Monday morning, June 21, Holiday Suburban Improvement District commissioners assembled for a short regular meeting before moving into Executive Session to discuss the search for a District Manager.
Cpl. Aaron Ingle gave the County Sheriff’s report for May with 210 calls for service. Calls included thefts and a burglary, multiple misdemeanor arrests, including a single felony arrest, traffics stops, and accidents. Ingle also spoke of calls of fraud and detailed an investigation after a resident was scammed through Facebook messenger.
Ingle explained that the scammers pretended to be a friend of the victim, asking them to send money through gift cards. The individual went to Dollar General where an employee advised the victim not to send the gift cards. The victim believed the scammer messaging them was a friend and went ahead with the transaction and subsequently sent the cards.
Ingle said he wouldn’t normally go over some of the details of the investigation but that the rise in scams being successful through Facebook and other social media was cause for concern. HISID commissioners pondered over how best to keep the public informed on avoiding other related scams. Mention of a town hall style event was floated and Ingle said he would work with the social media manager to create a post with tips on how to avoid falling for online scams.
While no motion was made after the Executive Session, commissioners did unanimously vote for Resolution 2021-R1 allowing for the City of Holiday Island and HISID to work together to provide fire and EMS services within Holiday Island.
HISID continues to operate the fire department and EMS services while the city will provide $50,000 annually. HI Mayor Dan Kees explained that the amount was decided due to restricted revenue for the city but that it could increase as more revenue is earned by the city. The city mayor and district manager will oversee the contract.
HISID will hold a special meeting next Monday, June 28, and will publish an agenda later this week.