Southwestern NH District Fire Mutual Aid
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday May 14, 2025
Meeting Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order by President March at 1859 hours
Directors Present:
President Ken March, Vice President Jay Wilson, Directors Thomas Goddard, Real Bazin,
Greg Seymour, Phil Tirrell, Thomas Bates, John Manning, Dan Eaton
Administration Present:
Chief Joe Sangermano
Deputy Chief Kassie Lunderville
Guests:
President March introduced the following guests:
Peter Denutte
Don Bliss
Meeting Minutes Approval – April 23, 2025:
No action taken; Draft meeting minutes were not available
Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer’s Report presented by Chief Sangermano with no questions or discussion
Treasurer’s Report approval motioned, seconded, and approved unanimously by voice vote
Coordinator’s Report
Coordinator’s Activity Report presented by Chief Sangermano with accompanying specific explanations
Approval of Activity Report moved, seconded and approved unanimously via voice vote
Committee Reports:
By-Laws Committee:
Board discussion took place regarding the election process which took place at the
2025 Annual Meeting, and the potential need to modification of the nomination and voting process pertaining to BOD members, as we move forward; After significant discussion and consideration, the Board unanimously indicated the current By-Laws appropriately address and provide for nominations and voting for Board seats via the standing Nominations Committee and via the floor of Annual Meeting, and therefore no by-law modifications are required
President March raised a point regarding a Board level Budget Preparation Committee which is addressed within the current By-Laws, but has not been instituted for many years; President March urged Board members to think about this committee, with follow up of this discussion to take place at future meetings
Regional Training Committee: No Report
Public Relations Committee:
A significant amount of discussion took place regarding the identified need to regularly and consistently provide information about all aspects of the System and its operations to our customers, and provide a means for feedback; The lines of communications with all of our customers need to remain open in order for the System to succeed and remain successful; Additional discussion and planning with respect to this topic will be continued
Old Business:
New Recorder:
Work in progress; Our new IT vendor is coming up to speed on the needs for the recorder and is focusing on this project for completion
New CAD System:
A tremendous amount of work is being done in creating the required spreadsheets, with information being sent to the CAD vendor on a regular basis; Deputy Lunderville advised she is still meeting with CAD vendor reps on a weekly basis, and will continue to do so moving forward; September 9/10th remains the anticipated “go-live” date for the new system
Dispatch Consoles:
Peter Denutte advised the Board that Motorola engineers will be in Dispatch on June 2nd in order to review everything and ensure all required and necessary equipment will ne accounted for and ordered
Accounting Clerk:
Kathryn Putney has been working, has settled into her now role very well, and is already proving to be a significant asset to the System and our operations
IamResponding : No update
Audit:
Chief Sangermano advised that auditing companies have been contacted, with no return phone calls having been received; As such, no progress has been made as of this time
Dispatch Chairs:
Deputy Chief Lunderville advised the Board that a second chair vendor has been scheduled to be at Dispatch on May 28th for additional demonstrations for dispatchers
Hyland Hill Microwave and Fiber:
Chief Sangermano and Peter Denutte provided an overall update, confirming that the original microwave equipment that had been installed, has been removed and returned to Two-Way Communications, who refunded the entire purchase cost of the equipment to the System; Peter continued by advising he is actively soliciting quotes for equipment to establish two microwave links, one at Hyland Hill and the second at the Gilsum site
With regard to the Fiber-Optic connection to the Hyland Hill site, Peter confirmed the connection is no usable for us to any degree at this time; After much discussion, the Board unanimously approved Chief Sangermano contacting Consolidated Communications, and suspending service to the site until further notice, saving the System $500.00 per month
New Accounting Software:
Deputy Lunderville advised of a failed meeting attempt with a new vendor, as the vendor representative failed to be involved at the scheduled meeting; She and Kathryn are still working diligently on a system update/new system option
Annual Meeting:
A significant amount of discussion ensued regarding the letter from MAFCA being read at Annual Meeting by Chief Walker from Peterborough Fire Department; As a result of this discussion, and in following our identified need to interact and work with our customers, the Board requested Chief Sangermano to extend an invitation to Chief Walker and any other MAFCA representatives who would be interested, to attend a future Board meeting in order to discuss issues and address them as possible; The exact meeting date will be discussed at future BOD meetings
Director Seymour advised the Board he would be attending the next scheduled MAFCA meeting (5/15/2025), and would engage with the meeting attendees on behalf of the Board in order to identify concerns and establish communications, and would provide feedback to be Board members for consideration and discussion
New Business:
Peter Denutte updated the Board on a couple system communications related issues:
Pertaining specifically to Keene Fire Department, Peter oversaw the PM of radio system equipment, with a bad antenna having been discovered; The antenna has been replaced; Additional suggestions will be made to Keene FD for improvement of their system, with additional work to be performed as feasible
Relative to System specific sites, Pete advised he has overseen a number of inspections and testing processes, with issues having been identified; These issues and problems will be prioritized, and repairs will be addressed accordingly
Board of Directors – Election of Officers:
The following Board Officers were elected by the Board members –
President – Ken March Vice President – Phill Tirrell
Secretary – Thomas Goddard Treasurer – Jay Wilson
Personnel Issues:
Non-Public Session:
The Board of Directors, via confirmation of approval by each individual Board member, entered into Non-Public Session at 2030 hours, inviting Peter Denutte, Don Bliss, Chief Sangermano, and Deputy Chief Lunderville to attend; Due to the topics of the Non-Public Session, Director Goddard recused himself, and was not included in this portion of the meeting
At 2120 hours, the Board of Directors exited Non-Public Session, and returned to open session; At this time, Director Goddard returned to the meeting
Correspondence: None
Open Discussion:
Director Bates indicated his frustration surrounding recently hearing from several departments items and information regarding System personnel related matters, specific correspondence relating to personnel matters, and reports provided to the System from MRI relative to their contracted evaluation of our System; Director Bates advised the items he has been confronted with have been inappropriate for public knowledge and border on private information being disseminated to persons outside of the System; Board discussion ensued relative to this issue, with the Board plainly indicating this type of behavior on the part of any Board member, employee, or representative of our System will not be tolerated, and all possible attempts to curtail such actions will be taken
For his own knowledge, and to dispel any misinformation he has received previously, Director Seymour requested a complete history of the WQCV-921/Keene Fire Department radio infrastructure; This information was provided by Chief Sangermano and Peter Denutte
Meeting Adjournment:
Motion made and seconded to adjourn; Motion passed
Meeting adjourned at 2030 hours
Respectfully submitted,
Director/Secretary Thomas Goddard
