The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting Jan. 15. All directors were present except Greg Heule, who had an excused absence. Attorneys Richard Shearer and Alan Call, legal counsel for the district, were also present.Public commentResident Leslie Riese said she was ìdisappointed and fed upî with the actions of some board and department members over the past nine months. She reviewed the departmentís mission, vision, values and motto as stated on the FFPD website and asked, ìDo the board and department members stand by the mission statement? Does the community feel they are being served with pride and respect?îRiese questioned the boardís actions in placing three chief officers on paid leave in April 2013 and returning them to duty after the Black Forest Fire, even though the board had received a verbal report from Mountain States Employers Council in May and a written investigation report June 6 ña week before the fire. She questioned whether board and department members were working as a team and said she felt that respect for each other and the community was lacking in the board and the department.Riese cited attendance statistics for each board member and asked them to honor their commitment to attend scheduled meetings. ìIn my opinion, in order to serve our community and the department, you need to make these meetings a priority since you chose to accept the board position,î she said. ìI would like to ask those that are obviously too busy to make us a priority to please resign so we can get people on the board that actually do care about us.îRiese called for Greg Heule to resign from the board.Resident Dick Stuart said financial data obtained through an open records request showed the district spent an estimated $106,898.05 on legal and consulting fees as a result of the MSEC investigation.Treasurer’s reportFire Chief Trent Harwig reported that the district underspent the 2013 budget by $19,826, based on a cash basis. The 2013 budget will be audited in May on an accrual basis, which could bring that amount closer to zero. Harwig said the district received $63,508 more than anticipated in 2013 because of increased revenue from fees, special ownership taxes, donations and grant money.Harwig said the district has received a $5,000 grant from the Emergency Services Agency board for a Masimo pulse oximeter.The Rural Water Fund has a balance of $90,052.Chief’s reportFFPD responded to 1,979 alarms in 2013, an increase of 154 over 2012. Harwig said call volumes increased proportionally across all FFPD response districts. Response times for both emergent and non-emergent calls were an average of about one minute higher than 2012. Harwig said his staff is trying to determine the reasons times have increased. The board asked the chief to provide quarterly statistical charts.County ambulance contractHarwig reported that meetings are ongoing between county fire districts and the Emergency Services Agency regarding ambulance service in the county. The ESA formed in 1996 to oversee countywide ambulance contracts, but Colorado Springs broke away from the ESA in 2013, necessitating two different contracts. Harwig discussed several options under consideration by the FFPD and other local agencies. ìIt is best for the county to stay together under a county contract, if thatís possible,î he said. ìBut we also have an obligation to our own taxpayers and have to do whatís in our own best interest.î The current county contract with American Medical Response expires April 1.May board electionThe board passed a resolution authorizing a polling place election, which will be held May 6. They appointed Leon Gomes with Special District Management Services as the Designated Election Official. Falcon Station No. 3 will be used as the walk-in polling place for the election, as it has in previous years. Three seats will be up for election this year (one two-year term and two four-year terms).Anyone interested in becoming a candidate must submit a self-nomination form by Feb. 28.2009 International Fire Code adoption (see ì2009 IFC adoption follow upî by Robin Widmar)Harwig and the other fire chiefs involved in the 2009 IFC adoption process met in late January to discuss the fire code adoption by the BOCC.Membersí handbookThe board voted to approve the Members Handbook, reviewed by department members over the past two months. Shearer and Call will provide training on the handbook to department members at no charge to the district.Rural water fundFFPD continues to work with the Black Forest Reserve board, which has designated a site in the subdivision to install a 30,000-gallon water cistern. The BFR board is procuring bids and is expected to present that information at the February FFPD board meeting. The project will be funded by the FFPD rural water fund.Harwig said FFPD has received a few calls asking whether contributions to the rural water fund will be refunded since the Black Forest Fire/Rescue District is returning contributions made to its rural water fund. Director Kelly Starkman said, ìItís the opinion of the (FFPD) board that weíre going to use those funds as they were intended ñ to build some water supplies for the community.î
