Novato Fire Board Looks to Undo Election of Officers

Less than one month after the Novato Fire District board elected a new president on the heels of the sudden retirement of Fire Chief Marc Revere, the board is set to reconsider its election officers Friday at a hastily scheduled special meeting.

The board elected Brad Beedle as its president at a Dec. 5 special meeting, the same night that retired Marin County Fire Chief Ken Massucco took over as interim fire chief in Novato in the wake of Revere's surprise decision to retire amidst a performance review by the board.

Beedle could not be reached for comment. But two of the three agenda items for Friday's 3 p.m. special meeting at Station 61, 7025 Redwood Blvd., involve reconsidering the Dec. 5 election of officers and a new election officers if the board agrees to formally reconsider its previous elections.

The move comes at a time of significant upheaval at the district. 

Revere's departure shocked many because his retirement was not announced prior to a closed-session Nov. 28 board meeting about his performance. The board emerged from the meeting saying Revere, the chief for the past six years, had retired during the review and that Massucco, who retired from Marin County Fire in March, was taking over until a permanent replacement is named.

At its Dec. 19 special meeting, the board approved Massucco's pay structure of $110 an hour for up to 955 hours, for a total of $118,000, while the district searches for a long-term replacement for Revere.

Massucco, a 37-year firefighter, said he always worked very closely with Novato during his stint as Marin County Fire chief and that there is a solid track record of shared services between the two agencies. Novato's annual budget is about $26 million and Marin County Fire's was about $20 million, he said. Massucco said he expects to be with Novato Fire for four or five months. 

Earlier this month, Beedle said the district was not in position to discuss Revere's departure, which made waves nationally because he had been named national chief of the year in August by an industry organization.

"It's a human resources issue, and out of respect for the people involved, I have to decline to comment," Beedle said at the time. "We realize that might not be what the community wants to hear, but our focus right now is to reassure that we're fiscally responsible and delivering services at a high level."

Beedle is a San Anselmo native and has lived in Novato for 25 years. He's worked in a variety of fields as a paramedic but focuses now on Beedle & Associates, which offers emergency medical services to the movie & TV industries, sporting events and other special events. 

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