MINUTES OF REGULAR BOARD MEETING

  February 19, 2025

March 19, 2025

Call to Order

President Jill Allington called the meeting to order with board members Jim Hocker, Rachel Barkworth, Bill Ellis. Also present; Board Secretary, Natalie Gould, Chris Rich, Erle Collom, Rainia Derrington, Logan Derrington, Alicia Paddock, Teresa Hoffman, Leo Touzjian, and Ryan Foster

Minutes from Previous Meeting

⮚  Jim Hocker made a motion to approve minutes for February 19 2025, seconded by Paul Rekow, motion passed.

Minutes from Special Session

⮚  Jim Hocker made a motion to approve minutes for the March 3rd Special Session, seconded by Bill Ellis, motion passed.

Submission of Bills

⮚      Jim Hocker made a motion to pay the bills, seconded by Bill Ellis, motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report

⮚     The Treasurer’s Report was given by Rachel Barkworth.

⮚     Jim made a motion to put the Schultz estate money into a CD or an interest bearing account for 6-7 months at the best interest rate available. This was agreed upon.

Chief’s Report

⮚     Incidents – 9-- 6 Medical, 2 Motor Vehicle Accident, 1 CO alarm.

⮚     Fire Fighters

o   Rich Palestro will be joining as an auxiliary member to help facilitate wildland deployment and fire mitigation. We will deploy our truck once this year during a low-risk fire in our area. Captain Rich will also be sent as a single resource with Lefthand Fire to get his task book signed. Next year we will reevaluate if these programs are sustainable.

⮚     Grants

o   Nothing new to report.

⮚     Volunteers

o   Nothing new to report.

⮚ CWPP Update Committee

o   Still gathering information. A first draft has been written.

⮚ Miscellaneous

o   Community Outreach class this month is Wildfire Basics.

o   We will potentially be helping with a fire mitigation project with Alpine Acres neighborhoods.

Stations / Land

⮚     Station One – Main - 14861 Highway 7 – Osmun – We purchased a new fuel tank to replace the broken one.

⮚     Station Two – 2770 Riverside Drive – Heathermeade – There is a new AED.

⮚     Station Three – 4 County Road 113 East - Meeker Park - Nothing new.

⮚     Station Four – 7400 Highway 7 – The Heights – Nothing new.

⮚     Station Five – 32 Bunce School Road – McCulloch – Nothing new.

⮚     Land at 23 Business Route 7 – Nothing new.

Apparatus

⮚     5234 (Brush Truck) – Nothing new.

⮚     5225 – Nothing new.

⮚     Boulder County Sheriff Trucks

o   New Chief vehicle- Officially in service! So far we have spent $25,294 on it. We still need radios and brackets for it. The Chief will be selling the old COV truck and the original truck bed from the new COV.

o   Other truck should be ready soon. The transfer station discussed possibly buying a snow plow to coordinate on snow removal.

Old Business

⮚ Workers’ Compensation and Accident & Sickness Insurance information

New Business

⮚ Executive session to discuss the Chiefs performance review

Public Comments

⮚ No members of the Public were present.

Fire Fighter Comments

⮚ Teresa Hoffman provided the following comments:

o   “If the board members whose spouses’ spoke at the Executive Session did not excuse themselves from the room, that could have influenced comments from the other board members.”

o   “A few ex-members were asked to speak at the Executive Session, However, there were six other members that left in recent years that would have had very different experiences and opinions.”

o   “The Board bypassed the current Standard Operating Procedures for Grievances.”

o   “The Executive Sessions have had a significant negative impact on the morale of the current membership.”

o   “If the personnel in question cannot meet to resolve issues, it may be worth contacting a professional conflict resolution specialist.”

⮚Rainia Derrington provided her opinion that she agrees with Teresa’s comments and that bringing in a third-party conflict resolution specialist that is not from the Allenspark area. She reinforced Teresa’s suggestion that if a board member’s spouse comes to present comments, they should recuse themselves during that portion of the executive session.

⮚ Chris Rich expressed his opinion that the board needs to be more transparent about the happenings and the decisions that are being made.

Board Member Comments

⮚ It was explained that the board members are not allowed to comment on public comments. 

⮚ Bill emphasized that the board is the governing member of the fire department. He said that because we do not interact with the firefighters on a regular basis, the only feeling we get from the community is what we are hearing from the public. He explained the process that was established for a firefighter to get information to the board while remaining comfortable and confidential. It is inappropriate for the public to address individual board members.

⮚Paul Rekow will be in person next month. He will be virtual for 8 of 12 of the next meetings.

Adjournment

⮚ Rachel suggested the board go into an executive session to discuss performance reviews.

⮚ The executive session was adjourned at 10:36 PM.

⮚ The Board Meeting was adjourned at 10:38 PM.

Respectfully submitted:

Natalie Gould                                                                                                               March 19, 2025

Board Secretary                                                                                                            

2025 Members of the Board of Directors.  Left to Right; Bill Ellis, Paul Rekow, Jill Allington, Rachel Barkworth, Jim Hocker.