GOLDEN GATE CANYON — The Budget Committee for the Golden Gate Canyon Fire Protection District Board presented a draft 2026 budget during a regular meeting on November 20, 2025, at the Grange and online.

Board members attending were Deb Curlee, president; Marith Reheis, vice president; and Karla Grahn, secretary. Mike Sever, treasurer, attended online and Dave Primmer was excused.

The Budget Committee, composed of Sever, Reheis, and Chief Kyle Benson, presented a draft 2026 Budget. Benson said he has received many questions, and Grahn asked why purchasing a chipper is a better option than renting one.

Benson responded that the the chipper itself is needed over two weekends a month for 10 months. It is better for us, he said, to acquire the piece of equipment rather than continue to rent, and it would become part of the District’s assets.

Sever said regarding the chipper that “you are ready to chip but can’t find one available, and that makes an enormous difference,” so he is in full support of the purchase.

Regarding the cost of insurance for the new mitigation team, Benson said the cost will be negligible. They receive the same insurance as a volunteer firefighter. The insurance costs are very low.

Reheis said they are already covered by the current insurance. Sever said the cost will be about $6,000 in the new budget, just a $2,000 increase.

Benson added that he has talked about this previously. His approach is to have reserves that would match our tax budget for the year and noted “We won’t make a purchase that goes beyond that. That is for the district’s future and making Golden Gate the best we can be. We are not making a bigger step than that.”

The budget asks for $100,000 for the purchase of a new fire truck, but they won’t spend that without a grant, Benson said. They need to replace engine 81 and have the capital to match a grant.

“If we want to make it down this path, we will have resolutions, Benson continued. “When the capital reaches the threshold, we will not continue to spend. Every year, we have underspent.”

The final budget will be presented at the December meeting. Reheis said “We have to vote to approve it before December 15, but it is not due to DOLA until January.” The budget, she observed, is all estimated because the board doesn’t get final numbers about taxes until after the vote.

Email issues

Reheis presented a discussion about the Board website email policy. She said they were trying to get the word out about the CWPP (Community Wildfire Protection Plan) meeting and couldn’t send an email.

“We need to get the word out with multiple emails, and now we have solved the email problem,” she said. “There is a new system, and residents can sign up on the front page of the website.”

Benson added that the mail list was on the old site and did not transfer. Residents need to sign up on the new website.

Reheis went on to say that they need to decide who can send out an email. She moved that when an email should be sent, there must be a majority vote of the Board, after which the webmaster sends it out within three days.

Benson said this policy should include his request for an emergency email. CDOT makes the call if they have to shut down the canyon. He suggested bringing this back, and Curlee said they will work on the wording of the motion.

Chief’s report

Benson reported that Jefferson County remains without a fire ban. However, the district continues to experience Red Flag warnings and Fire Weather watches. Even with the first snow expected this week, he asked that all please continue to keep fire danger in mind.

Jeffco Open Space plans to burn large slash piles at White Ranch during the winter months when conditions allow. GGFPD and Jeffco OS will announce scheduled burn dates via social media channels, he reported.

“As we enter pile-burning season,” he said, “please ensure all required permits and inspections with both GGFPD and Jefferson County are completed prior to igniting slash piles.”

The Wildfire Mitigation Division continues to make significant progress. The department is interviewing four candidates for crew member positions on Saturday, November 22, and anticipate adding an additional interview day in January if needed.

WFMD Educator Kat Kraft delivered a brief public presentation on defensible space and actionable CWPP items for homeowners immediately following the main CWPP presentation on November 10.

Call volume remained steady, with 84 calls for service to date. There is an average response time of 16 minutes or less from dispatch to arrival, with an average of four or more responders per call, Benson wrote.

The steering components that failed on Engine 81 have been repaired. The truck has received its annual preventive maintenance and has been placed back into service.

This repair was particularly difficult and costly, largely due to a lack of parts available for the truck because of its age, Benson reported. “We are coordinating with our vendor to continue preventive maintenance on all large apparatus going into the winter season.”

The district's operations tablets have gone into service for the officers at each station. They are fully functional and have proven to have connectivity throughout the district that surpassed our original expectations, Benson wrote.

He said we currently have an operational staff of 26, including two individuals serving dual operational/support roles, two single-role support staff, and five single-role mitigation staff, for a total personnel count of 32.

The final findings of the CWPP were presented to the community during a well-attended meeting on Monday, November 10. Benson observed that they are working to upload the meeting recording to the district website and to the YouTube channel for those unable to attend.

The Final CWPP document will be released after the final draft has been reviewed and approved. It will be released to the public before the end of the year.

Benson commented that the CWPP is downloaded on the website.

Grange and Auxiliary

Grange President Terri Costeldia reported they will have wreath-making at the Grange on December 6.

DeeDee Ramstetter with the Auxiliary said they will have an event for firefighters on January 10 and they will be purchasing a thermal energy drone for the fire department. Benson pointed out that they have received several calls where a drone would have been important, and it will allow us to be much faster. It is an important safety tool, he added.

The next regular Board Meeting will be on December 4, 2025, at 7 p.m. at the Grange, 25201 Golden Gate Canyon Road, Golden.