The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular monthly board meeting March 21. All directors were present. Richard Shearer, legal counsel for the district, did not attend but was available by phone.Treasurerís reportFire Chief Trent Harwig reported that the fiscal year was 17 percent complete as of Feb. 28. The district received 5 percent of its budgeted revenue, and general fund expenses were at 13 percent; which was 4 percent under budget.Harwig said the district completed an application for a 50 percent matching grant for a new ambulance. Grant awards will be announced July 1. The ambulance specified by the district will cost about $210,000 plus an additional $27,000 in equipment.The district has received an ambulance from the Ellicott Fire Protection District. The ambulance is on a 2004 Ford chassis and the motor has about 10,000 miles. However, it needs a new transmission, which is estimated at $3,500. Harwig said FFPD plans to use this vehicle as a reserve ambulance. He also noted that FFPD has previously donated radios and equipment to Ellicott FPD.Chiefís reportHarwig reported that the auditor just completed the field portion of the annual audit and is satisfied with his findings. The audit should be complete in early June.Incident statisticsFFPD received 180 calls for service in February ó an 11.1 percent increase over February 2017. That brought the year-to-date total to 413 calls ó 22.6 percent higher than the same period in 2017.Public safety task forceHarwig said the public safety task force met for the first time March 15. Sixteen residents representing all areas of the fire district were given a general overview of district operations, funding and priority needs. Board president Dan Kupferer noted that the attendees asked good questions in a positive context. Harwig said 11,000 mailers will be sent to registered voters in the fire district to determine the likelihood of supporting a mill levy increase. He said a 10 percent return rate is expected, and research indicates the people who return the polls are the most likely to vote.May board of directors electionTwo seats on the FFPD board of directors were up for election in May. Since the only two applications received came from seated board members, the board unanimously passed resolution 3-21-2018-1 to cancel the May election. Harwig noted this will save the district about $10,000 in election costs.Station 1 park easementHarwig said that FFPD driver/operator Amy Webb has been working with a nonprofit that would like to build a handicapped accessible park on part of the fire district property adjacent to Fire Station 1. Webb needed the FFPD boardís consensus to approach Woodmen Hills about operating the park. Board members discussed maintenance, liability, potential parking issues and the fact that FFPD cannot spend funds on the park before granting approval for Webb to move forward on the project.Correction: In the March issue of The New Falcon Herald, it was reported that Falconís three fire stations are currently staffed daily with three full-time firefighters each at two stations and two full-time firefighters at one station. Daily staffing is actually two full-time firefighters each at two stations and three full-time firefighters at one station.
