GOLDEN GATE CANYON - The Golden Gate Canyon Fire Protection District Board signed the District Communication policy during a regular meeting on September 25, 2025, at 7 p.m.

Board members present for the meeting were Deb Curlee, president; Mike Sever, treasurer; Karla Grahn, secretary; and Dave Primmer. Marith Reheis, vice president, was excused.

Mike Sever reminded Board members they should review and sign the Board’s Communication Policy. He said all the Board members have signed it except for Dave Primmer.

Primmer said, “This is just a way to hide stuff.”

Sever read the policy, which states that board members agree to and follow the policy, and if the policy is not followed, the board member could be suspended.

Primmer asked for an update on the Bylaws Review, and Curlee said the committee was dissolved, that the full board will contribute to a discussion on the Bylaws at a later meeting.

Primmer introduced a review and questions about Credit Card Statements. He began questioning Chief Kyle Kociemba-Benson about expenses in April, which the chief answered.

Grahn pointed out that it is unrealistic to ask the chief on the spot in September about expenses in April. He added that Primmer should provide his questions in advance.

Primmer said he has been through the transaction list. “You are spending money like a candy store, and I want to see what it’s for.”

Grahn replied, “You approved the budget. You are not trusting. Do you have any questions on the current budget?”

Primmer then introduced a resolution that would require a purchase order to be signed by the board for any major expense. Staff would fill out the purchase order and the board would approve it.

Grahn said that the current policy has been approved by the board. “I’m not conformable rewriting it. It is unrealistic and it is not how fire departments are run.”

The resolution did not receive a second.

Chief’s Report

“Jefferson County moved out of a fire ban as of September 19, 2025. Hiring for the Jeffco SO Wildland Fire Management team continues to move forward. We are looking forward to plugging GGFPD staff in with this team as they come onboard. This is going to be especially helpful with the GGFPD Mitigation Division onboarding.

“The Wildfire Mitigation Division committee continues to make significant strides toward full launch of the division. We have officially accepted five outside applicants into the division.

“The storage containers for the UTVS have been purchased and will be placed at station 81 and 82 on Thursday, September 25. A huge thank you, and also congratulations, to the Golden Gate Auxiliary for another spectacular pig roast!

“Call volume is steady at 64 calls to date. We continue to average a response time of 16 minutes or less from time of call to arrival, with an average of 4 or more responders per call.

“We are currently at an operational staff of 26 with 2 that fill a dual role as support staff and 2 single role support staff. We have officially added 5 staff to the roster for the Wildland Fire Mitigation Division, who were originally citizen participants in the division committee. Please welcome: Home Assessments - Kari Sever, Amanda Geirhart; Education and Outreach - Katherine Kraft; Mitigation Crew - Tyler Bassett, Cameron Kenyon.

“With those additions our staff now totals 32. We have one staff on active-duty military leave. We had one resignation this month. We have received 4 applications for operational positions; we will review them and send out interview invitations in October 2025.

The CWPP production is in the very final phase. We are still planning to be completed in October 2025.”

Primmer asked about the purpose of the mitigation division. Benson said the crew will do the work on public lands, Golden Canyon Road, and the bottom portion of Robinson Hill. Home assessment is homeowner-driven and allows the team to go out to homes. “It’s a partnership as a human resource to make your home more fire resilient. It’s not a permanent inspection,” Benson responded.

The next regular Board Meeting will be on October 23, 2025, at 7 p.m. at The Grange, 25201 Golden Gate Canyon Road, Golden.