The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting June 19. All board members were present, with directors Dan Kupferer and Greg Heule participating via conference call. Also present were attorneys Richard Shearer and Alan Call (legal counsel for the district), Chief Trent Harwig, Battalion Chief Jeff Petersma, Battalion Chief Cory Galicia; and about 25 members of the public, including representatives of Ellicott Fire Protection District.FFPD has received numerous posters, cards and letters of appreciation from the community as a result of the Black Forest fire.Kelly Starkman, board president, said the board was in receipt of two letters that would be discussed in executive session because they appeared to reference personnel matters. Heule referred to one of the documents as a ìletter of no confidence from the membersî and asked why it was a personnel matter since no members were specifically named. Shearer said the letter did mention specific personnel. He said the second letter was ìthe flip sideî of the first letter referenced by Heule and advised the board to discuss both letters in executive session. There was no information provided about the origination of the letter or the contents. Executive session and actions takenThe board moved into executive session to discuss personnel matters and returned to open session after about two-and-a-half hours. Shearer, speaking on behalf of the board, said that Harwig would resume his duties effective immediately under a new organizational plan that includes the creation of a deputy chief position, reporting directly to the fire chief. Division Chief Glenn Levy will fill the deputy chief position and be primarily responsible for all operations of the district. Additionally, the battalion chiefs will report to the deputy chief instead of directly to the fire chief. The board has yet to determine the chain of command for the fire marshal.The remainder of the meeting agenda was tabled until the boardís regular meeting in July.
