Jimmy Wallace, a member of the board of commissioners for Fire District 11 in Pearl River, said this will be his last term serving on the board.

The board has been under great scrutiny since they fired long-time chief Robbie Crowe last December. Board members have been criticized for not properly advertising their meetings, and just Wednesday night Wallace called his fellow board members down for not notifying him of that meeting and for not placing him on the agenda to speak as he had requested.

“I found out 5 minutes to 6 from (fellow board member) Gary Dyess,” Wallace said at the start of the 7 p.m. meeting. “I had no time to study or prepare for meeting.” The board traditionally has its meetings on the second Wednesday of every month, but had to cancel last week’s meeting because it was not advertised in enough time. Wallace said that when he was notified that the meeting would have to be rescheduled, he was told by board member Lola Monroe that she would call him to let him know if the meeting would be held on the next Tuesday or Wednesday night. He said he never heard back from Monroe so until he heard differently from Dyess he had assumed the meeting had not been rescheduled.

He told Monroe and fellow board members Donna and Jane Christopher that one of them should have called to tell him the meeting had been rescheduled.

“I am a board member, I should not be the last one to find out (when a meeting is scheduled),” Wallace said.

“The phone works both ways,” Donna Christopher responded.

Wallace said his lack of notification of meetings, while it has been very frustrating, said that is not why he has asked to not be reappointed to the board. He said he has moved out of the district. Wallace said he will finish out this term, which ends at the end of 2011, but has requested that Parish Councilmember Rebecca Crawford Howell find someone to replace him when that time is up.

“When this term is over I will step aside with a smile on my face,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it.”

The board and Fire Chief Johnny Leos continue to struggle to get a grasp on what equipment the department has, what it needs to replace or purchase and how much money the department has available.

Monroe said the board is currently waiting for its financial audit for last year to come back and it is preparing to make some major adjustments to the 2010 budget to finish out the year so that it will reflect the actual figures. She anticipates the board will begin working on the 2011 budget in October with it scheduled to be adopted by the end of the year.

Leos announced that 10 new recruits recently completed the first responder course and the volunteer pool is now up to 38 people with as many as 8 to 10 showing up for each call. Several of the volunteers will take part in the fire burns standards course in September, and once they pass that, they can be used at fires. They will still have to complete the Fire Fighter 1 course, but Fire District 1 has offered to give that class for free.

The department has also signed an agreement with District 1 to offer automatic mutual aide in the case of a fire at Microtel, Rooms to Go Distribution Center, Big T Tire Warehouse or for the residences in the area of Eagle Lake and the Ponderosa Trailer Park.

The board approved spending $275 to get nametag clips to be placed on each helmet. The clips will be removed when a person enters a fire and placed on a board as a way to keep track of employees at a fire scene.

Leos said the department is short 10 sets of turnout gear. Each set is estimated to cost $1,200-1,400, and the board authorized him to request bids in hopes that by buying all 10 at one time, the district might get a discounted price.

The board also approved spending $1,400 to replace the panels in the training tower so that it can be used to train the volunteers and new recruits.