Interim Chief Hired – Business as Usual

Seeley Lake Fire Board

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Rural Fire District listened to public comments and provided updates at their meeting Nov. 21. Interim Chief Michael Greer started Nov. 20.

The District earned $44,952 on the Rice Ridge Fire. The District has received half of the payments.

The Seeley Lake Fire Company applied for the Montana Community Foundation grant for $15,000 during the first grant cycle. If they get the grant, the funds will be used for radios.

A special meeting to go through the budget and job descriptions will be held. The date will be determined and then posted on the website http://www.seeleyfire.org.

During public comments, a request was made that the board make purchases locally when possible. The tires on the ambulance were recently replaced in Missoula. There are two businesses in Seeley Lake that sell tires and neither were asked for a bid.

Also during public comment, a clarification was made to one of the statements made at the last regular meeting when Fire Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel resigned. It was stated at the meeting that Vanden Heuvel should have been working on the agenda items rather than mustering up support. Volunteer Shelly Johnson said Vanden Heuvel had nothing to do with the support people that were present. Instead it was Kristy Pohlman, Shawn Ellinghouse and herself that rallied the support.

To address a concern made at the last board meeting by a member of the public, Greer and the Board agreed that every opportunity will be made by the leadership to thank and appreciate volunteers for their hard work and commitment to the community. This includes treating them with respect and not bullying.

It was requested that the minutes are made available electronically either through the Missoula County platform or on the District website. The board will explore how to make that happen.

The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Fire Hall. Any special meeting will be noticed on the website http://www.seeleyfire.org and noticed at the fire hall.

 

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