After agency reports, the Board oversaw the presentation of Official Resolution by the California Senate, honoring former Morongo Valley Fire Chief James Brakebill for his 9-years duty at the district and his career in fire service spanning 46 years.
The Resolution, read aloud by Octavious Scott (representing Senator Shannon Grove), stated Brakebill “joined the district in 2015 and contributed 6750 hours of volunteer service that ranged from fire chief, special projects manager, fire chief vacation relief, duty officer on weekends and holidays, and the agency representative for the Morongo Valley Fire Department during the Thomas Fire (2017), the Apple and El Dorado Fires (2020), the South Fire (2021), the Fairview Fire (2022), while playing a key role ensuring the department was fully staffed and personnel were properly deployed during those fires.
When appointed District Manager in 2022, Brakebill assembled and led a cohesive team of firefighters and emergency responders by fostering a positive work culture and promoting professional development within the fire department…”
After the lengthy and detailed Resolution was read, Brakebill said, “I wanna let you know that I couldn’t have done it without the support of the Board, (General Manager) Brittany Chavez, and the firefighters. This is not a one man show—this is the everybody show! This came as a total shock but I’m very pleased and happy.”
The honor was followed by a special presentation by Justin Merino of Desert Region FireSafe (of the High Desert Emergency Action Alliance) on various points of residential fire preemptive fire safety and risk abatement. Merino enlightened the board and attendees on free home fire assessments the organization offers, and offered detailed knowledge on Fire Hazard Severity Zones, Defensible Spaces, Home Hardening, and how to create a Firewise Community in your neighborhood to get potential insurance discounts.
With most of the action items on the agenda approved or tabled until the two absent board members could collaborate next month, the discussion moved to the district’s Voluntary Revenue Plan, now months in the making. The VPR is an affordable annual subscription assisting in avoiding unexpected emergency service response fees, for residents whose insurance may not cover all emergency service charges.
To garner enthusiasm for enrollment, the Board voted to approve a 20% discount for residents who sign up by October 31st. Members of the Board will have a booth set up at next weekend’s Halloween Extravaganza in Covington Park for convenient enrollment and information.
