The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting May 21. Kelly Starkman, outgoing board president, called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance prior to turning over the meeting to director Dan Kupferer and newly elected board members Cory Galicia, Tom Kerby and Joan Hathcock. Director Greg Heule was absent. Attorneys Richard Shearer and Alan Call, legal counsel for the district, were present.New board membersShearer announced that the three new board members had been sworn in following the canvass boardís certification of election results on May 15.When asked why the new board members were sworn in then rather than at a public meeting as has been done in the past, Kupferer said they had originally intended to swear the new directors in at the regular board meeting, but issues and potential issues kept surfacing, so the new board members were sworn in on May 15 ìin the best interest of the district.î Kupferer did not specify what those problematic issues were.The board selected the new officers for the following positions:President: Dan KupfererVice president: Joan HathcockSecretary: Tom KerbyTreasurer: Cory GaliciaHeule resignationKupferer read an email from Greg Heule tendering his resignation effective May 21 because he is moving out of state.Treasurer’s reportFire Chief Trent Harwig reported that, with 33 percent of the fiscal year complete, 43 percent of anticipated revenue has been received. Total expenses, which include the Station 1 lease purchase payment, are at 39 percent.The 2013 audit has been completed.The board decided that the fire chief, board president and board treasurer will be the only authorized signatures on the district account.Chief’s reportChief Harwig provided an overview of the fire district for the benefit of new board members.
- Founded in 1975 as an all-volunteer department; became a fire protection district in 1981
- District is currently 113 square miles with 11,648 single-family residences and about 25,160 residents
- District is broken into six sub-districts for the purpose of tracking response statistics and other data
- Ten percent of the district has fire hydrants; water for fighting fires must be hauled in to the remaining 90 percent
- Staff includes 20 full-time and five part-time employees supplemented by volunteers (which usually fluctuates between 10 and 20)
- FFPDís 8.612 mill levy is one of the lowest in the county for departments that have paid staff, and is mid-range among all county fire districts.
- Only two mill levy increases (in 2000 and 2011) have been implemented.
- FFPD responds to about 2,000 calls per year, including automatic aid and mutual aid to neighboring departments.
Attorney’s reportShearer said the recall election will be cancelled since director Heule resigned.Shearer noted that the proposed exclusion of the Feathergrass property in FFPDís District 4 equals about 20 percent of the revenue for that part of the fire district.Shearer said the board will need to make decisions regarding the 2009 International Fire Code. He said county commissioners deleted ìa significant amountî of the fire code that was adopted by six fire districts, including Falcon. ìThe concept of adequate water for firefighting is gone,î Shearer said. He recommended that the board address the issue at the next meeting. ìWe really need to find a way to deal with this.îBoard members have received both the districtís bylaws and Special District Association guidelines. Shearer also recommended that the board update the bylaws, which have not been changed since 2006, to reflect current laws and policies.Pension board meetingAll current trustees for the volunteer pension board were present. Before the next quarterly pension board meeting, the pension board will seek a volunteer to replace trustee Galicia since he is now a member of the FFPD board of directors.2014 election updatesLeon Gomes, the designated election official, reported that the canvass board met May 15 and certified the election results.Gomes said that 361 ballots were cast, including many absentee voter ballots. Galicia and Kerby were elected to four-year terms, while Hathcock was elected for the two-year seat.Regarding resolution of the election ballots costs, Gomes said he will provide an update to the board at the June meeting.The board moved into executive session to discuss a personnel matter and the proposed Feathergrass exclusion.
