The Nederland Fire Protection District Board of Directors (NFPD) met on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at 7 p.m. to continue their discussion of the 2024 Fee Schedule. New fees added to the list would, if approved, charge up to $2,000 for violations of fire restrictions and fire bans.

Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann reviewed a revised draft of the purchasing policy for the NFPD. The policy provides standard operating procedures and guidelines regarding the District’s purchasing accountability.

The policy dictates that any spending which exceeds the budget by 15% and is continued over three months will create cause for Board review, with the exception of spending for utility services, insurance, payroll, payroll deductions, bank fees, county fees, and healthcare. Other exceptions include “emergency spending” for emergency vehicle repair, emergency vehicle fuel purchase, or extended operational food purchases, limited to $15,000.

The NFPD can implement restricted spending guidelines when there is proof of “chronic and willful disregard for the purchasing policies outlined in this document and/or if there is a consistent monthly overspend of 15% of the budget for at least three months.”

According to the policy, no authorization is required from Shift Captains, the District Administrator, or Fire Chief for purchases of $1,500 or less. Spending of $1,500 to $10,000 requires Captains and the Administrator to claim verbal authorization from the Chief or president of the Board.

Purchases of $10,000 to $25,000 must be authorized by the NFPD through Board discussion and official vote. Purchases of $25,000 to $50,000 also require NFPD authorization and a formal bid is required; any amount more than $50,000 requires two formal bids.

The NFPD approved the revised Purchasing Policy.

Schmidtmann also detailed to the NFPD that the District’s new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) air compressor is ready to be installed.

In February, 2023, the Nederland Fire Department realized it would require a new SCBA compressor, with the cost estimated to be between $60,000 and $65,000. On May 24, the NFPD instead purchased a used compressor from Castle Rock for $7,000.

A site visit by an electrician determined that a new $2,000 breaker was needed for the Department’s electrical panel, which was duly completed. The conduit installation for the new compressor is expected to begin next week. The compressor still needs a $2,500 three-phase power converter.

Schmidtmann’s report indicated that the station’s current compressor had recently ceased operating; the department is moving forward with hopes that the compressor can be repaired at a low cost and kept as backup or potentially be sold.

The NFPD had previously pursued a grant opportunity to fund the purchase of 25 new handheld radios. Schmidtmann’s monthly report indicated that the District was recently awarded the grant, though authorization of the funds is contingent on approval by Boulder County Commissioners.

The Chief’s report for the last half of November and first half of December also detailed the District’s calls of significance. Nederland firefighters and EMS responded to several calls at Eldora, some of which required helicopter evacuation. Schmidtmann’s report specified “we have had 12 calls to Eldora to date, including two vehicles off the Shelf Road.”

Nederland Firefighters Scott and Mandi Papich and Ian Irwin-Powell responded to a structure fire on Tilghman Road, where some firefighters remained for more than eight hours. NFPD personnel also helped transport a woman and her children to the hospital through a snowstorm at 2 a.m. The 15-year-old had suffered inhalation injuries from mishandling an aerosol can and lit candle.

On Saturday, December 16, 2023, volunteer firefighters wore their Mustang Survival suits and took part in the District’s annual Ice Rescue training at Mud Lake. They learned the skills necessary to remain calm and save those who become trapped in frigid water.

A post from the NFPD’s official Facebook page reads: “it’s a reminder to everyone to be very careful around bodies of water in the winter. Ice can be unstable and deceiving. Once in the water, it only takes a few minutes for you to experience hypothermia and find yourself in a very dangerous and potentially deadly situation.”

JVA, the Town of Nederland’s engineering firm, reached out to the NFPD for their opinions and guidance regarding possible emergency egress routes out of the Big Springs neighborhood.

The Big Springs Egress project is headed by the Town of Nederland. JVA was chosen through a request-for-proposal process, with their contract funded by a FEMA grant. Last month JVA began assessing the Big Springs area and utilized a drone equipped to perform a LiDAR survey, in order to provide Trustees and the NFPD with more data on potential routes.

The Nederland Fire Department previously stated their opinion that an egress route is a necessity, and suggested that the route should follow the Boulder County Multimodal Code and also be located as far east as possible for the best opportunity for substantial resident egress.

Representatives of the NFPD met with JVA and with a Big Springs resident who was concerned about the possibility of an egress route infringing on their property. The resident requested to meet with firefighters in order to showcase results from advanced applications that simulate mass evacuations.

Schmidtmann noted in his report: “I believe the meeting went well and that each stakeholder understood the others’ positions and concerns.”

Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin’s report reviewed several upcoming construction projects for Nederland, including a new childcare center, a “large-scale” downtown development, and many new residential developments along Ridge Road, which Joslin had assessed for potential cistern placements.

Board members continued their discussion of Resolution 2023-13, which concerns the approval of the 2023 Fee Schedule Update, drafted by Joslin. The update included adjustments for fees that had not been adjusted for inflation since 2019, as well as the inclusion of new fees.

The new fees included permit fees of $150 for inspection of a vacation rental, $100 for inspection of a security gate, $250 to businesses for a six-month temporary special event occupancy, and $250 for operating a Seasonal Special Event for up to six months. There is also a $500 fine for every day that a violation of adopted Fire Code Section 111: Unsafe Buildings has not been rectified (which includes any time a cease and desist order or stop work order is issued), as well as an Excessive Alarms Fee to address false alarms from system malfunction or improper maintenance. This latter would charge violators $200 after the third false alarm, with the amount increasing by $100 with each additional false alarm.

After Joslin presented the first draft of the fee schedule update on November 15, the Board agreed with Joslin’s suggestion to include fees pertaining to violations of fire bans. Joslin provided language for these fees in a new draft for the NFPD to review.

The first fee is for violations of Boulder County’s or the Town of Nederland’s implemented fire restrictions. The first violation results in a fee of $250, which doubles to $500 with the second violation, then to $1,000 for the third violation, with the fourth violation resulting in the involvement of law enforcement.

The second fee is for violations of Boulder County’s or the Town’s implemented fire bans. The first violation results in a fee of $500, which doubles to $1,000 with the second violation, then to $2,000 for the third violation, with the fourth violation resulting in the involvement of law enforcement.

To allow for an “educational grace period,” fees will not be administered within the first week that fire restrictions or fire bans have been issued.

There was discussion of adding language to the new fees pertaining to High Wind warnings, as it was suggested that such warnings, when imposed, are considered by the Boulder County to also automatically impose a fire ban. Other such triggers for a fire ban include Red Flag warnings.

Board members requested confirmation on what public service entity is expected to respond to such fire-based complaints and administer fees to violators. Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is expected to be responsible for responding in such cases; however the NFPD will respond in the event that law enforcement is short staffed. Firefighters and EMS will not respond to night calls unless law enforcement is present.

Resolution 2023-13, authorizing the revised Fee Schedule for 2024, was approved unanimously.

The NFPD discussed the possibility of changing banks and reviewed the district’s expectations from a new bank, including an “all-in-one” solution that does not use third-party credit card vendors, such as Citywide Bank’s required use of the “web-based commercial card management solution,” eZBusiness.

The Board also compared rates for savings and checking accounts, as well as credit cards, from major banking institutions Bank of America, Chase, and US Bank.

Ultimately, the NFPD chose to move their funds from Citywide Bank to US Bank.

The Nederland Fire Protection District Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of every month. Meetings can be attended online on Microsoft Teams. Their next meeting will be a special meeting on January 8, 2024, to finalize their 2024 budget; their next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17, 2023, at 7 p.m.

For more information go to: https:// www.nfpd.org.