HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmergency Services Committee Minutes 03.27.2023MINUTES
CITY OF LAUREL
A R EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE
MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2023
The Emergency Services Committee meeting was called to order at 6:OOpm on Monday, March 28,
2023, by Chair Heidi Sparks
Members Present: Heidi Sparks- Chair, Iry Wilke- Vice Chair, Richard Klose, Jodi Mackay, Jamie
Swecker, Bruce McGee (tardy)
Others Present: Police Chief Stan Langve, Interim Fire Chief JW Hopper, Ambulance Director Lyndy
Gurchiek, Troy Charbonneau- Ambulance Dept
Public Input:
General Items
1. Approval of Emergency Services Committee minutes of February 27, 2023. Richard Klose
moved to approve the minutes; Jodi Mackay seconded- Motion carried 5-0
New Business
2. Update from Emergency Departments
a. Police Department Chief Langve — Report attached
i. Items to note:
1. Increase in calls over last month, and a 2.8% increase over the 3 -year
average
2. Staffing struggles are not just here, Billings and others around the area are
struggling with staffing as well
a. Reserves are also down
3. Working on the statewide trunk system that is being implemented
statewide
a. Jamie asked if this will be compatible with Billings PD. Chief
Langve stated this will be similar systems, with ability to connect
if needed. This will expand the range of our radios, and allow
Fire, Ambulance and Police to all talk with each other
b. This is also being funded this legislative session, but the full
project statewide will most likely take closer to a decade. There
are also grants through Homeland Security that are available to
help with funding
4. - Federal Equitable Sharing monies have been awarded. There was -some
delay with the turnover in the Clerk Treasurer position
b. Ambulance Director Lyndy Gurchiek— Reports attached, provided both January and
February
i. Items to note:
1. Numbers are mostly manually tracked, and putting together a second
crew is difficult to track. There are several times that we have 2 calls at
once and a second crew is put together
2. Care 2 is definitely on its last leg. Opportunity to purchase a used
ambulance last week from a private ambulance company in Billings that
was closing.
3. Community Service providers are about half way through their clinical
time, need to complete 48 hours
4. Finishing training with current 2 new volunteers, then looking to
interview for additional volunteers to help out during the summer
5. Adding onto the radio upgrade, there are safety concerns as there are
areas in our response area that the radios don't cover and cell serviced is
not available
6. Iry asked about potential EMS district. Lyndy stated that there was some
talk at the county level on creating a countywide district but it appears to
have stalled, sub -committee is no longer meeting. Having an EMS district
would be helpful financially, 2 areas that have been successful with this
are Red Lodge and Columbus
7. Bruce asked about what will happen to Care 2. Lyndy stated this will be
used as a back up to the back up
8. America First Response is a new start up ambulance company, privately
owned and are not affiliated with Laurel and will not be responding to
Laurel's calls
c. Interim Fire Chief JW Hopper — Report attached
i. Items to note:
1. Cotters was the biggest call in the month, no injuries
2. This Wednesday at 7:OOpm will be Help Flight training, if the weather
permits
3. New brush truck has been pushed out to June, due to parts being delayed
4. Due to construction going on around town, will probably involve mutual
aid for wildfires needing a water tender
5. Submitted 4 bills to the Clerk Treasurer for billing, will be working with
a billing company to try to recover funds for calls outside of area
Old Business:
Other Items:
3. Safety Mill Levy Discussion:
a. Lyndy stated this would be for bare -bone staffing
b. Stan stated this has been a topic of discussion for a while. Police department is running
on 7 individuals for patrol, really needs to get department to 9. Police area is pulling
back form the mill levy because the needs to Ambulance are the greatest issue at the
moment. Police will look at grant options
c. Bruce stated that one of his regrets from being on council was going out for a mill levy
to satisfy all needs of all the Emergency Services departments rather than just the -bare
minimum. His other feedback was that community education is extremely important in
order to answer the questions of the voters and express the needs for the department
Announcements
4. Next Meeting will be Monday, April 24, 2023, at 6:OOpm in Council Chambers
Meeting adjourned at 7:08pm
f.
.� `IAL
2004 Ford F450
123,011 Miles
—$56-506 - $529000
History/Maintenance
This 2004 Ford Ambulance was purchased new by a small service in Wyoming. Most recently a
local inter -facility transport company used this truck for local and long-distance transports. All
service/maintenance records from both owners have been provided.
Laurel Ford did some diagnostic testing on the truck last week and found the Engine,
Transmission and Cooling system to be in Great condition.
We also had members of the Laurel Fire Department that maintain their trucks do a "head to
toe" look at this truck.
They found between $3,000 (low end) to $5,000 (high end) worth of maintenance that would
need to be done on the truck. Laurel Ford agreed with this estimate of costs.
• Ball Joints
• Shocks
• Tire Rotation/Alignment
• Serpentine Belt
Equipment
This truck is being sold with all the equipment currently in it.
• Power Lift Cot and Power Load (Valued at approximately $40,000)
o This is the same system we have in Care 3 and Care 2
o Full-time and volunteer staff are familiar with this system and will not have to
learn new gurney equipment.
• Radios
• Backboards
• Misc. Equipment
Purchasing a New or Used Truck
EMS Director Gurchiek spoke with a local ambulance dealer last week.
• New Ambulance wait time is 2.5 years from order date.
• Used 4x4 ambulances are selling for $100,000 sight unseen.
• Used 4x2 ambulances are selling for $60,000 sight unseen.
Getting this truck into service
EMS Director Gurchiek spoke with the State of MT and they would offer a provisional license
immediately with a follow up inspection in the next few months.
Will also need:
• Maintenance repairs completed
• Radios programs to LEMS frequencies
• Brief Training on the truck
• Striping to mimic Care 3
What happens to Care 2
• Will be parked behind the ambulance office/quarters
• Backup truck when a truck needs to go in for maintenance or service
• Extra truck for events or ARMAGEDDON
Emergency Services Meeting 3/27/2023
Calls and Training
• Responded to 28 Calls for Month of March.
o
Cotters Fire
• Training
o
Extrication
o
Help Flight
• Department News
o
New lights in the truck bays.
o
Engine #2 Repairs
o
Wildland Season is getting close
o
Burn Permits
o
Hired 2 new Fire Fighters
o
New Brush Truck
o
Road Work on South Side
■ Responding a Tenders
o
Interstate Work
• Ouestions??
Thanks to all for the Supportfrom all departments.
March 27th, 2023
Laurel Polic.
D ep artm, ent,
215 W. lst Street Laurel,_Mt. 59044 - Phone 406-628-8737 - Fax 406-628-4641
Chief of Police Stanley J Langve
Emergency Services Report March 2023
For the reporting period of February 27th to March 27th, 2023, FAP had 707 calls for service.
Which is an increase over the last month's reporting period and is an .7% decrease in overall
calls for the same reporting period last year. It shows a 2.8 % increase over the three-year
average for the reporting period. Thefts, family disturbances, and suspicious activities are
prominent calls that have increased.
Officer Seibert is graduating from the Academy on April 4th. Thomas Scott was selected and
appointed to the Police Department and is attending LEOB #181 starting April 9th. He is not
scheduled to graduate until July 6th so will will not have him for the 4th of July festivities. The
Police Department will begin another hiring cycle in the next couple of months to establish an
eligible hiring pool. We are anticipating the retirement of Captain Pitts later this year and hope to
have a valid candidate ready to fill that vacancy. Sergeant Anglin is attending the MLEA
Executive Leadership Training one week a month for the next 3 months.
Staffing is a struggle. Captain Pitts has voluntarily moved his schedule to Friday — Sundays to
provide some coverage for patrol officers on those days. I am continuing to explore funding
options to provide two officers per shift minimum staffing.
We are down to 9 Reserve Officers and will be campaigning hard for eligible individuals to fill
those ranks. This is the second straight year we will not be able to add anyone to the reserve
ranks and puts us 3 years behind on bring in replacements for those who have left the program.
There are two major F.A.P. projects going on. HVAC repair of the actuators, and the
Server replacement for the FAP.
I have been in communications with the County regarding the statewide trunk system that
is being put into service in the county. I will be working with Fire and Ambulance as to
how this may help our individual departments and open up some Homeland Security grant
funding to purchase communication equipment. The most pressing PD issues are upgraded
radios for all, to include the reserve department, to be microwave compatible, encryption
is something that must occur for Police and Ambulance sooner rather than later. Also, I
have been in talks with County dispatch regarding more efficient communications with the
comm center and emergency back up locations for our PSAPs.
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be a major time saver for our department. As well as following Legislative activities.
Officer Booth and K-9 Colt are remaining very busy, and Laurel is hosting the States K-9
conference in Laurel in June.
The Tactical Response Team (and Billings SWAT) continue to see an increase in call outs
and activations.
The Federal Equitable Sharing monies awarded through task Force Officer's Brew's hard
work finally came through. This has allowed us to move forward with the updating of our
patrol weapons and the purchase and outfitting of a quality used patrol vehicle along with
other pressing equipment needs.
The turnaround has not had a major effect at this time, but April- May will be the peak
period for workers.
The Police Department is busy with a lot going on, but we have an incredible and dedicated
staff and group of volunteers that are all working to the same goal.
Respectfully,
�
Chief Lane
lauxel PoRce DeDa
- t
215 W. 1'' Street Laurel, Mt. 59044 • Phone 406-628-8737 • Fax 406-628-4641
Total Calls Printed on March 27, 2023
[CFS Date/Time] is between '2023-02-27 00:00' and '2023-03-27 23:59' and
[Primary Incident Code ->Code : Description] All
Code: Description
Totals
10-15 : With Prisoner
0
0
Abandoned Vehicle
19
19
Agency Assist
66
66
Alarm - Burglary
10
10
Alarm - Fire
10
10
AMB: Ambulance
79
79
Animal Complaint
4
4
Area Check
9
9
Assault
4
4
Bad Checks
0
0
Barking Dog
4
4
Bomb Threat
0
0
Burglary
2
2
Child Abuse/Neglect
1
1
Civil Complaint
7
7
Code Enforcment Violation
4
4
Counterfeiting
0
0
Page 1 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Criminal Mischief
4
4
Criminal Trespass
2
2
Cruelty to Animals
0
0
Curfew Violation
2
2
Discharge Firearm
1
1
Disorderly Conduct
7
7
Dog at Large
21
21
Dog Bite
2
2
DUI : DUI Driver
7
7
: Duplicate Call
6
6
:Escape
0
0
Family Disturbance
19
19
Fight
2
2
FIRE: Fire or Smoke
9
9
Fireworks
0
0
Forgery
1
1
Found Property
4
4
Fraud
4
4
Harassment
1
1
Hit & Run
3
3
Identity Theft
0
0
Page 2 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Indecent Exposure
0
0
Insecure Premises
2
2
Intoxicated Pedestrian
1
1
Kidnapping
0
0
Littering
1
1
Loitering
0
0
Lost or Stray Animal
17
17
Lost Property
5
5
Mental Health
0
0
Missing Person
1
1
Noise Complaint
2
2
Open Container
0
0
Order of Protection Violation
2
2
Parking Complaint
13
13
Possession of Alcohol
0
0
Possession of Drugs
0
0
Possession of Tobacco
4
4
Privacy in Communications
1
1
Prowler
0
0
Public Assist
40
40
Public Safety Complaint
1
1
Page 3 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Public Works Call
6
6
Report Not Needed
6
6
Robbery
0
0
Runaway Juvenile
1
1
Sexual Assault
3
3
Suicide
0
0
Suicide - Attempt
0
0
Suicide - Threat
3
3
Suspicious Activity
76
76
Suspicious Person
9
9
Theft
25
25
Threats
6
6
Tow Call
0
0
Traffic Accident
11
11
Traffic Hazard
3
3
Traffic Incident
14
14
TRO Violation
0
0
Truancy
1
1
T/S : Traffic Stop
116
116
Unattended Death
1
1
Unknown - Converted
0
0
Page 4 of 5
Code : Description
Totals
Unlawful Transactions w/Minors
0
0
Unlawful Use of Motor Vehicle
0
0
Vicious Dog
4
4
Warrant
9
9
Welfare Check
9
9
Totals
707
707
Page 5 of 5
Laurel Emergency Services Report created 3/27/23:
2020 2021
1090 requests for service
159 times LEMS was unavailable
72 times AMR was unavailable
288 responses in Ward 5=27% of
calls outside of the city of Laurel
Recent Month Summary:
January 2023:
1228 requests for service
135 times LEMS was unavailable
34 times AMR was unavailable
318 responses in Ward 5=26% of
calls outside of the city of Laurel
Requests
107
Missed Calls
6=6%
Shortest Delay
25 minutes
Longest Delay
28 minutes
Average Delay
26 minutes
Fire Driver Available
22 times
City Driver Available
2 times
QRU Response With 1 Provider
0 times **
On A Previous Call
6 time
No Crew / Provider Available
0 times
AMR Transported or Responded
6 times
Red Lodge Transported
0 times
HELP Flight Transported
0 times
Columbus Transported
0 times
Joliet Transported
0 time
Park City Transported
0 times
Beartooth Ambulance
0 times
PD Assisted Pt or Transported
0 times
FD Assisted Pt no transport
0 times
POV Transport
0 times
Refusal or no transport
0 times
YCSO Transported
0 times
MHP Transported
0 times
**0 times the QRU responded and the patient refused / no transport to hospital or no patient found
43 responses in Ward 5 = 41 % of calls outside of the city of Laurel
2022
1238 requests for service
177 times LEMS was unavailable
48 times AMR was unavailable
351 responses in Ward 5=29% of
calls outside of the city of Laurel
EIE R G E NC
W
V
OAC'
'I y01
February 2023:
Requests
98
Missed Calls
10 = 11%
Shortest Delay
10 minutes
Longest Delay
42 minutes
Average Delay
30 minutes
Fire Driver Available
14 times
City Driver Available
3 times
QRU Response With 1 Provider
0 times **
On A Previous Call
6 time
No Crew / Provider Available
4 times
AMR Transported or Responded
7 times
Red Lodge Transported
0 times
HELP Flight Transported
0 times
Columbus Transported
1 time
Joliet Transported
1 time
Park City Transported
0 times
Beartooth Ambulance
0 times
PD Assisted Pt or Transported
1 time
FD Assisted Pt no transport
0 times
POV Transport
0 times
Refusal or no transport
0 times
YCSO Transported
0 times
MHP Transported
0 times
**0 times the QRU responded and the patient refused / no transport to hospital or no patient found
-The QRU did respond 1 time when Care 3 was on a previous call / Joliet provided mutual aid with a driver and the paramedic on the QRU transported with Joliet Ambulance
26 responses in Ward 5 = 27 % of calls outside of the city of Laurel
2023 Running Totals
*correction made after report given
Other Reporting Information
-purchase of a new "used" ambulance, this was an unexpected opportunity and very difficult to pass up. 2004 F450 ambulance from a local service that closed their
doors. Working on getting the needed maintenance, licensure and striping completed to put into service
-2 community medicine providers are working on completing their clinical time, working with the StVs walk in service for this
-legal blood draw policy has been approved by the Civil Attorney and we will be working on training and implementation
-recertification of licensure with NREMT / State for 10 of our staff
-2 new volunteer EMTs started training. Possibly try to do interviews for a couple more in the next few weeks. Want to get the 2 new ones through the driving
portion at least.
-1 full time employee slipped and fell on the ice and is unfortunately not able to work until he is cleared
-working on updating policy and procedures
-working with the Mayor, City Clerk and Civil Attorney on the possibility of a mill for EMS staffing, working on numbers to present to the City Council
January
February March April May
June July August September October November December Total 2023
Requests
107
98
205
Missed Calls
6
10
16
Shortest Delay (minutes)
25
10
10
Longest Delay (minutes)
28
42
42
Average Delay (minutes)
26
30
28
Fire Driver Available
22
14
36
City Driver Available
2
3
5
QRU Response w 1 Provider
0
0
0
On A Previous Call
6
6
12
No Crew/ Provider Available
0
4
4
AMR Transported or Responded
6
7
13
Columbus Transported
0
1
1
Joliet Transported
0
1
1
Park City Transported
0
0
0
Red Lodge Transported
0
0
0
Beartooth Transported
0
0
0
HELP Flight Transported
0
0
0
POV Transport
0
0
0
PD Assisted Pt or transported
0
1
1
FD Assisted Pt no transport
0
0
0
YCSO Transported
0
0
0
MHP Transported
0
0
0
QRU/AMR, Refusal or No Patient
0
0
0
Responses in Ward 5
43
26
69
*correction made after report given
Other Reporting Information
-purchase of a new "used" ambulance, this was an unexpected opportunity and very difficult to pass up. 2004 F450 ambulance from a local service that closed their
doors. Working on getting the needed maintenance, licensure and striping completed to put into service
-2 community medicine providers are working on completing their clinical time, working with the StVs walk in service for this
-legal blood draw policy has been approved by the Civil Attorney and we will be working on training and implementation
-recertification of licensure with NREMT / State for 10 of our staff
-2 new volunteer EMTs started training. Possibly try to do interviews for a couple more in the next few weeks. Want to get the 2 new ones through the driving
portion at least.
-1 full time employee slipped and fell on the ice and is unfortunately not able to work until he is cleared
-working on updating policy and procedures
-working with the Mayor, City Clerk and Civil Attorney on the possibility of a mill for EMS staffing, working on numbers to present to the City Council