Seeley Lake Fire Board
SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire Board discussed several personnel items, approved multiple purchases and heard comments from past volunteer Kristy Pohlman at their monthly meeting April 17.
Seeley Lake’s new Fire Chief Dave Lane was welcomed by the board and volunteers. He officially started April 16 and will overlap with Interim Chief Michael Greer until early June.
Greer said the district has added 10 new volunteer members and six auxiliary members to the roster in the past six months. Volunteer member Kyle Zumwalt said the membership is happy and the camaraderie is up.
The board approved increasing the maintenance position hours from 20 to 25 hours. This will increase spending about $250 per month based on the current wages. This does not change the part time status for the position.
Greer did a performance review for District Administrator Lynn Richards. Richards has worked for the District for 10 years and has not had a review by the chief for several years.
Greer said her actual duties exceed her job description and she has been invaluable to him. After researching county wages and similar positions, the starting wage for a custodian with Missoula County makes around $15 per hour. Positions that closely resemble Richard’s position, including a senior accounting clerk and customer service representative, makes between $15.97-$21.35 hour.
Based on this research and her performance evaluation, Greer recommended the board raise Richard’s pay from $15.34 per hour to at least $18.57 when they approve a budget for the next fiscal year. “That is only fair,” said Greer.
Board Chair Scott Kennedy said this topic will remain on the agenda.
The board addressed the possible violation of District By-laws Article 17 by board member Rachel Jennings. After a member of the community brought concerns regarding Jennings’ alleged actions to Greer March 16, the board questioned whether this violated the District by-laws Article 17. This was brought up during a special meeting April 4 where Jennings requested at least two weeks to respond and full information as to the allegations.
After Kennedy further reviewed Article 17 with the county attorney, he sees no infractions to Article 17.
“However, the manner in which it was presented in public, as an elected official, may be poorly perceived perhaps affecting board members candidates, the fire chief and the district,” said Kennedy. “Any comments on the chief in public, anything that has to do with performance or otherwise should be done in the proper venue, in my opinion.”
Kennedy said that unprofessional conduct in public by Jennings, who is also a volunteer responder with the District, was addressed in a closed session and has been handed over to Greer to address.
Kennedy said the board has addressed the issues and it is up to the State Board of Medical Examiners if they get involved. No other board members commented.
During public comment, Pohlman addressed the board. She presented several concerns and questions to the board.
First, she questioned why there have been meetings that pertained to her that she was not invited to nor was she made aware of. She claimed the only meeting she was made aware of was Jan. 24 where she and two other members were required to attend, but the meeting was cancelled.
Pohlman also requested in an email dated Jan. 22 to Board Chair Scott Kennedy that anything involving her be brought before the board in a public meeting with officers present.
“I know for a fact I was not the only one who requested such a public meeting and was completely ignored,” wrote Pohlman. “If my name is being brought up at all in a board meeting, I must be given notice. I believe you have ignored these laws.”
Pohlman also asked why she was denied her request for leave until June 8.
“I do not feel this is fair, as I know other members who have taken leave for up to six months and it was granted,” said Pohlman. “I was only given leave for two months. I do not feel you, as a board, acted on in a fair way and I would like further clarification.”
Finally, Pohlman questioned why Greer posted information alluding to the Human Rights Independent review on Facebook in a public forum April 13 after she received the information April 5 in an email from Kennedy that read CONFIDENTIAL across the top.
“This is a very public statement on a very public Facebook page,” said Pohlman. “It is quite misleading, as I was only investigated on one very specific incident, and I was the only member who has been let go or terminated that was investigated.”
In closing, Pohlman highlighted that Greer has posted more than 5,700 words on Facebook during working hours which she feels makes it a District liability.
“This is taxpayer dollars that he is using on a personal fight instead of using to ensure that our responders and community have the top-notch equipment they deserve and desire for our community safety and future,” said Pohlman.
The board made no comment on Pohlman’s questions or claims. However, the board-initiated Human Rights Expert Independent Investigation was addressed later in the meeting.
Kennedy said the investigation was completed and there was no action required by the board except the $2,100 attorney bill. Greer has been cleared.
Greer commented that while the specifics of the investigation are confidential, he felt that the privacy concerns were his since the investigation was into alleged misconduct by him. Since it was his privacy rights that needed to be protected and there were no findings to support the allegations, he was okay putting the general result out publicly.
In other business:
• The Board approved spending $5,100 for new metal lockers for the new turnouts. This will protect them from the florescent lights, make them last longer and will make the engine bays look more professional.
• The board discussed annexation of Eagle Point Subdivision, located across the river on the south end of Salmon Lake. Following discussion, the board agreed they are open to it but they need to ensure they have access to the bridge, they need to confirm weight limits for the bridge with an engineer and the landowners of the subdivision need to present a formal request for annexation to the board.
• The board approved $1,500 to purchase additional pagers for the department.
The next regularly scheduled board meeting is Tuesday, May 15 at 6 p.m. at the Fire Hall. The agenda and any special meeting notices will be posted on http://www.seeleyfire.org.
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