Feature Article September 26, 2001
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Sub-committee appointed for KBFD chief resolutionby Will CybulskiCloyne While any final decisions will eventually go back to full Councils for approval, North Frontenac/Addington Highlands Joint Management Fire Board and Kaladar/Barrie Fire Department have taken first steps in working towards resolution of the issues around the appointment of a Chief for the Department. At an hour-and-a-half long meeting held September 18th at Barrie Township Hall, a full slate of Board representatives and Department spokespersons worked through some testy exchanges in finally agreeing to a sub-committee that will hopefully put the contentious matter to rest. The sub-committee consists of firefighters Bill Salmond and Sheila Perry, Gleva Lemke from NF and Ethyl Grant from AH Councils respectively. As reported previously, of general issue is the hiring/appointment of a Chief for the Fire Department. Based on a joint verbal agreement, North Frontenacs Council appointed Ken Kent to the position by bylaw, but Addington Highlands Council subsequently withdrew its support of the agreement and served notice that it intended to appoint an interim Chief from within the Department. Members of the Fire Department support having a Chief who is locally based, as opposed to Mr. Kent who resides outside the area. As the primary presenter for the Fire Department, Mrs. Perry (who serves as a Captain) questioned why, since there had not been any form of communication from the Joint Board indicating dissatisfaction with the Department, it went outside to find a Chief. She also wondered why the position had not been advertised within the Department. Mrs. Perry indicated that it was unreasonable to expect a volunteer Chief to continue handling increasingly related paperwork without some compensation, so the Department had asked for an honorarium for its leader. In criticizing a lack of communication, Mrs. Perry stated that Department members had heard about the decision to hire Mr. Kent through the grapevine, rather than from councillors or the Joint Board. She termed the situation as having entered a political nightmare, having to fight politics instead of fire. In defence of the decision to consider Mr. Kent, Board member Dick Hook stated that it had been agreed to by both Councils, saying, hell (Mr. Kent) be taking care of what our legal responsibilities are, for training, for overseeing a training officer. Hell co-ordinate three Departments on the North Frontenac side, and make sure the same training and equipment is available to all. Casey Cuddy, who has been held out by Addington Highlands Council as a potential interim Chief, reported that the Department already has a number of training facilitators. He concluded that, If the training is being done, if the paperwork is being done, why would you hire outside? Kirk Parsons, a member of the Ontario Fire Marshalls Office, was also in attendance at the meeting, and he provided suggestions to assist in the decision-making process. Mr. Parson stated that the potential conflict causes the Fire Marshalls Office concern, and he would like to see a single service under one Chief in the area currently covered by the Department. He reiterated that the OFMO didnt want to see a withdrawal of services, and a split Department would bring a quick response from his agency. He indicated that, while his office couldnt stop any such decisions, they would cost lots of dollars. He pointedly asked if the Fire Department was opposed to the hiring of Mr. Kent as principle or person, and received an immediate response that it was the principle. The Fire Department contingent finally tabled a proposal wherein it would like to see the position of Chief first advertised within the Kaladar and Barrie fire stations. If there were no qualified applications within four weeks of that posting, then the position could be advertised locally, followed by an outside search until a suitable applicant was found. Discussion around this proposal eventually led to the setting up the sub-committee, whose task will be the development of appropriate policies relative to job descriptions, interview and selection methods, hiring procedures, remuneration and pertinent bylaws. In this regard, Mr. Parsons offered the expertise of his agency as a method of assistance. The sub-committee will first get together September 27th at Cloyne with its to do list. That working meeting is not open to the public, but when the group brings its recommendations back to the Joint Board as a whole, results of the meeting will be reported upon.
