Posted on: November 19th, 2023

GOLD HILL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT

October 16, 2023 – Unofficial minutes – next meeting 11/20/23

 

CALL TO ORDER, ATTENDANCE, APPROVAL OF MINUTES – The meeting was called to order by President Kent Coghill.  Present were board members Boyd Brown, Jessica Brookhart, Max Yeager, and Chris Dirolf, Acting Chief Bret Gibson,  plus community members Gretchen Diefenderfer, Rick Sheingold, Steffi Wilson, Leslie Finn, Val Crist, Virginia Schultz, Greg Buis, Kris Gibson, and Marcus Moench.

 

MINUTES of the September 18^th meeting were approved

 

FIRE CIEF’S MINUTES – Bret reported that he’s been in conversations with potential officers, particularly to help Max with truck repairs and acquisition.

            He has sent the BODM agreement to the Board to adopt  the Boulder County and City plan/agreement.  Without one, we wouldn’t be eligible for FEMA or State recovery funds.  It requires a motion to adopt and the President signs. The Board will review and approve at the November meeting.  It’s a 98 page document and they will need time for review.  It makes us part of a big team.  Boyd asked Kent to remind the board to review it.

            Once the Gold Hill Officers are seated, he would like to do a command and control mini-academy and also invite the board – sometime in January time frame.

            The Fourmile Strategic Plan is now complete and the board is considering it for approval.

 

TRAININGS – Past training – Lefthand put on an extrication training.  We got rid of our older, super heavy tools and have put new ones on our wish list.  Sunday, September 24^th was firebarn clean up and organize day and went well.

 

Upcoming training – UTV training is scheduled for October 21.  We’ll have ours plus 2 from Fourmile. After that we should have 16-17 firefighters trained. 

 

New volunteers – how to improve recruiting and spur interest.  Gretchen suggested that we really need to get more firefighters medically trained as well.  Boyd reported that we need to personalize our attempts to recruit – contact people and communicate with them directly.  Kent added that for any kind of Fire Department event, we should have a table with information/flyers about who we are, etc.  

 

MAINTENANCE – Station – Max reports that we’ve passed our new propane line inspection.  He’s talked to John Stocke, owner of the Foote property behind the firebarn, and he’s acnowledged our property lines are aprox 30’ behind our fence – no problem.

            All our rigs are up and running.

The 10 mile cistern is still dry because there is a leak somewhere that needs to be located and fixed  It’s 10,000 gal.  Whitey went down into it and it’s not the tank that’s leaking – it’s the plumbing somewhere.  We need some people to dump a couple of thousand gallons in it and trace the plumbing with shovels, etc., to find out where it’s leaking.  Kent will see about organizing a work day for this and recruit people to help.  Marcus said he’d see about GHTM people.  Chris D will work on getting a crew together and will get in touch with Dan Maedke (GHTM Chair)

 

EQUIPMENT NEEDS – aside from new extrication tools, Kris Gibson is working on a wish list of pocket grants.

 

STRATEGIC PLANNING – Boyd reports the committee has met once to go through the norms  beginning with strengths and weakness.  It’s a working document.  They have a meeting tomorrow and a week from tomorrow.  He’s anticipating that they will get through threats and opportunities and be on schedule to have something for the first of the year.  He needs help to include anyone out of town.  Bret said to let Rob Constable know and he can come up with appropriate equipment.

 

SDA Membership – Kent will be in touch with Robert Beebe regarding rates for membership.

 

VEHICLES – Max reports that the 3 trucks are all good.  We will be getting a shipping container from Ritchie Brothers to get the UTV out of the weather.  We need to check all the chains for fit with the new tires.  Bret added that with the station cleaning day, a lot of small equipment was organized and put on trucks.  The yellow truck, our wildland truck, now has enhanced  capacity.  He’s asked Gold Hill firefighters who have now been trained on several progressive hose lays to choose one for our use.  They’re trying to have a specific purpose for each engine.  39 is our primary urban initial attack truck with 1,000 gpm pump (we just put $20,000 into it).  02 has a 900 gal. tank, 500 gpm pump and is our structure pumper set up for water supply.  04 is our medical truck and back up to 39 – has a 500 gal. tank.

            Boyd suggested that one of the things to help keep the support of the community regarding the mill levy, etc., would be to post on the website how we’re spending the tax money.  He’s taken pictures and will get them to Jess for the website.  He’d like to see a section on the website with this kind of information.  We’re looking at a lot of money this year and it’s important how we’re spending it.  Kent would like to have a section with the trucks and what they all do.  We’ve been working to update our equipment and will be using the mill levy increase for that. Jess requested Max get her summaries on the trucks, etc.  Kris Gibson got a lot of smaller equipment, too.

            Max has established a good relationship with Mountain View.  They’ve gotten to know our trucks now.  All our stuff is old, but in good shape.  If 5404 loses an engine, it’s gone – can’t be replaced.  We should be good for some time, but Max thinks we need to get our officer corps up and running. The 20 ft. shipping container to house the UTV is ready to pick up at Ritchie Brothers.  He needs $2750 to reimburse Fourmile (who bought it for us).  Motion made and approved unanimously.  Jess will include the money to reimburse Dave Towsley from Marv’s for moving it.  Bret has timbers that can be used to slide the container in place, either behind or in front of the station.  Max will be around to position it.

 

END OF YEAR PARTY – Jess did allocate some funds and has requests out to her retail suppliers about possible t-shirts, hoodies, belt buckles?  Looking at some kind of schwag package – maybe with a new logo?  She’d like to know the sizes of the firefighters.  Gretchen thinks many of us are attached to our present logo.  Steffi added that she thinks the volunteers should vote on any new logo.  Kent suggested that the Maltese Cross is the classic.  He has emailed Whitey about having the end of year party at the Store.

 

GRANTS – Kris G reports that we got the $14,235 grant for the new gear – wildland gear, PPO, Pants and structure gear and she’ll be ordering it.

 

MITIGATION – Kent got together with Maya, BWC (Boulder Watershed Coalition), no new updates.  Marcus reported that an additional 40 acres has been added to the State Grant. He walked out owith the new forester with BWC.  A goal is to work on some of the smaller properties around town. He suggested that it would be good to create a space somewhere for a firewood collection area.  The grant has 2 years more to go and be spent.  BWC is applying for a grant specifically for $75,000 for Gold Hill to include grasslands, equipment, coordinator, home hardening.  For the AIM Grant, the concept paper is due at the end of October and then they will know if they’re ok’d to submit the grant application.

 

COLLABORATION/CWPP – Virginia reported on Boulder West.  Eric Kennedy, Fourmile, is the Chair (for Paul Dennison), Andrew Goldman from Sugarloaf is the Vice Chair, Allen from Sunshine is the Secretary and Chris Dirolf and Virginia are co-Treasurers.  They meet 3 times a year. They’ll be looking at risk assessment layers changes once the CWPP is out.  They got a grant for mitigation staffing.  BWAC will join Fire Adaptive Colorado.  An open house CWPP meeting is scheduled at the Poorman Station October 24. 

 

BUDGET – Jess got the proposed budget to the Board.  Need to get the meeting to approve the budget on the calendar – maybe change the meeting so it’s not in Thanksgiving week?  Our budget was around $50,000 before the mill levy increase, then ~$100,000, and now will be more because of the increase in valuations. Unknown exactly what that will amount to given the propositions on the ballot.   Need to decide best use and have bigger conversations.    No community fundraising on the horizon for now.

 

FOURMILE FIRE PICTURES – Boyd received a letter from an ex-resident with a lot of photos of the Fourmile Fire.

 

NEW BUSINESS

WOODSPLITTER – Jess reports that they have a wood splitter and a lot of people are asking to borrow it.  She’s suggested to Dan that the town consider the purchase of a splitter and make money lending it out, but liability issues?

 

SORT YARD – Kent wonders about a town space for storing/sorting the wood from the mitigation work.  Chris agreed that the biomass created is an issue – the wood has to go somewhere.  Boyd reported that he used to do a thing through the BVSD – they’d go pull out logs, transport them to the schools and rent splitters (2-3) for a weekend that people could use, but they were covered by the School District’s liability insurance.  Chris wonders where we could have a sort yard – liability waivers should cover us.  Maybe Ashram property?  The corner at Lickskillet is small, isn’t level, and would require a lot of work.  Boyd added it’s a logistics issue to consider.  Chris added Team Rubicon maybe would help.  Boyd added that almost all the wood has been removed that was available at the Ashram – maybe 50-60 truckloads – there will be more available next year when it’s dried.

 

Meeting adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted, Gretchen Diefenderfer, recording secretary

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