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INUTES OF THE UINTAH FIRE SUPPRESSION SPECIAL SERVICE DISTRICT REGULAR BOARD MEETING HELD September 24, 2025, at 5:15 p.m. at the Vernal City Offices, 374 E Main, Vernal, UT 84078.
Present: Terri Terrill, Echo Sheffer, Willis Lefevre, Corey Auger, Al Kettle, Jeremy Raymond, Robin O'Driscoll, Robert Hall, Nick Rousseau,
Welcome: Board chairman Robert Hall welcomed everyone to the September 24, 2025, meeting.
Standing Business:
Request for Approval of the Minutes of August 27, 2025 - Board member Willis Lefevre made a motion to approve the August 27, 2025, minutes. Board member Robin O'Driscoll seconded the motion. All board members voted in the affirmative.
Request for Approval of the August 2025 Expenditures - Jeremy Raymond explained some of the larger amounts on the report. There were membership dues for Utah Association of Special Districts. Airport training was here; we hosted Moab and Cedar City. All will be reimbursed from the airport. Fuel for Lapoint, building maintenance: shades for Lapoint. Vernal ladder truck inspections and tests for insurance and ISO. Maeser substation - replaced flag pole. I thought that what happened, someone hit it with the plow. The parking lot at the Maeser substation was chipped and sealed. Finishing up on the fans and outlets on Tridell Station. We did submit all the Tridell Station expenses. The PTIF escrow account is closed. Board member Al Kettle made a motion to approve the August 2025 expenditures. Board member Robin O'Driscoll seconded the motion. All board members voted in the affirmative.
Monthly Reports
Station Reports - Jeremy went over the incidents for each of the departments. This included the incidents that Roosevelt responded to. He also listed the inspections. The departments have been slow lately. We've got the chief and deputy chief here. Their rescue tools worked very well. They had a good tool and good firefighters.
Recruitment and Retention - Nothing had changed.
Financial Report - Jeremy Raymond explained that he appreciated Nick Rouseeau coming to our board meeting. He wanted to make sure the reports looked good. Jeremy had looked at them. They look great. On page 1 - PTIF account and Mountain Amerca Credit Union. On page 2, it was up to date. The mineral lease funds showed and the PILT money. We transferred $100,000 to the Animal Control District. The district received state fire reimbursement. Everything looked good. We are little bit over on some line items. We'll do a budget reopener in December. He reminded the chief s to start spending their budgets. On page 5 Brush fire department is over because they have been out so much. On page 7 there was a correction. These are the other PTIF accounts that the district has. They are all backwards. There was the Naples ladder truck. We finally got news on the Naples ladder truck. Its' pre-construction meeting will be in July of next year. The CIB is pulling interest on that account. Interest is 4% on the main PTIF account. On page 8, the only thing that I will probably not get done is the showers. We are getting washers and dryers done. On page 9 are assets.
Executive Director Report - Jeremy Raymond explained that he had been busy with monthly meetings. The Asphalt Ridge refinery will start construction next spring. It will be a small refinery. They are planning on doing refining. They will be trucking in oil. It will produce 15,000 gallons per day. Phase 2 will be 50,000 barrels per day. The main reason he wanted to meet with him is for fire protection. What they plan to do is to be trained; they will do evacuation. Vernal fire will respond. They are very supportive of us. They will help with some trainings. That was interesting. I'm always a little skeptical. We'll see when it happens. He will be doing a presentation at the Energy Summit. The Wildland fire crew are in California. They will be coming home next week. In October, we will have the pre-construction meeting for the brush truck. Even though our season was average, there were some maintenance costs. The Christmas Party is coming up on December 2. Board members are invited. Chief's meeting is next week. There is House Bill 48. Corey will go around to your entities and do a presentation. It requires all entities to adopt a Wildland Urban Interface policy. The county will collect the fee. The state will be doing the assessments. What they propose is it be part of the property taxes. The county will keep some of the fee. Most will go into fire pot. We don't know what the fees will be. The County can add in any direct costs.
Public Business
Discuss and Set Dates for Budget Workshops, Tentative Budget and Final Budget meetings - Board chairman Robert Hall commented that in the past we have done them on a Monday. We have done it at the end of October or beginning of November. November 19 is our board meeting, so we don't conflict with the holidays. Board chairman Robert Hall commented that he will be gone on the 22nd. December 17 is our regular board meeting. Budget workshops start at 5:15 and go until 9:00. We bought dinner. The commissioners would like us to do a presentation to them. Board chairman Robert Hall commented that he would like to meet with the commissioners before the budget workshops. Board member Willis Lefevre suggested that we do our budget workshops before they meet with the commissioners. Jeremy Raymond commented that we guess and use previous year's budget. It was asked if October 27th works for everyone. It would be from 5:15 to 9:00 pm. Jeremy will go around and meet with all the departments and Chief's and get you some numbers. During the budget workshop last year. Some felt like they were rushing. We want to allow plenty of time to present their budgets. You just schedule it. We had one board member that had to leave. We will get through what we can and make sure that everyone has their time. We can't prevent a board member that has to leave early. We will get that sent down.
2026 PEHP Medical Renewal Discussion and Approval - Jeremy Raymond explained that the district had used PEHP for several years. A couple of years ago the trust went out and looked at all the costs. They were still the best. The increases were averages. It's just us three employees. We would recommend we keep them. We can do some rate comparison if you would like. 6.3% increase isn't bad. Board member Robin O'Driscoll made a motion to approve the renewal of PEHP for 2026. Board member Al Kettle seconded the motion. All board members voted in the affirmative.
Discussion and Request for Approval of Diamond Mountain Racers Agreement - Jeremy Raymond explained that Diamond Mountain Racers approached the district about providing fire standby. This agreement is just for this weekend, with one EMT and a couple of firefighters. We have gotten enough people to cover it. Corey Auger commented that looking through the contract, it says it will not provide any ambulance services. He didn't see the EMT. Jeremy Raymond commented that we will have one EMT there. It doesn't say anything about EMT. But it does say personnel. If there was a real problem, an ambulance would be called. Board member Willis Lefevre commented that it doesn't say we won't. Board member Willis Lefevre made a motion to approve the agreement. Board member Al Kettle seconded the motion. All board members voted in the affirmative.
Adjourn - Board member Robin O'Driscoll made a motion to adjourn. Board member Al Kettle seconded the motion. All board members voted in the affirmative.
Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations during this meeting should notify Jeremy Raymond, 152 E 100 N, Vernal, Utah 84078: 435-781-6756.
Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation
Please direct any questions or comments to: Jeremy Raymond, 152 E 100 N, Vernal, Utah 84078. 435-781-6756