Portal Rescue Minutes - March 2023

Board Meeting – March 11, 2023

Attending: Board members Cary Booth, Dinah Davidson, Alina Downer, Jackie Lewis, David Newton and Victor Shawe; Additional Active Members Bonnie Bowen, Lee Dyal, Rolf Koford, Carolyn Nordstrom, Larry Rivers, Barbara Roth, Aaron Smith, and Brian Whitehorn; Additional Community Members Delane Blondeau, Susan Dalby, Bob Downs, Marilyn Forestell, Winston Lewis, Michelle Ludwig, Donna Meenach, Joe Meenach, Ray Mendez, Barb Miller, Gordon Miller, Valeri Miller, Reed Peters, Eskild Petersen, J. J. Pooley, Barbara Quinn, Ron Quinn, Gary Sipperley, Kit Sipperley, Howard Topoff, Bill Wilbur, Linda Wadsworth, and Jeanne Williams.

Call to Order: President Cary Booth called the meeting to order at 1:13 pm.
Adoption of Agenda: The Agenda was adopted unanimously without amendment after a motion by Cary and a second by Dinah.
Acceptance of Minutes: The minutes were accepted unanimously without amendment after a motion by Cary and a second by Victor.
Reports
1. Fire Chief (David Newton)
  1. Operations – none, but firefighters have helped on EMS calls.
  2. Training
    1. Attendance has been good, especially at All Responder events.
    2. Firefighters completed an annual Wildland Refresher this morning.
    3. Two firefighters attended a county table-top in Bisbee on February 24.
    4. On February 26 and 28, David attended tabletop training exercises in Bisbee and Benson, respectively.
  3. The eight mobile vehicle radios funded by our AFG grant have been purchased and received.
  4. Vehicles: All are in service
  5. David thanked firefighter Lee Dyal and his collaborator Peter LaRue (a GPS expert) for the production of an app-accessible new map of all local roads and residential structures in the Portal-Rodeo area (mountains and valleys). The map will be accessible for Emergency Use Only and indicate hazards and road conditions (suitable for 4-wheel drive, high clearance, and oversize trucks). Ground-truthing GPS coordinates, road conditions, gates, etc., required driving hundreds of miles to determine appropriate emergency access to each residence. The app will greatly facilitate and speed up our responses to both EMS and Fire calls. This contribution was volunteered; we didn’t have to ask for it, but we and all local residents are beneficiaries. Thank you so very much!
2. EMS Chief (Jackie Lewis)
  1. Calls
    1. We responded to four EMS calls in January and two in February.
    2. NM-qualified EMTs responded to two calls in NM.
  2. Equipment
    1. Rescue 233 is nearly road-ready, needing just a fire extinguisher and practice driving the vehicle, which handles differently than Rescue 4 and lacks high clearance.
    2. Jackie acknowledged David for doing much of the work on the vehicle.
    3. After the meeting, we will christen the vehicle, and Active Members will push it back into its bay. This practice mimics age-old circumstances when fire apparati were pulled by horses, and the horses could not back up.
  3. Fundraiser: Preparation for the Chili’s On fundraiser is well underway, with a substantial commitment of effort from Jackie, Marilyn Forestell and others. Jackie requests help from Active Members in taking down and cleaning up after the event.
  4. Personnel: To appreciative applause, Jackie announced that Alina Downer has been elected by EMS members as the new EMS Chief. Alina will receive help from other EMTs with some of the Chief’s duties (purchasing, training, and reviewing patient care forms).
3. Treasurer (Alice Wakefield) – current as of 07 March 2023, and summarized by Cary from an email communication
  1. Assets
    1. Washington Federal – the total value of this account is $34,767.56 (60-month CD, maturing 01/15/25 [Rainy Day Fund])
    2. Edward Jones (all accounts) – The total value of our Edward Jones accounts is $140,143.17, with components:
      1. Money market – $38,170.61
      2. Bonds – $28,776.90
        
        Canadian Imperial Bank Bond – $14,376.60 – Maturity Date 1-24-2024
        
        Citigroup Global Bond – $14,400.30 – Maturity Date 1/20/2024
      3. CDs ($73,195.66)
        
        Bank Hapoalim CD $29,765.10 – Maturity Date 5-18-2023
        
        Sallie Mae CD $28,498.01 – Maturity Date 7-24-2023
        
        Bank of China New York CD $6,970.95 – Maturity Date 12-29-2023
        
        Key Bank Natl Assoc Ohio CD $7,961.60 – Maturity Date 1-12-2024
    3. One outstanding check (1147) – $164.15
    4. Portal Rescue financial assets total $175,981.23 including $1,080.50 in petty cash and all investments.
  2. For Income and Expenses, see Appendix A.
4. Member-at-Large (Alina Downer) – Alina continues reading through some old documents, especially those on Chiefs’ duties, and editing in the margins where updates are needed.
5. Vice-President (Victor Shawe) – Victor announced that he will be stepping down from the Board (to spend more time with fish). The Board, and everyone present, thanked him for his conscientious service to the organization, including (with co-workers) installation of the helipad, epoxying the classroom floor, painting in the classroom and kitchen, and rebuilding the bay sink.
6. President (Cary Booth) – nothing to report at this time.
Continuing Business
1. Outdoor lighting
  1. The outdoor lighting is being replaced because existing lights were failing (both from environmental damage and inherent unreliability of motion detectors) and because the bright lights were night-sky unfriendly and annoying to neighbors.
  2. The one fancy 2200Kelvin night-sky, animal, and night-vision friendly fixture we purchased was insufficient to light the parking area, so we installed it over the classroom door.
  3. Nice $60 all metal LED security lights were purchased and retrofitted with a yellow theatrical filter film to make them more night-sky friendly. One is installed now. Other will follow in the next months. All these lights are controlled by reliable timers set 6pm-9pm. All motion sensors will be removed.
2. Point and Perks Committee: We met one time since our January board meeting and have nothing new to report.
3. Red brush 6: Nothing to report
4. Portal Rescue’s annual BBQ – a potluck
  1. To avoid the hot temperatures experienced at last May’s BBQ, we have scheduled this year’s event in April. The BBQ will be held in the Portal Rescue ambulance bay at noon on April 15, hopefully with low winds. This decision followed a motion by Cary and a second by Dinah.
  2. Portal Rescue will provide plates and utensils, burgers, buns, cheese, condiments and water. Please have your potluck dishes out on the serving tables at noon.
  3. We especially urge new residents to come and get to know us. Information on helicopter memberships, Firewise strategies, CPR techniques, stroke recognition, the Locator File and File of Life will be provided on adjacent tables.
5. We encourage everyone to sign up for volunteer opportunities with Portal Rescue.
New Business
1. Elections of board members
  1. Cary first entertained nominations for the two Active Member positions, and nominations closed with just two nominees: Aaron Smith and Jackie Lewis.
  2. Cary then opened nominations for the three Community Board Member positions, and Cary Booth, Penni Parrish and Dinah Davidson were nominated.
  3. Because elections of both Active and Community Members were uncontested, the five nominated individuals were elected by acclamation (motion by Victor, second by Alina, no opposition expressed).
2. Scheduling of May meeting: The May meeting was scheduled for May 11 at 6:00 PM in the Portal Rescue classroom.
For the Good of the Order
1. The next blood drive is set for March 15, with 37 of 37 appointments filled.
2. Open mic: Reed Peters announced that Portal Rescue has existed for longer than just since the 35^th year of its incorporation. Prior to that, a 24-person team, including Barbara Roth, Delane and René Blondeau, and Jeanne Williams worked with equipment stored in a backpack, and later in a bucket. Barbara, Delane and Jeanne, all here today, were thanked with enthusiastic applause as the true founders of Portal Rescue back in 1981.
3. Members of the new Board met in Executive Session to determine which member would fill which office. Results were as follows:
  1. President: Cary Booth
  2. Vice-President: Dinah Davidson
  3. Treasurer: Jackie Lewis
  4. Secretary: Penni Parrish
  5. Member at Large: Aaron Smith
  6. Fire Chief (David Newton) and new EMT Chief (Alina Downer) round out the seven-member Board.
Adjournment: Cary adjourned the meeting at 2:14 pm.

Appendix A.
Income and Expenses as of 07 March, 2023

January	3,035.00
February	1130.00
March	300.00
Total	4,465.00

5. Fundraising to date – $715.00

Interest to Date:

January	623.90
February	496.99

Total	1120.89

Miscellaneous Income to Date – $165 in January

Phone book sales income:

January	2,010.00
February	668.00
March	300.00
Total	2,978.00

Rental income – January – $50

10. Summary of 2023 Expenses (as of 7 March 2023) –

Category	Chief’s Meeting	Dues	EMS Supp & Equip	EMS Training	Fire Pay	Fire Supp & Equip	Fire Training	Fundraising Exp	Insurance
Budget 2023	$300.00	$100.00	$4,000.00	$6,000.00	$-	$4,500.00	$2,000.00	$1,000.00	$13,000.00
January	–	–	803.42	–	–	66.05	–	–	3702
February	–								56
March	–			121.73
Total			803.42	121.73	–	66.05		0	3758
Remaining	$300.00	$100.00	$3196.58	$5878.27	$0.00	$4433.95	$2000	$1000	$9242

Category	Legal	Misc Exp	Office Exp	Radio Ops	Structure Maint	Utilities	Vehicle Ops	Heart Monitor	Rescue 233 Buildout
Budget 2023	$500.00	$100.00	$2000.00	$26,425	$2,500.00	$4,000.00	$4,500.00	$20,000.00	$2,200.00
January					273.52	315.62		16648.08	337.00
February			1016.79	8482.91		317.18			42.42
March
Total			1016.79	8482.91	273.52	632.80	4500	16648.08	379.42
Remaining	$500.00	$100.00	983.21	17942.09	$2226.48	$3367.20	$3,235,87	$3351.92	$ 1,820.58

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