When Sedona’s new fire chief takes on his role Tuesday, Sept. 1, he’s going to have his hands full.

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the Sedona Fire District Governing Board deferred taking action on any pending issues, preferring to wait for Nazih Hazime to officially start as chief.

SFD has been without a chief since April 2008 when former Chief Matt Shobert resigned to move to California. Assistant Chief Bill Boler filled in until November 2008 when a four-person management team was formed to act as interim chief.

After a discussion in executive session, the board voted 5-0 to put a pending grant investigation and a hostile workplace investigation into the new chief’s hands.

It also voted 5-0 to wait to discuss the proposed Chapel fire station with Hazime, before deciding to put the question to a vote by the public.

Chapel Station

The board will wait to discuss with Hazime options for building a 10,000 square foot fire station in the Chapel area.

Since it didn’t address whether or not it legally can or will put the question to the voters, the board’s attorney, Bill Whittington, will put out a public statement on its behalf, he said.

On July 22, the board shot down a motion, 2-3, to go ahead with plans to build a $2.76 million fire station in the Chapel area. Chairman Ralph Graves and board member Liza Vernet voted in favor of building the station.

The three opposing board members, Don Harr, Charles Christensen and Bert Berkshire proposed putting the question to the voters in the November election.

Since the deadline to turn in wording for Yavapai County’s election in November has passed, if the district wanted to poll the public, it would have to hire a private company to hold an election.

According to Assistant Chief Terry Keller, SFD is currently roving the Chapel area with an ambulance roughly 12 hours a day.

It is also searching for a rental house to temporarily house staff in the area, he said.

“Having a unit idling 24 hours a day is unhealthy for responders, the environment and the community,” Keller said.

The roving unit may be a transition to a rental home, which could transition to a permanent building, he said.

The contractor, Amon Builders, has agreed to honor its guaranteed maximum price to construct the proposed station at $2.76 million until Friday, Sept. 25.

Hostile Workplace

The board agreed to turn a pending investigation into a hostile work environment complaint over to Hazime

on Sept. 1 to review all the documents and make a decision.

The complaint was filed by Keller and Business Director Karen Daines. The board first received and discussed the complaint in executive session at its July 22 meeting.

Grant Issues

An investigation relating to grants at the district will be handed over to Hazime on Sept. 1. The board voted to let the new chief pursue the possibility of hiring an independent investigator if he deems it necessary.

SFD management is currently discussing $150,000 of grant money with the Arizona Department of Homeland Security.

It is still undecided how much of the grant money SFD will return to the state department because regional telecommunication projects either weren’t started or finished.

The grant money is sitting in a reserve fund with special project revenue.

Alison Ecklund can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 125, or e-mail aecklund@larsonnewspapers.com