By RUBY KEARCE
The Liberty Volunteer Fire District (VFD) Board of Commissioners held a meeting at the Liberty Community Center on Dec. 27. Chair Mike Engel, Treasurer John Bottoms, Secretary Tony Roy, and Board member at large Philip Canterbury were all present, making a quorum, Vice chair John Hinson was absent. After Treasurer John Bottoms finished reading the treasurer’s report a citizen from the audience asked how much would be left in the bank account after all the bills were paid. Bottoms’ wife informed the council that the pair had not received the numbers until that morning, not giving them enough time to have made those calculations, but she believes that there is around $20,000 in bills, with around $70,000 in the account, leaving the district with around $50,000 after everything has been posted.
Firefighter Roger Roy made a statement from the audience regarding how much the Department had spent over the past month, saying payments such as Workers Comp payment, internet service have all posted to the account. Chair Engel then announced that the department should also be receiving about $1,200 from a GoFundMe that a member of the community created to assist with the reopening of Liberty Volunteer Fire Department.
Randy, a community member from the audience, asked for confirmation that the members of the board, aside from the vice chairman, were unaware of the audit until recently. Engel then confirmed that the board was only aware of the hearing, not the audit. Randy went on to explain to the board that she is in contact with Walton County Commissioner Brad Drake and is collecting information regarding the Liberty Fire District.
The conversation then shifted to the absence of Vice chair John Hinson, with a member of the board asking whether, since he has officially been absent from three meetings, he could be removed as a member of the board. Attorney Rene Youell stated that he needs to be absent from three regularly scheduled meetings for that to be a valid reason for removal, going on to explain that meetings such as the recent emergency meeting did not count toward the three total absences. Youell further explaining that any action on this matter must wait until the next meeting in order for it to be properly added to the agenda, then asking for each member to have a name for a replacement ready at the next meeting.
Phil, another attendee, made a suggestion to send a letter asking Hinson to formally resign from his position rather than waiting for the next meeting. Youell explained that this is a reasonable idea, but there is nothing legally to require him to resign. Youell, however, could send a letter stating that his actions could have him removed from the board, thus giving him an opportunity to resign rather than be removed. The issue was then tabled until the next meeting.
A representative for Liberty Fire District working on the OPPAGA report informed the board that The State Fire Marshal is having a meeting Jan. 4, concerning Liberty Volunteer Fire District and the data that has been requested. There will also be a series of meetings held between Liberty Fire District Volunteer Fire Department and its commissioners to address all the issues at hand. In order to adhere to the Sunshine Law, a schedule will be created for only one commissioner to be present at a time during a meeting.
Discussion then moved on to the official Liberty Fire District’s VFD’s website and its enhancement. The official website domain for the department is LibertyFire911.com, and Firefighter Roger Roy said that Argyle Volunteer Fire Department had their website created for a flat rate of $500. The competing offer was for $1,800 a year that includes both the creation of a website to state standards as well as website maintenance. After further discussion it was decided to go with the original offer of $1,800 a year, and a motion was passed giving Chairman Engel authority to move forward with the original offer. With this Liberty Fire District VFD disassociated with any Facebook that may appear to be in partnership with the district, and LibertyFire911.com is the only official website available at the moment.
The next regularly scheduled Liberty Fire District VFD’s Board of Commissioners meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 9.