Southwestern NH District Fire Mutual Aid
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday June 11, 2025
Directors Present:
President Ken March, Vice President Phil Tirrell, Directors Thomas Goddard, Harry Boynton, Thomas Bates, Dan Eaton, Greg Seymour, Jay Wilson, John Manning
The meeting was called to order at 1900 hours by President March
Administration Present:
Chief Joe Sangermano
Guests:
Don Bliss & Peter Denutte
Meeting Minutes May 28, 2025:
A motion was made by Director Eaton and seconded by Vice President Tirrell to approve the minutes of the May 28, 2025 meeting, as presented; Motion Passed via unanimous voice vote
Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer’s Report was introduced by Chief Sangermano; Director Manning questioned the accuracy of the report as provided, given there seemed to be discrepancies between this report and previous reports; Chief Sangermano advised the Board that in fact the report provided at this meeting was not wholly accurate, due to the fact that all of the specific line item budget figures are being updated in order to clearly indicate up-to-date budget figures, including each line item total budget, and the respective current budget balance; With this work and these updates yet to be completed, the financial report is not accurate; Chief Sangermano also advised that updates to our current accounting software have been purchased, and will be completed as soon as possible; A motion was made by Director Eaton and seconded by Director Wilson to table approval of the Treasurer’s Report; Motion passed via unanimous voice vote
Coordinator’s Activity Report
Chief Sangermano presented his monthly activity report; A motion was made by Director Boynton and seconded by Director Wilson to accept the Coordinator’s Activity Report as presented; Motion passed via unanimous voice vote
Committee Reports:
By-Laws Committee – No Report
Regional Training Committee – No Report
Public Relations Committee – No Report
Old Business:
New Recorder – Our IT vendor is still working on this project
CAD – Monitors have been ordered for Position 2 in Dispatch; CSI has indicated we should have a usable CAD within 2-3 weeks to begin training; Lt. Whipple, Ret., and Lt. Yeatman continue to work diligently on the run cards and putting together the information need by CSI in order to build out the new CAD; Costs associated with integration with the different reporting software used by our customers was discussed briefly
Dispatch Consoles – Motorola engineers were on site last week; Motorola engineers now have all the information required and will put the final touches on the order; Once ordered, the new consoles will be “readily available”
IamResponding – Contact has been re-established with a representative who is much more responsive than the previous representative; Work is being done to establish education and training for the dispatchers
FMA Utility 1 Truck Body – No update
Ladder Bay Roof Replacement – Chief Sangermano advised we are still awaiting quotes
System Communications Upgrade – No update
Grievances – No updates or action
MAFCA Organization Concerns – Director Goddard questioned the anticipated time line for inviting Peterborough FD Chief Walker and other MAFCA representatives to a Board meeting in order to discuss their concerns, as voiced during Annual Meeting; It was decided to invite them to the September 2025 Board Meeting, with Chief Sangermano to remain in contact with the organization and representatives in order to address any issues and/or concerns
Hyland and Gilsum Microwave Systems – Director Goddard questioned the progress being made in purchasing the new equipment necessary to install new microwave systems at our Hyland and Gilsum sites; Pete Denutte advised he is still looking at different options and equipment availability; Updates will follow at the next Board meeting
Beech Hill Site – Chief Sangermano advised the necessary work required at Beech Hill is being scheduled
New Business:
ATV Replacement – No updates or action
Water Rescue Task Force – Chief Sangermano advised that the Water Rescue Task Force, for integration into the new CAD System, will be considered their own independent entity/service
Don Bliss / MIR Review:
Organization Review - Don Bliss advised the Board the contracted organizational review has been completed, and a non-public draft of the report will be provided to President March and Vice President Tirrell within the next few days for their review; The final report, as a public document, will be provided to the Board of Directors on July 9, 2025
Grant Quarterly Report – Don Bliss advised the next quarterly report for the grant funding is approaching, and there are no issues or concerns with its completion and successful submission
System Upgrade Funding – Don Bliss advised he is working with County Administrator Chris Coates in searching for additional funding for the system upgrade project
Internal Hiring & Promotional Processes – Don Bliss indicated MRI will coordinating the upcoming dispatcher hiring process, and may be involved to the same degree with the upcoming promotional process
Peter Denutte Review:
Site Surveys – Pete Denutte advised that Motorola engineers completed their required surveys of all of our radio sites last week, with Oliver providing assistance and technical information throughout the process
Site Issues – Issues with our site relative to equipment, hardware, and communications functions continue to be identified; Oliver is continually prioritizing repairs and maintenance as issues are identified
Future Infrastructure Sharing – Pete Denutte advised there are many options available for Mutual Aid to share site specific infrastructure with CCSO, and consideration should be given to acting upon these opportunities as our system upgrade progresses; More information will be presented and reviewed as we move forward
Payment for Services – Director Goddard questioned the current status of invoices received from Peter Denutte for his services, and any disbursements that have been made for same; Peter advised he has yet to submit any invoices for services provided; The Board indicated the need for invoices to be submitted on a regular basis, with this specific time frame to be determined prior to the next Board meeting
ARPA Project Consultants – The Board discussed the need for specific contracts to be drafted, reviewed, approved, and adopted for consulting services pertaining to the system upgrade project; These contracts need to be addressed very soon, as we are rapidly approaching the time when grant funds will be dispersed; Don Bliss will be provided information relative to the manner in which this process needs to be conducted and provide other agencies to assist as needed
Personnel: None
Correspondence: None
Open Discussion:
Next Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday June 25, 2025 @ 1900 hours, to be held at FMA Headquarters
Motion made by Vice President Tirrell and seconded Director Seymour to adjourn; Motion passed
Meeting adjourned at 2142 hours
Respectfully submitted
Director Thomas Goddard