The Falcon Fire Protection District and Cimarron Hills Fire Department are in negotiations to establish a possible ongoing partnership. What that partnership could entail has not yet been established.FFPD Chief Trent Harwig presented a draft of an intergovernmental agreement to the CHFD board of directors at a Feb. 13 board meeting. FFPD has been providing support services to CHFD for three months during a fire chief vacancy at CHFD.”The short term offer of support is over,” Harwig said. The current agreement expires mid-March. Harwig said with the absence of a fire chief at CHFD, there is a possibility the two departments could merge to combine administrative and support services. “With the intergovernmental agreement we can decide if we can live together before we merge,” he said.The CHFD board, though, isn’t sure a merger is their best option. Robert Lovato, CHFD board member, said he would like a fire chief to be hired at CHFD because “Falcon should not be in the position of running this district.”Harwig estimated hiring a fire chief at CHFD would cost about $82,000, while Lovato estimated utilizing all services presented in the intergovernmental agreement would cost CHFD $5,500 to $6,500 per month.The wording of the agreement could be tweaked as well, he said. As it stands, there are 28 items outlined. “The intergovernmental agreement could be done at any level,” he said.With the agreement, the FFPD could have a stronger presence in District 4, which has the second highest call volume, Harwig said. The current FFPD response time to the Claremont Ranch and Marksheffel Road corridor is at least 15 minutes, he added. The agreement would allow for a shorter response time. “Our obligation is to everyone that lives in the district, not just people who live near station No. 1,” Harwig said.The FFPD, a single-staff station with two substations, covers 133 square miles and averages 160 calls per month. The district staffs 18 career firefighters and 35 volunteers.CHFD, also a single-staff station, covers six square miles and averages 100 calls per month. The department staffs 12 career firefighters and two volunteers.Harwig said the intergovernmental agreement could be terminated at any time, unlike a merger. “In the IGA (intergovernmental agreement) all resources of the Falcon Fire Department become resources at Cimarron Hills Fire Department,” Harwig said.A final draft of the agreement was scheduled for the FFPD Feb. 20 board meeting.Gayle Jones, CHFD chairwoman, said the board’s attorney would review the agreement approved by the FFPD board of directors by the next CHFD board meeting.
