Retired) – Absent
7. Calhoun County Administrator, Mark Tyner – Absent
Approval of Agenda – Unanimously Approved
1. Addition of adjournment into Executive Session
Approval of Minutes – Unanimously Approved
Approval of Financial Reports – Unanimously Approved
1. Draft copy has been sent to the auditor for review.
2. Radio portions showing a net profit of $138,000 at the end of the year.
3. Dispatch side also positive.
4. Notation made of $388,000 loss showing due to ending contract with Ayers Communications. This is a one-time fee.
5. Motion request for permission to send draft copy to Noble Bank for review. – Unanimously Approved
Old Business
1. Communications System Upgrade Update
  1. Motorola and Bank representative present.
  2. Tentative agreement has been reached with Motorola and only changes were the payment terms and the date changed to the 23rd.
  3. Motion to sign contract once it is back from the attorneys – Unanimously Approved
  4. Additional item is the Microwave Network contract for $752,000. This will be rolled into the loan. This contract will be for 84 months at a 475 range.
  5. Motion to sign contract with Microwave Networking through HTAC once contract is ready. – Unanimously Approved
New Business
1. Mount Olive VFD / User Fees
  1. Chairman Phil Clark was present as was Treasurer Chad Turner. The secretary was not able to be present due to being on an emergency call. They requested a delay until he could be present. Payments for the radio fees have not been made for three years. Mount Olive believes they are one of the smaller departments and are facing discriminatory fees. The board requested that the department representative talk to Ashley Morbet and work something out prior to the next meeting. If it has not been resolved by the next meeting it will be added back to the agenda.
2. Meetings Schedule 2022 – Unanimously Approved
BoardChairman/Director Comments
1. Kevin asked for prayers for an employee that had been in a minor accident.
2. Chief Sparks will have knee surgery on 12/7 and will be out of the office most of the month of December.
Board Member Comments – No comments
Public Comments (three minutes each)
1. Johnny Warren, owner of Anniston EMS, spoke regarding the new policies that go into effect on 12/5 that stated that no unvaccinated employee can go into a nursing home or interact with medicaid/medicare patients. The penalty will be $14,000 per patient. On 1/6/22 this policy will go into effect for RMC as well. Currently there are 12 employees who are not vaccinated and will not get vaccinated. If he had to let them go there would not be 12 qualified individuals to replace them. Chief Kadle spoke to confirm that Gadsden State stated the same policy for RMC to him as well. Currently the attorney general has a lawsuit filed, but it is doubtful that the court case will be decided prior to the effective dates. This us an issue that will impact the county because either EMS will not be able to go into nursing homes and hospitals, and they won’t be able to assist medicaid/medicare patients, or they will be so short staffed they won’t be able to fully do the job. Either way there will be an impact.
2. There was also talk about talking to candidates about a possible revenue stream to cover the radio system, but the decision was made to table that until after the elections.
Adjourn – Unanimously Approved

Next Meeting Date: January 20, 2022