Photo courtesy of Alpena Township On Monday, the newest addition to the Alpena Township Fire Department, Dillon Romstadt takes his oath and receives his pin from his daughter, Mila.

ALPENA – The Alpena Township Board of Trustees held their monthly meeting on Monday, and during that meeting, the newest addition to the Alpena Township Fire Department, Dillon Romstadt, was pinned.

Among other fire department business the board provided updates on resignations from the department and the status of hiring additional firefighters.

There were two resignations from the fire department for the board’s consideration.

Lieutenant Scott Waterson is retiring from the department and Luke Meissner is relocating out of the area.

The board accepted both of those resignations.

Next, Alpena Township Fire Chief Tim Baker introduced to the board their newest hire, Dillon Romstadt.

Romstadt took his firefighter oath before the board and received his pin from his daughter, Mila.

Also on the agenda was an update regarding the fire department’s staffing concerns and the paid-on-call policy.

Baker brought before the board a motion to increase the hourly rate when paid-on-call members are covering full-time shifts.

The increase would equal the full-time staff’s salary after their first year on the job. Baker discussed the conditions of the pay raise.

“Most, if not all of our paid-on-call staff that can work these hours have been in the department more than the two years required to be eligible for the pay raise,” Baker said.

“The raise is intended to work as an incentive to cover open shifts,” he added.

Baker explained that open shifts could present a problem if the shift incentives are not enough, however.

“As we go through this staffing situation, as a result of resignations, we were able to fill the open shifts in December and January,” Baker said. “February is not looking so good.”

Baker advised the board that there are several open shifts in the next month.

“In February, we have 10 open shifts that are either 12-hour shifts or 24-hour shifts,” Baker explained. “Without this incentive, I don’t think we will get the response that we have been getting from our paid-on-call staff.”

The raise was requested by the fire department’s advisory board. The board passed the motion unanimously.

Baker then gave a status update on other potential candidates.

“Last meeting we discussed moving up Wyatt Smith from paid-on-call to full-time,” Baker said. “I heard from Med Control, and their statement was that without having a license, it is basically don’t touch.”

Baker explained that Smith would only be allowed to perform the tasks he is trained for.

“He can only do what he is certified to do, which is CPR and moving patients,” Baker said.

The board advised Baker that they needed written documentation from Med Control to proceed with moving Smith to a full-time position.

Additionally, Baker mentioned three new candidates under consideration for open positions in the department.

“I plan on contacting three new candidates this week with the intention of bringing them in for an interview next week,” Baker said.

Baker also acknowledged Kevin Galloway for the most calls on the department in the previous year, with 498 total calls.