At its Dec. 10 meeting, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District Commission adopted Resolution 13-17, which eliminated two regular meetings each month. IFPD, as the water districts do, will hold only one regular meeting monthly. It will be 6 p.m., second Tuesday of each month.
However, besides its regular January meeting, the commission held a special meeting on Jan. 7 to discuss its dispatch agreement with Riverside County.
When asked why a special meeting was necessary rather than addressing it during the Jan. 14 regular meeting, Board President Jerry Buchanan explained that the cooperative agreement’s expiration date was March 11. In order to comply with the term of providing a 60-day notification that IFPD might not renew the contract, the commission had to meet before Jan. 11 and approve the letter.
However, neither Chief Patrick Reitz nor Buchanan explained how the March 11 date was determined. All signatories, IFPD and former president of the County Board of Supervisors signed the original contract on March 26, 2011. Furthermore, the full Board of Supervisors didn’t approve the cooperative agreement until its May 10, 2011 meeting.