Meeting was called to order at 1504 hours by President Graves. Greg Bailey VP, Tim Logozzo, Reed Gracie, Will Judkins and Danielle Sims. Dave Rains called and will join later. Jacob Burkhart is out of town and will not be attending.
Minutes from the last meeting were distributed to the board members prior to the meeting to read and be ready to vote on. Motion to approve minutes as read by Greg, seconded by Will, all approved, motion passed.
Treasurers Report was given by Danielle. Account balances are as follows: QuickBooks Checking $6.837.58, Wells Fargo Checking $46,922.14 and Wells Fargo Savings $59,191.14. Total in accounts is $112,950.86. Danielle gave a quick summary of the Profit and Loss because an in-depth report will be given at the General Meeting later. Total Income January-December 15, 2024, is $90,077.98, Expenses total is: $84,722.19, Net profit is: $5,355.79. Motion to approve the Treasurers report by Will, seconded by Greg, all approved, motion passed.
The WCFA board discussed moving our Wells Fargo bank accounts to Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU). Vice President Greg Bailey made a motion to move our funds from Wells Fargo and open a new Business Checking and Savings account at STCU. President Todd Graves and Secretary Danielle Sims will be the signers on these accounts. President Todd Graves and Secretary Danielle Sims both currently have their own accounts with STCU. Board member Tim Logozzo seconded the motion. All approved, motion passed. Danielle will proceed with the process of opening the accounts, moving the money from Wells Fargo and ordering new checks.
The board then discussed a tabled topic from the spring meeting regarding sending bank statements to the VP regularly and a bi-annual audit of the finances. After a review of the by-laws, it was decided that they do not say that the VP should be getting the bank statements. It only states that the board could, at their discretion call for an audit of the finances. Will Judkins web searched a RCW that might pertain to audits. It could not be fully decided at this time what the course of action should be on this matter. Danielle shared that former President Kevin Curfman had our current By-Laws reviewed by an attorney to be sure they were formed legally. More discussion followed. *A motion was made by Greg Bailey to have Danielle investigate this further, motion seconded by Reed Gracie, all approved, motion passed.
*Note the day after this meeting Danielle sent an email to the board members showing them the RCW in question and that it does not apply to the WCFA regarding audits. She also found that we are bound by our By-Laws in how we manage our finances. The RCW’s apply to public entities, where corporations are bound by their internal regulating documents. The WCFA By-Laws state that the E-Board will annually ask for an audit at their discretion (if needed or warranted). Board members replied to this email stating that they agree no external audits would be needed except as the By-Laws state, at their discretion.
Next item is Training Committee topics. Danielle shared a reminder that the instructors had been approved for a raise beginning with the 2025 season. Lead $35/hour & unit $22/hour. A discussion followed about adding new instructors. Reed Gracie said he would like to help fill in but would not be available for a big commitment to training. Todd, Tim and Dave all said they would continue teaching. Tim said he needs to look for another instructor as Jason Sare is becoming less available. President Graves suggested that Reed look into a train the trainer course, something like M-410. We also discussed that Todd lost all the WCFA training materials he had in his shop when it burned in the wildfire in June. We will have to replace the fire shelters and training manuals. President Graves said he would check with his insurance to see if they paid him for those items because he had put it in his claim. Danielle also shared using a form that the instructor’s would sign verifying all students passed classes that the mock taskbook are used in. The taskbook that has been provided doesn’t really show whether the students passed or not. The TC would like Danielle to see if she can find out if the taskbook must be used for the class or if we could go back to the old test. We are following up on moving the Sultan class to Snohomish. Danielle will ask Kevin Weed and Kurt Bartelheimer what they have found out at the General Meeting later. Danielle also asked those present to send her any ideas for our upcoming refresher.
On to Old Business: Database updates, none. Dan Curfman did not respond to Danielle’s email for an update.
Committee Reports. Jacob Burkhart is the chair of the PAC/LAC, but he is not present at the meeting. President Graves shared a couple of items that Jacob had given him. President Graves shared topics discussed at his FDC meeting earlier in the day. He will share more at the General Meeting later.
Review and finalize the By-laws. A draft of the by-laws has been in progress for about 3 years. The board discussed the changes and made a few updates to the ones already listed. Greg Bailey motioned to accept the updates to the By-laws and finalize the document. Will seconded, no further discussion, all approved, motion passed.
No other old business.
New Business:
We have two new associate members who just submitted their applications in the last day. Reed Gracie knows them and encouraged them to join. This will be presented at the General Meeting later.
Three items under new business will be presented in full at the General Meeting later, NWSA Conference, problems with getting paid, 2025 water handling agreements. The next item of a WCFA Member employee’s being unprofessional on incidents. President Graves shared that Methow River Wildfire employees had been reported and de-mobed from fires over their conduct. Discussion followed. A motion was brought by Will Judkins to have President Graves write a letter of warning to the company owner making them aware that they broke our COE. Greg Bailey seconded, all approved, motion passed. Greg Bailey shared that he and Reed Gracie invited David Way of DNR to attend our meeting. Greg is working on a proposal to present to DNR in a meeting we hope to have with them in January.
No other new business. Spring meeting date TBD.
Motion to adjourn meeting by Greg Bailey, seconded by Reed Gracie, all approved, meeting adjourned at 1728.