The Golden Gate Fire Protection District Board set the meeting schedule for the year during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. at the Grange, 25231 Golden Gate Canyon Road, Golden. The Board also approved a Costco credit card and research regarding switching from propane to electric power for the District.

The Board scheduled January 5, 2024, at 7 p.m. for a special meeting to certify the budget. As discussed in September, the Board will move meeting dates to the fourth Thursday of each month for financial reports.

The Board approved a resolution to set regular 2024 meeting dates and locations. The district will post the 24-hour notice of the agenda at the Golden Gate Fire Protection District website throughout 2024. Board Meetings start at 7 p.m. Because the District is renovating its fire stations, all 2024 meetings will be at the Golden Gate Grange at 25231 Golden Gate Canyon Road, Golden.

All board meetings are subject to be changed from in-person to online and phone-in. Weather may require a change. Zoom links and phone-in numbers will be posted on the website.

Meeting Dates: the 4th Thursday of every month except November and December.

January 25

February 22: Pension Board at 6:30 p.m., Board of Directors at 7 p.m.

March 28, April 25, May 23, June 27, July 25

August 22: Pension Board at 6:30 p.m., Board of Directors at 7 p.m.

September 26, October 24, November 21 and December 5

The Board approved a Costco account and credit card. Costco membership costs $120 annually, covering two people. The treasurer and the chief are authorized to carry the card.

The Board approved further research on electrification and resilience research. More reliance on electrification would make fire stations more resilient.

If a station ran out of propane, replacing it would cost more than the equivalent amount of electricity. The Board approved researching the issue, whether switching from propane to electricity would be optimal. No cost is involved.

According to the Treasurer’s Report, for the period covering November 2023 the District’s total expenditures were $13,791.59. The balance sheet reflects $32,936.10 in non-budgeted grant revenue. For the period covering November 2023 the District collected revenue of $4,428.48.

Chief Benson reported that after the failure of proposition HH, the state legislature passed four bills through the House and Senate that directly affect the funding of the fire district. The district will not receive final tax valuations until January 3, which has delayed the ability for all special districts to file their budgets and certify mill rates until January.

These last few weeks have seasonally slowed, with 100 calls to date. There were no specific calls of note since the last Board meeting. Probationary FF Collin Sager has completed all his preliminary training and is now cleared to run calls.

Further regarding personnel, 23 operational members and four support services members are currently on the roster. “We are excited to have brought on two new members to the operations group: Recruit Nick Walker, a resident of the Robinson Hill community; and Recruit Chris Creech, a resident of the Crawford Gulch community,” announced the Chief.

Chris Creech will be retaining the position of bookkeeper while joining operations. Both recruits have begun their initial training, and the Board looks forward to getting them operational.

The joint Golden Area FFII Academy concluded on December 2. All academy members passed their practical exam with flying colors. The GGFPD academy members will all be taking their written exams over the next several weeks.

The GGFPD FFI academy is going well, and the District has welcomed recruit Nick Walker into the academy group, bringing the academy to six firefighters. The recruits will be participating in their first full drill day on December 16. Probationary FF Drew Kenyon is wrapping up EMT school and will be cleared to run calls by the end of the month.

The draft of the Impact Fee study has been reviewed by BBC research. Jan Snyder will be making a few recommended changes, and the Impact Fee study will be presented to the Board and public at the January meeting.

The next Regular Board Meeting will be on January 5, 2024, at 7 p.m. at the Grange. For more information, go to https//goldengatefire.org.