Fire Commissioners Deliberate Appointee and Increased Number of Commissioners

— by  Margie Doyle —

Members of the public clearly expressed their support for additional Fire Commissioners at the regular meeting of the Orcas Fire and Rescue District commissioners on Monday, Sept. 19. They also expressed their gratitude and admiration for the candidates who had stepped forward to fill that position.

Early in the meeting, present Fire Commissioners Barbara Bedell (Chair) and Wes Heinmiller approved the resignation of former Commissioner Jim Coffin.

They decided to defer selecting a new commissioner to complete the three-member board until Monday, October 3, when a special meeting will be held to review the applications of six community members who have come forward:

• John Dann
• Tim Fuller
• Pierrette Guimond
• Jim Helminski
• Amanda Montague
• Steve Vierthaler

All but Dann were present at the regular meeting last night, and, after some hesitancy from the Commissioners, the five other candidates were heard from, presenting their resumes and qualifications for the Commissioner’s position:

Tim Fuller described his career in fire service including rising through the ranks to serve as fire chief in St. Paul Minn. for 12 years. He said a highlight was hiring the first woman firefighter in 1992 – “not a cakewalk.” He also created the office for emergency medical services for the city of St. Paul. Fuller was an instructor in Executive Planning at the National Fire Academy, where he taught leadership and strategic planning.

Fuller was called out of retirement to serve in Redmond, Wash. as Fire Chief in 2005. He was also appointed Chief of Police simultaneously. After retiring from those positions, he was then appointed Director of Public Works for the City of Redmond, serving at the direction of the Mayor to develop a communications plan.

“For me, it’s about giving back to the community,” Fuller said.

Pierrette Guimond is a 25-year island resident, retiring 15 years ago as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines after 35 years of service. She has been a Commissioner of the Cemetery District, where she updated historical cemetery records; a Public Library Trustee and a member of the Friends of the Library non-profit organization for 10 years.

Guimond has volunteered her landscaping work for various Orcas Island agencies, the Library, the Senior Center and Orcas Center among them. She has also followed closely the Orcas Fire and Rescue District, attending most of their meetings over the past 10 years. Guimond says, “The Board has had a very challenging year. I urge the board to proceed with appointing someone. It would be a privilege to serve.”

Jim Helminski has been a part-time island resident for 10 years, until moving here fulltime a few months ago. He has a background in public administration, starting out as a police officer and detective in Kentucky. For the last 27 years years he has been with the federal Secret Service, and served on details for Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush and for Vice-President Joe Biden.

He says, “I ended up as deputy director, running a $1.2 billion dollar agency, in charge of hiring, firing, budget formulation; and strategic planning with background in community service and administration, personnel issues, and equipment replacement.”

Amanda Montague has lived past Doe Bay for over a year, and said, “My husband joined the volunteer fire dept and it’s really changed our life here.” She serves as the Vice-President for education for the National Multiple Sclerosis Association.

Steve Vierthaler has been retired from law enforcement after serving as Deputy in the San Juan County Sheriff’s office. He came to Orcas Island in 1976, and served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, under former Fire Chief Gordy Fox,.

As a Sergeant serving Lopez and Orcas, Vierthaler was one of the founding members of the guild to represent law enforcement in county, and has been involved in negotiating contracts. He described his mechanical expertise, saying, “I’m a car nut.” He has overseen the purchasing and repair work on Sheriff Department vehicles since 1988.

Vierthaler said he came to the OIFR Commission meeting as kind of a “reverse interview” because he “wanted to hear from them what they’re doing.

“I can get along with just about anybody and I know the law enforcement and firefighting community.”

In public comment following the presentations, Justin Paulsen expressed the universal sentiment, “If ever there were a question that we could find five members eminently qualified to serve on the board; here they are.”

Clyde Duke said, “The Commissioners will deal with the appointment [appropriately]. It’s important that the commission has a full number asap.”

Heinmiller said, “Don’t let me be a stick in the mud,[but] I would like to have a meeting with [John] Dann. I don’t want to make a snap decision.”

Bedell and Heinmiller then retired to Executive Session to evaluate qualifications per RCW 42.30.110(1)(h): “To evaluate the qualifications of a candidate for appointment to elective office. Any interview of such candidate and final action appointing a candidate to elective office shall be in a meeting open to the public.”  When they reconvened, they said that they would hold a special meeting Oct. 3 to appoint a new commissioner. Heinmiller said, “In the meantime, Pat [Ayers] will compile the [candidates’] resumes and make sure all candidates are here on Oct. 3.”

In related news, the Commissioners heard public comment regarding a proposal to increase the number of Commissioners from three to five. The state law regarding such an increase was read, which outlined the process: after a decision by the board, or by a request by 10% of voters in district, the board shall request an election from the county on the matter.

Bedell then asked for “input as direction” on the subject.

Ed Sutton said that his experience on boards leads him to believe that “Five members is optimum…. improvement [of board functions] is almost geometric when a board increases to five members.”

Paul Kamin: questioned, “If an election is required, will it be expensive?”

Clyde Duke mentioned that a third option exists; if 60 percent of voters sign a petition, it counts as a vote, and goes directly to the County Council for a decision.

Leith Templin said that in the past there had been some concerns that the Open Meetings Act required that all commission discussions where a quorum is participating be held in front of the public.”

Justin Paulsen thanked both Bedell and Heinmiller for reaching out to address his concerns regarding OIFR Commission size. He said that he’d been appointed to serve on the Orcas Park and Rec commission, and that, “If we had three [commissioners] we’d never get anything done.”

Paulsen also said that in talks with the state Attorney General’s office, that office “offered to do a training for all our boards if we do an open training session on the legal process.”

Dwight Guss, Port of Orcas Commissioner, said, “It would behoove you to go to a five-member board for the betterment of the department.”.

Brian Ehrmantraut, also Port Commissioner, said that with a larger commission, “Two can work on a problem and report back to the next meeting.”

Bedell also announced that the search for a new chief has received two applications so far. The current deadline for application is Friday, Oct. 14, which may be extended, she said.. Scott Williams serves as interim Fire Chief.

The next regular meeting of the Orcas Island Fire and Rescue Commission is scheduled for Monday Oct. 17.

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