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The first issue of The Occasional Gazette was centered around an articles about the Nutrioso Volunteer Fire Department. The talk around town was such that delving into it further was the only option. I had been delaying this current print issue because I was expecting a response from the NVFD to print along with some of the findings I have gathered in my research on the subject of fire districts, volunteer fire departments, possible conflict of interest issues, options available to the community, and more. The NVFD held a meeting in May that addressed the response to the last issue, and the minutes stated that it had been submitted to an attorney for approval before being sent to The Gazette for publication. Well, it never arrived. Instead there was another meeting held, with several members of the community asking them questions, at which time they announced that they would be producing a newsletter to inform the citizenry of their activities. Since this meeting was not publicized they did not have to deal with the larger number of folks who have wanted specific answers to explain the recent activities of the NVFD. In the two months since the first issue was distributed there has been no explanation to answer the concerns of the townsfolk. If anything, the NVFD has continued to function with blatant disregard of the community concerns. Here are some of the facts gleaned from their newsletter and minutes: A used truck was purchased for use by the Fire Chief. They paid $5000.00 for the truck. Then $2800.00 to get it painted, $800.00 for stripes, and $1500.00 for repairs. In the minutes from several meetings that are being referred to Chris Morris, the Vernon Fire Chief who gets $1500.00 a month from NVFD, answers the majority of the questions and seems to be chairing the Call To The Public at the June Meeting. Supposedly he is hired as a consultant, but, he comes across as the only one able to answer questions about Nutrioso’s equipment, capability, how to use the tax monies, and much more. That is a rather incompetant face to show the public. So, let’s take a moment to look at the June meeting and the NVFD Newsletter that was in the mail the following Monday. When asked if it is a Volunteer Fire Department Paul Mohr simply stated that they had hired a Fire Chief and a Consultant, Chris Morris, to serve until the Chief has adequate training. This is not an answer to the question. Is it or is it not a Volunteer Fire Department? Why is the Chief not adequately trained when he was hired and put into place in January? The qualifications for the job, according to the advertisement, included extensive experience as a Chief or Deputy Chief, Certified EMT, graduated with a degree in fire science from a college or university or equivalent, knowledge of current fire management issues and public administation, wildland firefighting knowledge, and the ability to organize, direct and control local fire and emergency operations. Bill Jackson, the Chief, worked for the Forest Service as Assistant Fire Management Officer. He retired from the USDA the end of 2008 and started as Nutrioso Fire Chief the first week of 2009. Those are the stated qualifications in the NVFD Newsletter. He is not currently an EMT, is not accredited for residential structural fire, does not have a degree in fire science, he has had wildlands training which encompasses forest fires, but seems unable to organize, direct or control local fire and emergency operations. Chris Morris is being paid to put this department together the way he wants it. Recomendations and offers of assistance from other area fire districts have been turned away. Paul Mohr says that the tax rates will not go up for 2010. But he also stated that the Board has the authority to increase taxes without a vote. In the Newsletter it says that Paul Mohr, Susan Lee, and Nathan Castillo were elected to their posts by county ballot in November 2008. Yet in the minutes from the June meeting he says they were re-elected without being on the ballot since nobody was running against them. OK, partial truth. And, yes, we were stupid to not know that is how it works. But there are options if you want to make a change to the Board. A recall can be put together if it needs to happen before the next planned election. Otherwise interested people need to attend these meetings and keep informed so that they can run against them. The public needs to be its own watchdog on this and keep tabs on the actions of the Board. When asked why Nutrioso doesn’t give our tax money to Alpine and have them be our fire service, Chris Morris responded (of course) that we can’t do that unless we have contiguous property with Alpine, and, he says we don’t. I am researching the accuracy of that statement. Chris Morris also said that we need a full time Fire Chief to do grant administration, paper work, and to build a fire department from the ground up. OK. Then why do we have a Chief who is not able to do those things? If he could do them we would not be paying Chris Morris to answer all the questions. And, in June we suddenly have three fire trucks that work beautifully and are parked in Nathan’s garage. We also have a Jaws of Life, hoses, nozzles, turn-outs, and a building for equipment storage. Looking over past minutes I see that in March there were no hoses or nozzles for one engine, and that same engine had a cracked tank valve. This is an old Forest Service vehicle that the State is loaning to NVFD. I don’t see anything that would make the other engines magically appear. One old non-functional truck they had bought for a dollar from Vernon through Chris Morris was sold for $2 to a guy who want to refurbish it for parades. That, surely, is not one of the three trucks in the newsletter. Oh, yes it it... “1971 Engine for one dollar.” So that means the 1986 pumper truck is the other one that basically didn’t work either. The Jaws of Life are in need of being refurbished. Chris Morris was giving them lights and siren for the Chief’s new truck. There seems to be an issue about radios and not having them or a tower to use. The building for equipment storage is the Conex container that they have the sign on that announces the location of Fire Station #1. That sign was approved as a $600.00 purchase. When asked about the size of the new station they want to build they say it needs to hold six fire trucks, have office space and restrooms. The minutes add to that saying it is 5600 sq ft with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, public restrooms, day room and office. Oh, and two stories tall. Hmmm, if they can get another Conex container they can pile it on top of the other one and call it a two story fire station. Oh, and I find in the minutes that the original quote for the fire station of $630,000 to $700,000 was such that it did not include septic, water, electric or land leveling. Then there is the matter of the water tank currently located at the Community Center. NVFD states in the June minutes that they are working with Apache County to have it moved to either Dry Valley or Auger Canyon. There is only one problem with that statement. It is not their tank. It was donated to Nutrioso Community Association and then repaired and placed in that location by Apache County. It is set so that it can be filled from the schoolhouse well. This would allow for a small water source to exist in “downtown” Nutrioso. It is not a large tank and is not adequate for serving as a water source to fill trucks in a regular fire fighting situation. Oh, and when the county didn’t want to discuss moving the tank with a NVFD representative, an un-named person showed up at Supervisor Lee’s office saying they were a representative from Nutrioso Community Association and that NCA wanted the fire department to have the tank. NCA did not send someone up there, and in fact, were not contacted by the fire department asking for their cooperation. Who was it that went to St Johns saying they had the right to give away that tank? Yes, it is good that the NVFD sent out a newsletter to all the mailboxes in town. It is the first attempt to communicate with the public since the formation of the Fire District in 2006. This was their chance to be honest with the citizenry. What do you think? How did they do? Contact me by mail or email and let me know. Several residents have gotten me information that I have not used in this article. I want to thank them profusely. Taking the time to find information is how a town takes care of itself and doesn’t get the wool pulled over their eyes. I have chosen to only use the Nutrioso Volunteer Fire Department publications as the source for this article so that you can see the importance of following the obvious leads when you want to know what is going on. It doesn’t mean that what you read is totally true. For instance, it doesn’t say in the newsletter that Nathan Castillo is President of the Pinecrest Water Company according to the Arizona Corporation Commission. Since that is a local business it seems that he would proudly list it. After all, fire and water are made to go together. Don’t they? |
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