Posted on: March 30th, 2026

 GOLD HILL TOWN MEETING NEWSLETTER

Minutes of the February 9, 2026, Town Meeting

 Next Town Meeting is Monday, April, 7:00 p.m. in person and by Zoom

 The meeting was called to order by Chair Kelly Veit.  Twenty-three people attended in person:  Kelly, John Stocke, Maggie Simms and David Brigham, Kris Gibson, Travers and Jill Farrar, Eli Zabielski, Dina Huber and Chad Miltenberger, Wren Garrison and Ben Ross, Marilyn and Peter Soby, Elisabeth Caspari and Marcus Moench, Vice Chair Kaitlyn Barthell, Boyd Brown, Treasurer Martha Knapp, Secretary Gretchen Diefenderfer and from Longmont and Boulder Valley Conservation Districts (bouldervalley-longmontcd.colorado.gov): Anna Mango (anna.mango@nullbvlcd.com ), Patrick Morgan and Ben Mackle.   Fifteen more attended by Zoom: Deb Yeager, Dave Steinmann, Dan Maedke, Michael Shepard, Val Crist, Leslie Finn, Joey Schusler, Fire Chief Rich Caudill, Community Wildfire Rep Meg Halford, (mhalford@nullbouldercounty.gov), Maya McHamer (maya@nullboulderwatershedcollective.org), Steve Schultz, Member at Large John Hatelid, and Barrett (?).  Kelly reports Virginia Schultz and Steffi Wilson also attended by Zoom.  Please let me know if this is correct and of anyone else.

Minutes – Boyd moved we approve the December minutes, Maggie seconded and they were approved.  Boyd moved we approve the January Special TM minutes, Marcus seconded and they were also approved.

Treasurer’s Report – Martha reported that we’ve had 638.95 in expenses since the December meeting, received $100 for the Cemetery for a balance of $2998.06.  Debits from the General Fund include $10.00 to the Secretary of State filing fee, $449.00 for Insurance, $100 for Porta Potti maintenance, and $79.95 for Zoom.  Balance is $16552.12.  Val asked if the $79.95 covered the Zoom AI – yes, it does

Firewise Presentation – Marcus reported that he and Boyd have been working with Meg Halford from the county.  Here is his report on mitigation activities: Key Fire Mitigation Activities – On Going

Completion of existing grant from State with BVCD and BWC

1. Finish Mitigation of Maloney area – Maya is contact
2. Mitigation of small parcel of town land south side of road west of Gold Hill – Maya is contact
3. Grazing with Goat Bros on town meadow and weed area of Gold Run Stream (Kaitlyn as town contact on this) – June if possible but may be July based on their schedule

Teen’s Inc & Wildfire Partners – Mostly June

1. Trying to get as much Teen’s Inc. time as possible with the following goals. We’re hoping to arrange as much as four weeks of their time.  Meeting with different agencies on 17^th to plan
   1. Help removal of slash and logs from Fishbaugh property
   2. Removal of saplings, slash and ladder fuels along road W. of Gold Hill, top of meadow near Hugh’s property where extensive lodgepole regrowth is occurring – particularly if GH volunteers can go in and cut saplings first.
   3. Moving logs to road for collection and firewood use
   4. Weed whacking of critical grassland areas in town
2. Planning to arrange dumpsters and chipping (if possible) through support from Boulder County and Lefthand.

GH Volunteers

1. Eli and Austin helping organize cutting of smaller trees (regrowth) in key areas. This will be done as part of the GHFPD if possible to ensure liability coverage.
2. Possibly organize a volunteer group clean up and ladder fuel cutting activity (fire festival).
3. Grant writing: New opportunity for 15K on small fuels reduction. Tracking additional grant opportunities (with assistance from Maya)

Firewise program: 

Aimed at hardening and other risk reduction activities in old town area (where houses are too close to qualify for Wildfire Partners) – Meg will present.  Marcus and Boyd are local contacts.

May be helpful in obtaining resources to assist in risk reduction and insurance

Non-toxic Foam

Meeting with Dennis Smagac from Intelagard on Wednesday at 10:00, Marcus and Elisabeth’s place.  Anyone interested please join.  He is planning on donating (backpacks) and loaning (skid – truck mounted) equipment to the GHFPD for town use.  We’re also looking into options for individual houses.  Was very useful for Dave Steinmann in Fourmile fire.

Firewood Program: Boyd will talk on later tonight. 

Things not addressed but on the radar:

1. Rapid expansion of Beetle Kill in Lefthand, west of town, and up Boulder Street
2. Blowdown in areas that have been mitigated
3. Grass areas in subdivision that property owners can’t get to on their own
4. Parts of Pine Street (smaller lots near town)
5. Anything we can do for residents in Lefthand and out West
6. Other – let us know what your priorities are.

They’ve done a community mitigation planning assessment and tech report which are the first steps to becoming a Firewise Community.  It’s a 3-year action plan, which coordinates with Wildfire Partners, local fire departments, Boulder Watershed Cooperative, and the Conservation district.  Priority #1 is home assessments at the community level leading to home hardening and defensible space action, and potential rebates for homeowner mitigation work.

Here is the link to Meg Halford’s presentation:  https://goldhilltown.com/wp-content/uploads/Town-of-Gold-Hill-Community-Mitigation_Advisory-Report_2025-FINAL_9-29-2025.pdf

And here is her contact information: mhalford@nullbouldercounty.gov

The individual home assessments are all voluntary.

John Stocke said that he’s aware of Boulder County Open Space around town and asked if we’re working with them.  Meg said they work closely with BoCo Open Space.  Dan asked the locations of the Open Space – a portion of the Town Meadow, some pieces right near town, and some up by the Mill.

Everyone is encouraged to do the home assessment.  No mitigation is mandatory, but the assessment process should be educational.   The Firewise Community designation is principally the platted town of Gold Hill, but adjacent homes can be included.  Many structures in town can’t be assessed by Wildfire Partners because they’re too close together, but the Firewise Program allows this, and also allows businesses, which WFP doesn’t.  Boyd reports that the Museum got Chris Dirolf to do a walk around and he is a great resource for mitigation advice.  He added that it’s a good idea to get the assessments for all who can to learn, and to learn about our options and the resources available.

Fire Department – Boyd reports that the Fire Department has acquired new equipment and has been cutting a lot of wood in conjunction with our mitigation projects for this community.  He and Kris Gibson are trying to assess who needs wood, looking for feedback, will be sending out questionnaires re needs and volunteer possibilities.

Chief Caudill will give an update at a future town meeting on the new laws regarding fire insurance.  He’s been in communication with our state legislators who authored that law.  Reach out to him with questions, rich.caudill5460@nullgmail.com.  Boyd added that the whole process of insurance evaluations is being revamped and is in flux.  He also added that it’s great to see so many people here for information on our fire and mitigation situation and encouraged everyone to please stay involved and curious.  Our goal as a fire department is to provide as much information as possible, we’re all about protecting our community.

Longmont and Boulder Valley Conservation Districts – Three people introduced themselves: Ben Markle, Patrick Morgan, and Anna Mango (anna.mango@nullbvlcd.com   720-310-5591).

 BYLAWS – At the last Town Meeting, it was agreed upon to address Article II Membership, Section A. Eligibility.  Kelly asked for a report on the Special Town Meeting.  Boyd reported that he’d volunteered to check on the legal requirements for us regarding a residency requirement brought up by John Hatelid. Boyd checked with a couple of lawyers and, because we are not an incorporated town, cannot levy any taxes, but are a 501(c)3 we have a lot of leeway.  Basically, yes, we can write residency requirements the way we want to in our bylaws.  The principal question regarding Article II, Section A, is do we want to vote on returning to the previous bylaw with residency requirements or go with the most recent revision, which includes all property owners regardless of any residency. 

Previous bylaw: as adopted 12-14-2020

Article II Membership

Section 1, Eligibility: Those residing in the following area are members and may vote at town meetings, provided they fulfill the voting requirements set forth in Article II, Section 2, Qualification.   This area is identified as that included in the boundaries of the Gold Hill Fire Protection District (GHFPD)

Section 2, Qualifications: In order to vote, a member of the Gold Hill Town Meeting, Inc. must:

1. Be a minimum of 18 years of age.
2. Have lived in Gold Hill for sixty days during the twelve months prior to the meeting or for sixty days during the previous five years with no less than five days in any one year.
3. Be registered with the Secretary at the meeting.
4. Be present at the meeting to be certified to vote at that meeting.

On 8/11/26, we voted to amend 3 and 4 to read : The Town Council shall determine the methods of voting, which may include any combination of:

• In-person voting by show of hands or written ballot;
• Absentee voting by written ballot;
• Voting by electronic means

Bylaw as amended most recently

Article II: Membership Section A, Eligibility:

All residents and property owners within the Gold Hill Fire Protection District who are over the age of 18 are members of the Gold Hill Town Meeting and have voting rights. Each member is entitled to cast one vote on any issue that requires a vote by the GHTM membership, regardless of the number of properties owned.

Section B, Membership Voting Procedures: 

The GHTM shall establish procedures and methods to ensure that only eligible members participate in elections, that all members are properly notified of the election, and that the nomination and voting processes, including all relevant deadlines, are clearly communicated in advance.

Election procedures may allow for voting to take place over a period of up to three (3) days and are not required to occur during the annual meeting.

Marcus moved that we vote on returning to the previous bylaw, which required a residency requirement and did not automatically include non-resident property owners.  Maggie seconded. Much discussion ensued.  Should we go back and consider revising the most recently adopted bylaw?  Do we want a residency requirement and if so, how should it be worded?  If all property owners, even non-resident, are included, does this mean trusts and corporations are included and, if a member of a trust or corp. also lives here, do they get more than one vote? Do we define a member as a person vs. corp. or trust?  It was brought up that former residents might well be interested in being able to vote, particularly if they are now landlords.  Was also brought up that, as a non-profit 501 (C)3, the Town Meeting has no real power over the community – we’re mainly a social organization /forum to meet and discuss matters of concern and possible actions to be taken. 

Martha then made a motion that we form an ad hoc committee to hash out the wording that might be best for everyone.  Leslie seconded.  After a bit more discussion regarding definitions of member, resident, person, and a hypothetical situation where an unknown group of property owners propose something unprecedented (Boyd pointed out that the board could just leave the meeting, which would eliminate the quorum necessary), Leslie called the question.  5 people present and 3 on Zoom voted in favor, 3 voted against, 2 abstentions.  Martha asked for volunteers – Marcus, Gretchen, Dan, Leslie, Val, Dave, and John Hatelid volunteered.  It was agreed we could conduct out meetings online.

Senior Alliance – Boyd reported that the next meeting is on How to Prepare for Everything,  Tues. March 3^rd   Fire station, upstairs (community center)

Returning to 4 PM meeting

This is a high energy workshop which galvanizes people to think and take action on preparedness for resilience. All ages are welcome. This is NOT a presentation. There will be lots of discussion on specific topics chosen by participants. 

Town Clean Up is scheduled for Saturday, July 18^th

 

Respectfully Submitted, Gretchen Diefenderfer, Secretary

 

 

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