Southwestern NH District Fire Mutual Aid
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday October 8, 2025
Directors Present: President Ken March, Vice President Phil Tirrell, Directors Thomas Goddard, Harry Nelson, Thomas Bates, Dan Eaton, Greg Seymour, Real Bazin, Jay Wilson, Harry Boynton
The meeting was called to order at 1902 hours by President March
Administration Present: Chief Joe Sangermano, Interim Chief Mike Winn (via Zoom)
Guests In Person: Chris Coates – Cheshire County Administrator, Don Bliss - MRI
Guests Via Zoom: Chief David Chamberlain (Jaffrey); Chief Thomas Vanderbilt (Dublin); Chief Josh Brooks (Surry); Chief Rob Skrocki (Richmond); Bryan Wetherby (Walpole); Dispatchers Mike Depres, Matt Yeatman, Chelsea Amato, Ashton Nyre
Meeting Minutes September 10, September 18, September 24:
A motion was made by Director Eaton and seconded by Director Nelson to approve the minutes of the September 10, 2025 meeting, the September 18, 2025 special meeting, and the September 24, 2025 Board work session as presented; Motion Passed via unanimous voice vote
Treasurer’s Report:
Chief Sangermano presented the financial report; Motion made by Director Nelson and seconded by Director Boynton to accept the financial report; Motion Passed via voice vote with Director Eaton abstaining
Coordinator’s Activity Report:
No written Coordinator’s Activity Report presented; Chief Sangermano presented a verbal synopsis of his activities; Motion made by Director Bazin and seconded by Director Wilson to accept the Chief Coordinator’s activity report; Motion passed by unanimous voice vote
Committee Reports:
Finance Committee – No Report
Hiring Committee: Vice President Tirrell reported the Committee had met with Mike Winn, who accepted the offer to serve as Interim Chief Coordinator upon Chief Sangermano’s retirement; Interim Chief Winn has been working with Chief Sangermano, and will continue to do so until Chief Sangermano’s retirement
By-Laws Committee – No Report
Regional Training Committee – No Report
Public Relations Committee – No Report
Old Business:
CAD – Chief Sangermano advised the new CAD is working very well and we are receiving great support from CSI representatives who continue to correct issues as they arise; Director Seymour advised of area Chiefs who have noted deficiencies, primarily the lack of pre-alerts via third-party vendor apps; These issues are to be addressed with CSI, as well as internally via operational SOP’s; It was noted and discussed that we have the ability to upgrade our existing fiber line in order to enhance our internet speed; Directors Bazin, Boynton, and Nelson raised noted issues involving severe dispatch delays and incorrect dispatch information – these issues will be investigated and corrected as feasible; Chief Sangermano advised we will be addressing those issues we have direct control over, however those issues which involve third party vendors, we have no control over.
Dispatch Consoles – Chief Sangermano advised all of the new equipment is at Dispatch, and the installation is in the process of being scheduled
Ladder Bay Roof Replacement – The roof replacement project is being scheduled
Communications System Upgrade – At the request of President March, Chris Coates and Don Bliss presented the Board with the current funding available for our system upgrades, and advised of an additional federal grant funding opportunity, in the amount of $1,000,000 per year for a five year time frame, for the three major New Hampshire Dispatch Centers – Lakes Region, Capital Area, and SW Fire; They explained this funding is directly tied to EMS communications capabilities; Director Goddard questioned any needs for additional system engineering and/or upgrades in order to meet the intent/requirements of this grant and it was confirmed that any additional needs will be addressed via this grant funding; Both Coates and Bliss advised they have completed the first round of submittals for the State of New Hampshire for this grant; Updates will follow
Hyland Microwave System – Chief Sangermano confirmed the new Hyland Hill microwave is fully set up, with final tuning required; Once this is completed, the new system will be live
New Business:
Board Member Term Limits – Director Bazin advised of concerns from area Chiefs regarding term limits for Board members; It was confirmed that there presently are no term limits for Board members, and discussion ensued regarding By-Law changes that would institute term limit, as well as potentially increasing the number of Board members as well as increasing the number of Board members not associated or affiliated with emergency services, but instead from the general public and public sector professionals; No decisions were made, and further discussion will take place
Administrative Positions - Vice President Tirrell initiated discussion relative to the Chief Coordinator and Operations Manager positions, their associated job descriptions, and advertising for these positions; This lead to additional budget discussions and discussing the actual need for both Deputy Chief and Operations Manager positions to be filled/created; No decisions were made and discussions will continue
Personnel / Staff:
Director Seymour sincerely thanked Lt. Matt Yeatman and all of our dispatchers for their hard work and desiccation during the CAD transition, as well as all of the work they are doing to support the changes being brought about with operational and dispatch changes for Keene FD
Correspondence: None
Open Discussion:
IT Infrastructure – After some discussion, a motion was made by Vice President Tirrell and seconded by Director Seymour to investigate and gather pricing for purchase and installation of all necessary hardware and software to allow for live streaming of meetings at Headquarters; The motion passed unanimously via voice vote
Next Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday October 22, 2025 @ 1900 hours, to be held at FMA Headquarters; This meeting is scheduled as a dedicated work session with Administration
Motion made by Director Bazin and seconded Director Boynton to adjourn; Motion passed
Meeting adjourned at 2055 hours
Respectfully submitted
Director Thomas Goddard