Yamhill Fire fields two board races
Three candidates have filed for board member Position 1 and two have filed for Position 4 of the Yamhill Fire Protection District.
Incumbent board member Jon Peasley is facing challengers Brian Woodcuff and Craig Sauers for Position 1.
For the Position 4 seat, incumbent Jim Phillips is seeking reelection against Tom Bernards.
Ballots should be mailed after April 30 and voters have until 8 p.m. on May 20 to return them to the Yamhill County Clerk’s Office or local drop boxes.
Peasley was a volunteer firefighter for over 20 years and has been a board member for 10 years.
He told the News-Register he’s running again to serve the community and ensure Yamhill has a fire department that responds to calls and manages its finances properly.
As a board member, he says his role is to “be transparent to the community. Ensure we are following our policies, Oregon Revised Statutes, Federal Laws and ensure that the community’s tax dollars are spent wisely.”
Peasley’s focus is on following district policies, providing updated equipment to volunteers and looking to the district’s future by establishing a strategic plan.
He aims to address these issues as a board member with a two-pronged approach: seek out funds to replace outdated equipment and direct the strategic plan committee to evaluate and establish priorities for equipment replacement.
Peasley is concerned that the district is not adhering to “all policies as written.”
“The ‘good ol’ boy’ mentality needs to stop and all members need to work together to follow the policies,” he said. “I will continue to bring forward policies that are not being followed or need to be updated.”
Woodruff graduated from Yamhill Carlton High School and earned a bachelor’s in management from Pioneer Pacific College. He has a history of volunteerism in the community and at the fire district. He served in the U.S National Guard for 14 years.
If elected to the board, Woodruff said he will bring fresh community insight.
“I have been in the department and know the struggles of volunteering with the community constantly questioning the leadership,” he said.
He believes the top duties for a fire board member is to make the hard choices to keep the community a safe place and protect the volunteers.
A major issue he intends to address is the “constant mistrust from the community.”
“There are a select few people in the community who want to make a spectacle of the meetings,” he said. “The meetings in the recent past have been nothing but arguing and accusations.”
He noted board meetings are not a public forum, rather a time for board business.
If elected, Woodruff said he will review and update the district’s bylaws with the current community landscape in mind. Also top of his list is to find long-term leadership in order to build a foundation of excellence at the district.
Sauers is a farm worker and YC graduate also running for Position 1 who has volunteered at Yamhill and Carlton fire districts.
He told the News-Register decided to run “because our district is in a mess” and he aims to provide “practical, common-sense solutions.”
If elected, his goals include retaining an experienced chief that can bring the district into compliance, retain and recruit volunteers, stabilize finances and direct the district into a better future.
Regarding fire board member duties, Saucers said “serving constituents” is of the utmost importance.
“At the end of the day, you have to serve the taxpayers and those living in the district,” he said. Additionally, the board should focus on volunteer firefighters and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
He said the board must keep the district compliant with state laws, such as having clean audits, accounting for finance and ensuring volunteers have the necessary training.
“We’ve gotta work on recruiting and having leadership for volunteers to stay with the district,” he said.
His biggest concern is recruiting, he continued: keeping volunteers and having enough staff to respond to calls during the day.
“We are a bedroom community,” he said, noting the lack of volunteers during the day. “I’m looking at solutions to bring in a sleeper program and to have volunteers on call during the day.”
Phillips has served with the Yamhill Fire Protection District for 48 years, over 40 years as a board member and 10 years as a firefighter. He is a 1974 Yamhill Carlton graduate and owns C.F. Laughlin Logging Co.
“I feel Yamhill Fire has had a bad couple of years,” he said, adding that his 40 years of experience on the board will help guide the district in the right direction.
When it comes to board duties, Phillips said the board oversees activities while following district policy and state statutes.
“As a longtime community member, I can say a board member is someone that people feel is a person to discuss concerns with at the fire hall,” he said. “I have spent many hours on the sidewalk in front of T&E store trying to further explain directions the board has made.”
Should he be given another term, Phillips intends to tackle the district finances, catch up on audits, complete next year’s budget and compile job applications for the fire chief and other district positions.
“Currently, Yamhill Fire is battling two years of mismanagement of the district office,” he said. “With the help of a newly hired professional fire service secretary, we are in constant contact with many fire industry professionals to find and correct our financial situation.”
“My biggest concern with Yamhill Fire presently has to do with the volunteers,” he said. “The volunteers have had over a year of hate and discontent. Everyone has had to deal with untrue accusations and many chose to resign and/or stop coming to the hall.”
Reclaiming the trust of volunteers and the community would be his top priority if elected.
Bernards, a farmer with a a Bachelor of Science in horticulture from Oregon State University, and has volunteered at the Carlton Fire District and received a NFPA Firefighter 1 certificate and an engine boss state of Oregon certificate.
From 2012 to 2016, he served on the Oregon Clover Commission.
“I am running for the fire board because I want to help get the district financially sound and provide stability for the volunteers,” he said.
If elected, Bernards plans to contribute his knowledge of firefighting equipment, running a successful business and previous board experience.
He believes the top duties for a board member are “being accountable for the taxpayers, providing the best service for the community and helping formulate policy for the future.”
“The specific issues I am interested in are financial stability, accountability and leadership,” he said. “As a board member I would use past knowledge, experience and teamwork to make sound decisions.”
Currently, his biggest concern with the district is maintaining proper oversight of financials and active volunteer participation. To rectify these concerns, he said accurate bookkeeping and oversight needs to be implemented and the board needs to provide leadership to retain volunteers.
Comments
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The Oregon Ethics Commission has determined that Lauren Randolph has wasted even more taxpayer money seeking a vendetta against Jim Phillips. They dismissed the entire complaint. Randolph is trying to make the case that there was only one element that they determined was unfounded. The Oregon Ethics Commission is thorough in their reviews and looks at all possible aspects of any given case. They found nothing and unanimously voted to dismiss the entire action. It's time to elect Jim Phillips, Brian Woodruff, and Paul Vandegrift to the YFPD Board and let them complete the work that they have been committed to do for the past year or so. There is still the pending criminal action against the former Fire Chief Trampas Bergstrom. That will conclude soon with the entire story, and the rebuilding can continue. Once the dollars have been completely recovered by the district - there's either bonding or insurance in place for things like this - then the Board can completely bring closure to this whole sad episode. I'm glad that Phillips and Vandergrift have continued to press forward in the face of brutal accusations brought by a few in the community. Randolph has done nothing positive for the district, the community, nor the former Fire Chief. She needs to find something constructive to do with her time. Her baseless accusations and actions do NOTHING to help Bergstrom nor the Fire District. They just waste money and time. I hope the community supports the effort to make our fire district stronger and drown out the cancerous negativity coming from a few. The community appreciates our volunteers for their selfless service.