Prospect Rural Fire Protection District
Minutes of the Board of Directors
Regular Meeting,
February 17, 2025
Vice-President Clay Thomas called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
Attending: Clay Thomas, Bob Scott, Lon Stockebrand, and Joyce Dierking
Also Attending: Fire Chief Lyle Neville, Bob Jones (financial officer) and 21 other community members
Approval of January minutes. Lon made a motion to accept, Bob Scott seconded. Clay voted yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Joyce voted yes.
Bob Jones gave his financial report. Bob Scott made a motion to accept, Lon
seconded. Clay voted yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Joyce voted
yes. Motion passed.
Bob gave a seismic project update. Clay made the motion to hold a special
meeting of this board at the public library on March 3, 2024 to read and sign
the resolution for the next phase of this project. Joyce seconded and motion
passed. Clay voted yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Joyce voted yes.
Joyce made a motion, seconded by Bob Scott to approve Bob Jones as
Prospect RPFD budget officer. Resolution was read aloud for the record.
Clay voted yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Joyce voted yes. Motion passed.
The 2025 Budget Calendar approval was tabled until next month.
Chief Lyle gave his Fire Department report. The Fire Chief also reminded the
board of the necessity to have a contract in place.
Pam Lee, Mike Pearson, and Gunner Gibson submitted applications to fill the
board position vacated by Karen Wickman moving from the area. Pam and
Mike's background checks had cleared by Gunner's had not due to the very
short turn-around time before our regularly scheduled board meeting. The
board proceeded to consider Pam and Mike for this position. Joyce
nominated Pam but there was no second. Clay nominated Mike, seconded by
Lon. Bob Scott abstained as he had not had a chance to read through the
applications. However, after reading through the applications, he expressed
his belief that Pam, because she has lived in Prospect for 23 years, would be
the stronger candidate. Joyce nominated Pam again, seconded by Clay. Clay
voted yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Joyce voted yes. Motion
passed. Pam was sworn in as Board Director, position 3.
Melissa Taylor gave a report on the Levy committee's work. She summarized
data from two community events and surveys where public input was asked
for and received. She presented the top-ranked community priorities. 1)
Sustain current levels of Fire and EMS Services, 2) Provide proper Personal
Protective Equipment on a scheduled basis, 3) Increase number of
trained/certified volunteers for rapid response AND offer on-call shifts, 4)
Fund additional auditing requirements required by grant income, 5) Capital
Improvement Fund of $50,000 for water infrastructure, equipment, facilities,
etc. 6) Salaried Chief Position @1/2 time.
Melissa explained the need to streamline and cut expenses as much as
possible considering our low-income population. Through the hard work of
Bob Jones the Levy submitted the recommendation of presenting to the
community for vote on the May 20 ballot an increase of $1.39 per thousand
of assessed value of property, lowering the committee's previous
recommendation of $1.89 per thousand.
All board stated that we need to pass a local option levy for our fire
department and to ensure rapid medical response for the citizens of Prospect.
In a healthy discussion, each board member stated their concerns about the
passage of the levy. Pam mentioned insurance costs escalating or being
eliminated by insurance companies. Clay is concerned that voters will not
approve the levy if it is too high. Bob also is concerned about its passage if
the cost is too much. Lon is worried that there will not be enough positive
votes to pass the levy. Joyce reiterated that the $1.39 rate per thousand is a
compromise. The levy committee believes that $1.89 was best for our fire
department and community's safety. Many in our community are concerned
about higher taxes. The board has tried to heard all and be flexible. The
agreed-upon $1.39 is $.50 less than many people wanted; it is $.40 more
many people wanted.
Joyce made a motion to offer the public an opportunity to vote on a local
option levy $1.39 per thousand on the May 20 ballot. Pam seconded. Clay
voted no, Bob Scott voted no, Joyce voted yes, Pam voted yes, Lon voted
yes. Motion passed.
A resolution was read into the record to place the Local Option Levy on the
May 20, 2025 ballot. Joyce made a motion to approve the resolution,
seconded by Lon. Clay voted yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Pam
voted yes, Joyce voted yes. Then it was signed.
Fire Chief's job description was tabled until next month.
Meeting was opened for public comment.
Joyce made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Bob. Clay voted
yes, Lon voted yes, Bob Scott voted yes, Pam voted yes, Joyce voted yes.
Adjourned at 9:10 pm.
Next Board of Directors meeting, March 17, 2025
BOD agenda items due by February 28, 2025.
Minutes and a recording of this meeting available at www.prospectrfpd.org