The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors met on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 7 p.m. to swear in a new Board and to appoint members to their official positions. The new Board voted on whether to purchase a used compressor from Castle Rock and whether to change requirements for underground water cisterns on new developments.

Directors Guy Falsetti and Todd Wieseler, as well as Board President Iain Irwin-Powell, reached the end of their terms on the Board; Falsetti and Wieseler both ran for reappointment and were elected along with newcomer to the Board Savannah Ames. Ames, Falsetti, and Wieseler all recited their Oaths of Office.

Irwin-Powell chose not to run for reappointment and stepped down as Board President; he gave a short speech thanking fellow Directors for their efforts and dedication. Directors spoke of the Board’s accomplishments thanks to Irwin-Powell’s contributions, including forging plans for NFPD elections, creating job descriptions for all staff, instituting a vehicle replacement plan, and generally cleaning and organizing the departments.

The new Board of Directors were tasked with appointing board positions, starting with Jess McElvain being appointed as the new Board President. Ames was appointed Secretary, Falsetti was appointed Vice President, and Wieseler was appointed Treasurer.

The first action item on the agenda concerned the offer to purchase a used 15 year-old SCBA compressor from Castle Rock for $7,000. The compressor has been well maintained and meets all required compliance standards. The use of the compressor would require a three-phase power converter to be installed which would cost $3,000. A brand new replacement compressor would cost roughly $60,000.

The Board agreed that the estimated $10,000 cost of a used compressor was more ideal than purchasing a $60,000 new unit, especially considering that the used compressor has at least five more years of operation in its expected lifespan.

A motion to move ahead with the purchase was approved unanimously. Directors approved the use of $12,000 for the compressor and for the installation of a three-phase power converter, with the funds to come from the NFPD’s unreserved funds of $220,000.

Interim Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann introduced the next action item, a proposal to obtain a vehicle to be provided to staff so as to eliminate the use of personal vehicles for department business, including miscellaneous shopping and the transporting of purchased gear and equipment. Chief Schmidtmann noted that he would prefer to procure a cheaper used vehicle or a donation rather than purchase a brand new $50,000 vehicle.

There were suggestions to check with the Town of Nederland about any used vehicles, and to inquire into used police vehicles, though it was mentioned that such vehicles have a tendency to have been abused. Schmidtmann also suggested that the Fire Marshal’s vehicle, pending maintenance, could be an option for a part-time staff vehicle as well.

No action was taken on the issue though the Board will revisit the discussion in the future as more information is gathered about viable options.

Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin presented the next action item, changing district requirements for underground water cisterns on new construction and housing developments. Current requirements, which were set roughly 20 years ago, are for new developments to include a minimum 1,800 gallon cistern or a $2,500 contribution to the NFPD to go towards funding a community cistern. Today an 1,800 gallon cistern costs about $10,000 and does not provide enough water for firefighting purposes.

The current calculation to determine the size of a cistern the International Fire Code requires for a home is: the volume of the structure divided by the occupancy hazard classification number, multiplied by the construction classification number, and then multiplied by 1.5 for each account of “exposures” on the property, which includes trees.

As per Boulder County statutes, a water hydrant is required to be within three hundred feet of a property, with the land conditions and grade needing to be adequate for emergency vehicle access. It costs $200 per foot to extend connection from a property to an existing water line, and a water hydrant itself costs $10,000 to $15,000. These conditions cost certain planned developments upwards of $400,000.

Fire Marshal Joslin recommended a $10,000 contribution to the NFPD for any new residence being built up to 1,600 square feet, a $15,000 contribution or a 7,000 gallon cistern for any new residence at anywhere from 1,601 to 3,600 square feet, and a $20,000 contribution or a 10,000 gallon cistern for any new residence being built over 3,600 square feet.

The contributions to the NFPD fund the installation of 30,000 gallon community cisterns which can cost upwards of $60,000.

Directors mostly agreed that the change to cistern requirements would benefit the department as well as the neighborhoods where these cisterns will be installed, as well as bigger community cisterns for more ideal wildfire mitigation. The Board voted to approve a motion to draft an ordinance which will be reviewed and voted on at a special meeting in order to meet Fire Marshal Joslin’s goal of the changes being made effective on June 1, 2023.

Chief Schmidtmann presented his monthly report which reviewed calls of significance taking place between late April and early May. The NFD responded to a report of a suicidal party who was talked down and escorted to a mental health facility. There was a call for a water rescue on Boulder Creek which resulted in a vehicle extrication and recovery of a body.

The Chief’s Report noted that the NFPD will be entering an agreement with the owner of Murphy’s Garage in Rollinsville to provide mechanic duties for $100 an hour for eight hours a week.

The report also detailed several safety and training sessions attended by NFPD staff, including 24 hours of hands-on vehicle extrication training at Arvada Auto-X, one of the largest workshops of its kind in the region.

The Board continued their discussion of the open Fire Chief position, which has been advertised for three weeks and has garnered six total applicants so far, including four applicants from outside of Colorado and Interim Chief Schmidtmann as one internal candidate. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2023.

Board President McElvain and Lucy Zamarripa from Human Resources reached out to other Fire Chiefs in the area regarding how the NFPD could expand their pool of applicants. The suggestion was made to remove paramedic experience and certification from the list of requirements in the Fire Chief job description and instead list such experience as a preference.

There were some Directors who felt that the decision to change the job description should not have been made “unilaterally” by McElvain and should have warranted a discussion with the Board during a meeting. McElvain noted that time was a factor in her decision due to the meeting date being changed from May 17 to May 24.

The discussion became focused on issues concerning internal applicants being preferred over external applicants by many members of the NPD. McElvain reiterated that results from a conducted survey indicated that the majority of the department wanted a combination of internal and external applicants.

McElvain expressed that she could not recommend that external applicants for the Fire Chief position join the department because of what she perceived as hostility against those from outside the department.

An attendee accused McElvain of having violated the Board bylaws when she changed the official job description to list paramedic experience and certification as a preference rather than a requirement, and did so without any discussion with fellow Directors. McElvain noted that the Fire Chief interview process will allow for Directors, NFPD staff, and for residents of the district to be involved and that that process has not been compromised by her decision.

An argument ensued during which accusations of verbal abuse were made against former Fire Chief Mike Scott, as well as the insinuation that former Board President Irwin-Powell had also violated Board bylaws by making unilateral decisions while he was acting President.

Board Vice-President Falsetti took over the duties of the President by continuing to lead the meeting. McElvain had stepped down, left a physical letter of resignation, and exited the meeting.

Zamarripa spoke in defense of the decision enforced by herself and McElvain, stating that the desired result from excluding paramedic experience and certification as a requirement was to ensure applicants with special circumstances could still be considered.

“The right thing to do for the department and for the district was just to make sure we were not missing out on somebody who may potentially have let it lapse, or was in the process of renewal, and all kinds of different possible scenarios. It was truly meant to expand your candidate pool,” Zamarripa said.

“It wasn’t meant to disregard your priorities, it was meant to take into consideration a lot of the challenges that may present themselves during this hiring process; but everybody will have a say at some point during that process.

“There were many times that Iain did make decisions on his own but was never questioned and I’m disappointed in the treatment of Jess,” Zamarripa added. “I’m disappointed because she didn’t get the benefit of the doubt. She’s got nothing to gain from making this change.

“I know you’re advocating really strongly for Charlie and in the hiring process if he is the best candidate he will be offered the position,” Zamarripa said to the Board, referring to Interim Fire Chief Schmidtmann.

“One thing I was very clear about in the beginning was I did not believe we should do an external process if we were not going to be fair about it. We have to be open-minded if we’re going to go external otherwise we shouldn’t do that to candidates and we shouldn’t do that ourselves.

“We truly followed what the department wanted to do,” Zamarripa said.

“With the exception of the paramedic as being a requirement, which is a huge deal operationally,” an attendee retorted.

A motion was made to change within the Fire Chief job description the classification of paramedic experience and certification from preferred back to required in the advertisement for the open position. The motion was passed.

The Nederland Fire Protection District Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of every month and can now be attended in person or online on Microsoft Teams. Their next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at 7 p.m. For more information go to: https://www.nfpd.org