At their board meeting June 16, the Falcon Fire Protection District agreed to hire more firefighters, and also discussed construction projectsNew firefightersChief Trent Harwig said the department is now at 54 full-time firefighters; he had intended to hire nine more firefighters next year. However, he suggested and the board agreed, to hiring three more full-time firefighters at this time. The chief said when several people are out because of illness, vacation or other reasons, they have to discontinue the use of one ambulance. He said the current amount in the budget for salaries would cover the new hires. There is a pool of trained part-time firefighters to draw from. It was discussed that in a few months after these hirings, the board would have a better idea of how many more additional firefighters might be necessary.FinancesIn all budget categories, except the rural water fund and capital projects, revenues are ahead of expenditures. There was no activity in the rural water fund. The chief said the situation would change in the capital projects fund when lease purchase funds are received.OperationsThere were 24 reserve hours in May. The total calls for May were 254, down from 294 the month before. Jon Webb, EMT division chief, said when the ambulance service first started they were anticipating 90 calls a month. Now he said they average 100 calls a month. There were 528 ambulance calls through the end of May.ConstructionThe chief said that work is swiftly moving along on station 3. There were no change orders for the project; however, the board approved a draw to Hammers Construction of $189,574 for work completed.The board discussed landscaping for the new administration building. There was a pre-bid walk-through for the project on June 10. Bids for the new administration building are due July 16. A committee consisting of Harwig and board members Tom Kerby and Dan Kupferer will review the bids and make a recommendation at the next board meeting.Attorney’s reportAttorney Joan Fritsche said that a draft of the employee handbook should be available at next month’s meeting. At the last meeting, the board agreed to employ H&K Law for personnel matters. Fritsche added that the agreement with H&K Law was modified and signed shortly after the last board meeting.Executive sessionAt the end of the meeting, the board went into executive session to consider a contract with Fidelity Towers, which would erect a cellular tower on station 2 property.The next meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m., Wednesday, July 21, at station 3, 7030 Old Meridian Road. Interested persons can participate via conference call by dialing 719-495-2681 and following the prompts.
