The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting July 17. Directors Kelly Starkman, Dan Kupferer and Greg Heule were present, with Mike Smaldino participating via conference call. Director Henry Allen was out of town.Public comment:Bud Kucera, a 33-year resident of the district and a former Falcon firefighter, chief and board member, read a statement regarding the boardís decision to place three chief officers on paid administrative leave and hire a third party to conduct an investigation.Kucera said the two board members who first brought the issue before the board ìalready had the ësolutioní ( hiring Mountain States Employers Council) conveniently and carefully orchestratedî and called the investigation ìa witch hunt over some petty perceived grievances at best.îìMany of us who are paying these bills think a little vetting of the problem or problems could have saved a lot of dollars and damage to the department,î Kucera said.Kucera noted that the district had to ìjoinî the MSEC at a cost of $3,500 before any investigation could take place. ìWas this put out for a bid, or was anything done to possibly reduce or control the overall cost of this adventure? Where in the minutes does the cost ceiling appear?î he said. Kucera estimated that the cost to the district, including attorneyís fees, overtime to cover the chiefsí leave and special board meetings could total $50,000 or more.He also discussed the Black Forest fire: ìThe firefighters did their job well when they were allowed to do so by the interim leadership.î However, he said crews were held in reserve instead of patrolling the district. ìIs this maintaining the level of service and protection the taxpayers were sold during the last mill levy? The board fiddled while Falcon burned.îThe decision regarding the chiefs could have been made sooner, Kucera said, adding that the boardís ìagenda seems to have gotten in the way of doing tasks required for a timely resolution.îìThe result: No confidence in the board to effectively and efficiently manage the affairs of the district, and this lack of confidence is spreading rapidly amongst the tax base,î Kucera said. ìThe department is split.î He said that friction and distrust has developed and is growing among firefighters, and that they have been informally advised to ìstay under the radarî and not trust anyone. He also said there is ìa very well-deserved and real fear of the chain of command,î calling the situation one ìwhich will destroy the effectiveness of any organization structured like a fire department.îìThis board is broken, dysfunctional and does not now have the trust of those who are paying the bills,î Kucera said. He said a director recall is a ìpossibility,î and mentioned the May 2014 board election in which three board seats will be open. He closed by saying, ìPatrons no longer have trust in this boardís effectiveness. We trusted you, and it appears that you, as a group, have let us down.îBarry Springer, district resident and former FFPD board member, spoke about the absence of the FFPD chiefs during the Black Forest fire. He said the board had received the Mountain Statesí final written report June 6, five days before the Black Forest fire began. The board could have made the decision to reinstate the three chiefs sooner than June 19, Springer said.ìWe had about 750 firefighters from around the country fighting this fire, and we had sidelined three of 11 (FFPD officers), about 30 percent, of … the most senior and most experienced leadership of the department. My concern is the board’s actions seemed to have denied the taxpayers of this district the most effective leadership they could have had to help guide those 750 firefighters in effectively fighting that fire. The board had an opportunity to at least restore these three officers to operational leadership. It appears to me to be a lapse on the part of the board; or an opportunity to improve the protection of our district, and they failed in doing that.îTreasurerís report:As of June 30, the fiscal year is 50 percent complete. The district has received 91 percent of its budgeted revenues and expended 54 percent of budgeted expenditures. Expenses include the lease payment. The district has not yet received a bill for the MSEC investigation.The Rural Water Fund received a contribution of $5,625, bringing the fundís balance to $73,533.Harwig said there is ìa chanceî that FFPD could receive reimbursement for expenses incurred during the Black Forest fire, depending on how the state gets reimbursed and what kind of disaster funds are available. However, since the part of the fire in FFPDís territory was all on private property, he doubts the state would reimburse FFPD for putting out fires in its own district.Chiefís report:Because of questions the board has previously asked about apparatus maintenance and replacement, Harwig developed a comprehensive list of FFPD vehicles that includes estimated replacement schedules and replacement costs. He said the entire fleet will probably need to be replaced in the next 10 to 12 years; the current fleet is valued at $2.9 million and is 100 percent mission ready.Harwig is also compiling similar information about FFPD-owned facilities for board members.Capital expenses that are not mission-critical have been temporarily suspended until other expenses incurred in the first half of the year can be better evaluated.FFPD currently has 18 full-time and seven part-time personnel, two administrative personnel (the chief and the administrative assistant), one career part-time mechanic, nine firefighter volunteers, six EMS volunteers and one volunteer chaplain. The district is currently short one lieutenant and one battalion chief, with processes ongoing to fill both positions.The chief said there is a need to build up the volunteer ranks. Reserve firefighter and EMS lateral academies are scheduled for mid-August.The district has received several open records requests in the past month and is addressing them as appropriate.County Emergency Services Agency Contract: Colorado Springs will no longer be part of the countywide ESA system as of April 1, 2014. The county will still maintain an ESA board and is moving forward with a county-only ESA contract for ambulance transport services. Harwig said the district needs to leave its options open and will not commit to anything until the contents of the request for proposal are known. Harwig said he will request an executive session with the ESA board to discuss the RFP. The financial audit is complete. Harwig said all financial statements ìpresented fairly,î meaning there were no negatives reported in the audit, and all fund balances increased.Fire prevention:The Regional Building Department and Black Forest Fire Protection District have both waived permit fees for homes being rebuilt after the fire, provided the home is being rebuilt where one was totally destroyed, and plans have been previously approved. Fourteen homes were destroyed in the Falcon fire district. Vernon Champlin, fire marshal, requested that the board waive the $340 Wildland Urban Interface permit fees from FFPD on those 14 residences. He also requested that fire flow requirements also be waived only for those homes.FFPD is revising its Appendix K of the 2009 International Fire Code, which has yet to be fully approved by the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs. The revision includes a requirement for ìhardeningî new homes being built in the WUI. Hardening makes the home more defensible against wildfire by using fire resistant construction materials. For example, composite materials for decks can be used in place of wood, and stucco can replace wood siding.The board approved Champlin’s request to waive permit fees, with the contingency that the hardened structure requirement be enforced.New business:The deputy chief of operationsí job description and new chain of command/organizational chart have been developed and need to be reviewed by the board. Harwig said there is no funding for the training officer position, so the deputy chief will fill that role as well.
