At their monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 17, the Falcon Fire Protection District Board of Directors discussed plans for the new Station 3 and the new administration building. Finance reportThe district’s financial situation looks good. Fire Chief Trent Harwig predicted they should be at budget the rest of the year. Revenues and expenditures in all accounts are within acceptable perimeters. However, collection of ambulance transport fees is 21 percent lower than budgeted. The chief noted that since the Division of Motor Vehicles offices are now open the district will be receiving revenue from special ownership taxes. Harwig said that by the September board meeting they should know the new assessment rates for budget planning purposes.Chief’s reportIn May, there were 277 reserve hours. Deputy Chief Jon Webb said the call volume for ambulance service is picking up. There were 88 transports in May. For the month of June, Webb said they were on track for more than 90 transports. There were 1,125 calls for fire service between Jan. 1 and the end of May. The average response time is nine minutes, 33 seconds. Response times across all zones have dropped.Construction projectsDuring the remainder of the Old Meridian Road project, the chief said the three front bays of Station 3 will have access to U.S. Highway 24 through temporary driveways. However, the end bay will not be in use for about a week while the curb and gutter is being poured on Old Meridian Road. After the meeting, Harwig told The New Falcon Herald that during that time it might be necessary to take either a brush truck or a tender out of service so that the engine housed in the end bay can be kept in service.The board discussed the process of working with the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners and the El Paso County Planning and Community Development Department on approval of plans for the new fire Station 3. The board is waiting for landscaping plans for the new building. The chief said that the cost of redoing the parking lot and other expenses preliminary to the start of construction will come out of the budget. To finance, board attorney Joan Fritsche is working with the bank to get a $2,200,000 lease purchase agreement finalized. That lease purchase agreement was approved by the board at their May meeting.They also discussed the design for the new administration building. It is yet to be decided if the building will have rooftop heating and cooling units or if there will be a mechanical room to house those units.The board approved inclusion of the Station 3 parcel into Woodmen Hills Metropolitan District for water and sewer service, and approved an intergovernmental agreement with Woodmen Hills. Both actions are pending the approval of the board attorney.The July board meeting will be held at 4 p.m., July 15, at Station 3, 7030 Old Meridian Road. The meeting can also be seen on zoom by going to https://zoom.us/j/731479999.
