Volunteer firefighters set to vote Thursday to name their new fire chief

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 11:05 p.m. — The Bardstown-Nelson County Volunteer Fire Department (BNCVFD) is continuing preparations for leaving the city’s main fire station at the corner of North Fifth Street and West Broadway. In addition to financial and equipment considerations, the incorporated fire department’s board of directors also named a new fire chief it will recommend to the the members at the board’s meeting Thursday evening.

J. T. Bass was the sole candidate who stepped forward to apply for the newly created chief’s position with the incorporated fire department. Marlin Howard, chief of the Bardstown Fire Department, announced last week he will resign as chief of the BNCVFD but will keep his position as chief of the Bardstown Fire department. Previously, the city fire chief served as chief of both departments, but the pending separation required the volunteer department to name its own chief.

Bass, who was present at Tuesday night’s board meeting, said in his letter to the board that he planned “to serve in this position with humility, loyalty and integrity.”

Bass cited his 20-plus years of experience and training in fire and emergency services as one reason he sought the chief position. He acknowledged the coming challenges ahead for the new chief as the department charts its course as a standalone fire department.

“I feel I have an outstanding ability to build relationships, and the BNCVFD has never needed a chief with these attributes more than today.”

The board adjourned the public portion of their meeting to go into a closed executive session in order to interview Bass in regard to the chief position. After approximately an hour, the board emerged and voted unanimously to recommend Bass to the fire department’s membership at its meeting Thursday night.

MAKING PREPARATIONS. Derrick Laswell, chairman of the transition committee, gave the board a rundown on costs of the immediate needs the department will require as it moves into its own Station 1. The costs include nearly $20,000 in supplies and equipment to equip the station for service.

Nelson County Judge Executive Dean Watts has agreed to allow the fire department to use the former Emergency Management building next to the Bardstown Police Department as its primary fire station. Details of a lease and the costs to prepare the building remain to be worked, Laswell told the board.

Laswell also suggested the board consider the purchase of two vehicles — a truck for the chief and a command vehicle — at a website that deals in the sale of vehicles for emergency services. The non-profit fire department doesn’t qualify to buy vehicles on state contract pricing, and Laswell explained that the department could purchase two used vehicles at the cost of one new one.

Following considerable discussion on the merits of new versus used vehicles, the board authorized Laswell to represent the department in order to enter into negotiations for the possible purchase of one or both vehicles. Laswell will bring more information regarding the vehicles and their condition to department’s meeting Thursday.

In other business, the board:

— reviewed its tentative 2015-16 budget.

— approved modifications to several bylaws, including the process of selection of a fire chief.

— discussed the letter it sent to the city fire department offering automatic mutual aid for structure fires and rescue situations; and

— heard from board Chairman Stacy Faulkner that he had received no response from the board’s request for a 90-day extension from the city to give the department sufficient time to prepare to move out of Station 1.

NEXT UP. The Bardstown-Nelson County Volunteer Fire Department will meet Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Station 1, 220 North Fifth Street.

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