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ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2003 <br />3. Mark DuCharme —Fire Chief, Excelsior Fire District — Continued • <br />continuing the partnership. <br />White asked how DuCharme felt about in -home sprinkler systems. DuCharme stated that <br />he was in favor of them. While alarms and sprinklers have an initial cost, they are well <br />worth the investment because sprinklers are an effective tool against home fires. <br />Mayor Peterson asked if there would be a restriction against recruiting applicants from the <br />Navarre area. DuCharme stated that they require applicants be able to reach the station <br />within 5 minutes. They do, however, use common sense, so if someone lives just outside <br />the 5 minute radius, they would still be considered for a position. The most important <br />thing is that applicants have an adequate response time to the alarms. <br />Sansevere asked about pension jurisdiction. DuCharme stated that the Navarre recruits <br />would be covered by the Long Lake Fire Department. Fire fighters cannot transfer service <br />with their pensions in Minnesota. By putting them under Long Lake, some fire fighters <br />would be able to transfer to the new station without losing their pensions. He stated that <br />50 – 75 years ago, it was not uncommon for some departments to have large pensions, and <br />others to have small ones, based on which were focused on protecting their pension funds <br />and encouraging fire fighters to stay in their service. <br />Murphy stated that in the corporate world, pension portability is a controversial issue <br />because the whole point is to keep people with one company. There will be a lot of issues <br />to explore in the next few years. <br />Gabriel Jabbour stated that DuCharme is a full -time fire chief who also teaches fire fighter <br />classes. He will be teaching the new recruits, which will give them the benefit of saving <br />time and money by having local training. <br />Sansevere stated they couldn't have found a better chief and staff to see them through the <br />development process. <br />DuCharme stated it was a team effort. When asked about his history, he stated he was <br />born in Shorewood, the youngest of a dozen children. He came from the Brooklyn Park <br />Fire Department and has over 20 years of experience. He was mentored by John George, <br />a former Chief of the Minneapolis Fire Department. <br />Murphy stated the City has a 20 -year fire service contract with Long Lake, and the <br />Excelsior Department would be helping with training and service for 3 -years while <br />Navarre is getting up and running. Murphy stated they are very lucky to have the <br />Excelsior department and Ducharme to work with. <br />Mayor Peterson thanked DuCharme for his assistance, and for coming to the meeting. • <br />2 <br />