Lets deal with some of the misinformation being spread about town by Friends of Jay Parker....

Poor training Training is the responsibility of the Chiefs, not the commissioners. The Board approves the payment for training. In fact this past July a record number of CSH volunteer firemen were sent to Baltimore for a week of training; classes, meals, lodging and transportation paid for by the district. If the training is still poor, then it is the selection of the courses made by the Chief. It certainly is not the result of the Boards decisions. Poor response time Response time of volunteers is the responsibility of the Chiefs, too. If members are not showing up for calls, then maybe we need to rethink adding more paid coverage. In 2007 the Board analyzed the call volume and found our heaviest traffic of emergencies is between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and because many volunteers hold regular daytime jobs, we had few volunteers available during the day. The Board decided to hire a fulltime EMT for the district in order to have someone readily available to respond to our residents daytime calls. This has worked well except when there are scheduling conflicts with a volunteer taking the 80 emergency response vehicle and thus depriving the EMT of its use. If there is poor training and poor response time, then the Chiefs are at fault not the commissioners. All the volunteers report to the Chiefs.

Antiquated fire equipment The only antiquated equipment in the firehouse belongs to the volunteers, not the fire district. Heres the delivery of our ladder truck http://firematic.com/trucks new/cold_spring_harbor/index.htm And here are photos of some of the fleet: 2 Ambulances, 1 Pierce 105 Ladder truck, 1 Pierce Engine, 1 Pierce Rescue Pumper, 1 Brush truck, 1 Water Rescue truck, and other smaller vehicles. www.unyquefiretrucks.com/Cold_Spring_Harbor.html We are amply equipped and have neighbors who have theirs readily available to us as well.

Dilapidated firehouse The exterior of the firehouse was just rejuvenated, The interior renovation plans were done but put on hold while all the exterior work was fully completed and inspected. Money has already been set aside in reserve to do the interior.

District Secretary works from Florida Six years ago when Jay Parker was the Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, he and the other commissioners approved the remote working of the part-time District Secretary for 2.5 months in winter from Florida. This has worked smoothly for the past six years because of todays technology. This past winter we used a Skype connection so she could even see us instead of just being on the phone during the meetings. She can even print us out any reports and documents in the district office from her computer in Florida during these meetings. She had worked for the district since 1987 before taking semi-retirement to a part-time position six years ago, but continues to be available at any hour for district needs. If she is not in the district office, then she is available at her CSH home just up the road on Grove Street and is readily available by email and phone at all hours. She has attended board meetings that have run into the wee hours of the morning and stayed to get payments out after the commissioners have approved them. When she has been sick she has worked remotely from home. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving she had a knee replacement and was home and reviewing district work needs on Friday after Thanksgiving. Her dedication to her job is commendable. She will be in the district office this coming week, three weeks after surgery.

Office hours by appointment With limited staffing, and the District Secretarys knee operation, it was just decided that, while she was out on medical leave, office hours would be by appointment as there is no employee with the proper clearance for official district business such as the District Secretary to handle confidential matters. The past two weeks the District Secretary has handled all matters from her home with no hitches. Other small fire districts also have limited office hours without any problems. It is extravagant to hire additional employees to just have an office open from 9 to 5, especially when we have dispatchers who can provide any necessary forms or receive paperwork for the District Secretary. Once the District Secretary is cleared by her doctor, then a discussion can ensue as to what regular office hours can be scheduled.

Boards inaction in regard to the radio system A quick review of minutes from June 2011 can provide insight into who is causing inaction on the Board when one looks at the resistance of certain commissioners to approve the immediate grounding of the high school antenna system. Incredibly, Jay Parker was even at this meeting and supported Chair Nielsen in pushing for emergency repairwork work needed to be done to the installation he oversaw six years ago..... Minutes June 8, 2011:
The Chair [Nielsen] then directed attention to a draft resolution and read aloud: WHEREAS, for the protection of residents, other persons and property located within the Cold Spring Harbor Fire District, it is imperative that the emergency communications system of the District be optimized; WHEREAS, in furtherance of such goal, the Districts current technology vendor Hello Alert did a physical assessment of existing radio transmission equipment and found some critical and immediate infrastructure issues that

need to be addressed; WHEREAS, the Board of Fire Commissioners deems such issues in need of emergency redress; BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Fire Commissioners hereby approves the expenditure of up to $25,000 to rectify and upgrade existing cabling and antenna issues per the plan proposed by Hello Alert. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hello Alert commence this work as soon as possible. The Chair summarized the Hello Alert report which was to improve cabling, replace the antenna and new grounding. The cabling is incorrect size and is bent. The antenna was improperly mounted and could blow off in high winds. Commr Hafner argued that the antenna is still there and hasnt blown down. The Chair advised that we have been experiencing very high winds of late and this needs to be done. Commr Hafner again stated that the antenna is still there. The Chair described how the cabling goes through the backstage of the auditorium where drama props are stored on it and it is kinked and dangerous. Commr Hafner opined that this is not an emergency situation as described in the Chairs email. Commr Hafner said this has existed for awhile now and is not an emergency. The Chair advised that a faulty ground which could cause a fire in a high school is an emergency in her opinion. The Chair asked Commr Hafner if he wants to jeopardize the lives of children in the high school. Commr Hafner maintained that it is not an emergency and asked to move on. The Chair advised Commr Hafner that he is not the chair and that the critical issues at the high school and improvements to the radios would continue to be addressed. The Chair asked a member of the public to address the chair if he wishes to speak. Commr Hafner told the person you can talk to me, and the Chair told Commr Hafner he would be out of order. Commr Hafner said so he would be out of order. Discussion ensued about the scope of the work to be done at the high school and the estimated costs involved. Commr OBrien complimented Chair Nielsen on the Motorola contract refund. The Chair asked for a motion to expend up to $25K to repair and improve the radio installation at the high school; Commr Giarraputo so moved; the Chair asked for a second; Commr Hafner said he wanted to discuss; the Chair advised Commr Hafner that discussion comes after a second on the motion; the Chair again asked for a second, and then made the second herself. Commr Hafner asked if this was something that had to be bid. Discussion ensued over whether it was a repair or a capital improvement. Commr Hafner asked the District Treasurer how you decide if it is a capital improvement or not. These are not items being purchased off a state contract. Chair Nielsen said there was only one quote on the grounding so far and asked if the DM had gotten two other quotes yet. Discussion about getting quotes and bids ensued. The Chair asked the board to set aside all the quotes and bids discussion and approve up to $25k to fix the radio issues, and the bids and quotes can follow. The District Treasurer said there would need to be a resolution and publication if the money was to be expended from the reserve fund because it was not budgeted. The Chair said the money from the Telecom [Motorola] voided contract could be used. The Chair asked again that an amount be approved. The Chair read the resolution aloud again. Commr Hafner asked if this needs to be bid. The District Treasurer advised that if there is $25k still within the publication for the Telecom [Motorola] amount, then there is no need for further publication. Commr Hafner asked the resolution be amended to say subject to review and approval by counsel. The Chair advised that if it is an emergency, then bidding is not required. Commr Hafner said again it is not an emergency. Jay Parker, an attending member of the public asked to go on the record and say that it is an emergency as there are no radio communications on Route 108 and it is dangerous if there is an accident there. The Chair stated that the amount should be approved and how the items are purchased can be in accordance with how counsel recommends. Commr OBrien asked the DM Mercadante what he thought about the project. DM responded that he has installed a lot of antennas and deals a lot with HelloAlert, they have a good reputation and this is a lot of work to be done and needs to be rectified in a timely fashion, the items are expensive and we need the improvements for radio coverage, and in his opinion it is definitely necessary. District Treasurer advised that this amount is under the limit for bidding. The Chair called the vote: all in favor.

The chairperson allowed a crony to remain on the Board Jack Palatella was a 23 year resident of Cold Spring Harbor and not a member of the fire department [although his father-in-law is the member with the longest tenure of over 70 years]. Jack sold his home of 23 years far quicker than he expected and moved temporarily out of the

district. A temporary residence outside the district is permitted under the law so long as he was intent on returning. [Meanwhile there have been two firemen elected as commissioners who did not even live in the district at the time of their election or during their five year term.] No one commissioner, not even the Chair, has the power to allow or disallow a commissioner to remain on the Board. Every board action requires a vote of three commissioners, so how could the chair have allowed someone to remain is impossible. Wild statements, such as these that have been made, make one wonder how they could make rational decisions once in office. If any resident (or resident fireman) felt that Jack was no longer entitled to be a fire commissioner, then they could have sought court action to have him removed. In fact, the CSH fire department hired a lawyer in Huntington to investigate doing that, yet no papers were ever filed because they had no case.

It is indeed time for more changes, but not a change of the incumbent, Commissioner Nielsen. The change that is needed is to stick to the facts.. The facts show that Commissioner Nielsen has worked very hard for the firemen and the residents.