The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors met on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at 7 p.m. to discuss updates on the search for a new Fire Chief, and to discuss financial matters,
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We hope you have enjoyed the last 2 months of free access to our new and improved website. On December 2, 2024, our website paywall will be up. At this time, we ask you to confirm your subscription at www.themtnear.com, to continue accessing the only weekly paper in the Peak to Peak region to cover ALL the news you need! Simply click Confirm my subscription now!.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Questions? Call us at 303-810-5409 or email info@themountainear.com.
Please log in to continue |
The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors met on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at 7 p.m. to discuss updates on the search for a new Fire Chief, and to discuss financial matters, including the reassessment of the NFPD’s insurance policy.
The first Action Item of the meeting tasked the Board with approving paying for 36 hours of continued paramedic education for retired former Marshal Rik Henrikson. Henrikson has been asked to return as a part-time paramedic because of staff shortages in the department, and is obliged to provide one paramedic shift every other month.
The NFPD agreed to paying for Henrikson’s continuing education in order to retain his paramedic certification.
The next question before the Board concerned whether or not the NFPD should update their insurance policy to reflect recalculated building values that would more than double the insurance rates on the district’s three stations.
The replacement value for Station 1, located at 650 West 4th Street, is currently stated at $3,220,454, though according to the district’s insurance provider’s replacement cost calculator, at $500 per square foot, Station 1’s replacement value should be $7,275,587.
Station 2 out on Ridge Road has a current replacement value of $403,102, though according to the cost calculator the replacement value should be $1,413,060. Station 3 at Eldora has a current replacement value of $288,398, but should be at $1,184,662.
The reassessment of the district’s insurance policy would increase the yearly cost for building insurance by $4,972 for each building, for a total cost of over $24,000 for insurance. The NFPD preemptively budgeted $24,000 for insurance for 2023, as they were expecting the rise in their insurance rates.
The Board decided to go through with the insurance reassessment in order to properly insure the district’s three stations.
The NFPD recently switched their worker’s compensation insurance providers from the state program to their regular insurer to bring all policies under one provider. The Board decided to update their coverage from $100,000 for each person to one million dollars at the low cost of an additional $204 a year.
Interim Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann provided the Board with his Chief’s Report covering all incidents and project updates for late March.
The report stated a significant increase in mutual aid calls with Timberline Fire Protection District (TFPD), including three medical calls that occurred over St. Patrick’s Day weekend in March. The NFPD also assisted Eldora with three medical incidents and Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) with eight medical calls, including two motor vehicle accidents.
Schmidtmann noted that he was eyeing a potential candidate for the part-time mechanic position needed for the NFPD. While there are Department vehicles currently in need of maintenance, including the installation of a replacement steering box, members of the department have recently been handling many necessary repairs and maintenance themselves in-house.
The NFPD has received their new utility task vehicle (UTV), which is primarily meant for backcountry operations and is to be customized with a roof rack to transport gear, a water pump, a winch, lights, and radios. Steel doors and a steel roof have recently been installed and Schmidtmann, as well as Rik Henrikson of the NFPD, have been certified to use the UTV.
The Fire Marshal’s Report within the Chief’s Report stated that 10 annual business fire safety inspections were completed in late March. According to the report, the Fire Marshal has been working with the Town of Nederland on ensuring access to fire hydrants and adequate water supply for new construction projects.
The report also indicated that several new plan reviews for construction projects have come before the Fire Marshal, including a plan for a 44,000-square foot mixed-use building.
Schmidtmann mentioned within his Chief’s Report progress on a NFPD project concerning the installation of proper addressing signage, which would involve a reflective sign featuring no more than four characters of white lettering on a green background. The signage would be legible from both directions of traffic and would be attached to a metal T-post four to six feet above the grade of the road.
The Board discussed updates on the current search for a new Fire Chief for the district. Former Fire Chief Michael Scott resigned on March 4, 2023, with the NFPD Board voting to appoint Charlie Schmidtmann as Interim Fire Chief on March 7. On April 6 the Board approved a finalized draft of a more thorough job description for Fire Chief as well as revised expectations and qualifications for the position based on results from a survey conducted within the department.
The NFPD discussed the expected timeline in regards to posting the job opening, which is scheduled to be released on May 1 with an open 45- to 69-day window to gather enough external candidates. The district hopes to have the interview process start by mid-July, with the expectation of presenting candidates to the Nederland Board of Trustees for interviews by early August.
Board members discussed adding an additional buffer period of one week for application review before entering the interview process, and specified a preference to have a small interview panel, comprised of both members of the public and the Board, to conduct the preliminary interviews.
A motion was made to approve up to $2,500 for a marketing budget for the Fire Chief search, which covers a $575 six-week national ad through Daily Dispatch, as well as additional social media posting costs. The motion was approved unanimously.
The Board then voted to approve providing a reimbursement of relocation costs to potential Fire Chief candidates from out of state, should they accept the position. Board members determined not to provide a specific dollar amount, but to instead review the reimbursement of “necessary” moving costs based on the situation.
The NFPD also instituted that the costs of relocation should be required to be 100% reimbursed by the employee if they are to leave the position before one full year, 50% reimbursed if they leave after a year, and will not be required to be reimbursed if the employee stayed on staff for two years or longer.
The Board also discussed the research being conducted in the search for a new bank. The Nederland branch of Citywide Bank will be closing on May 5; as a result the NFPD is currently searching for either a regional or national bank that has a public funds account, can offer a higher interest rate than Citywide for a savings account, allows multiple users with specified privileges, and has a branch in Boulder to conduct business in person.
The search for a new bank will continue with a focus on regional banks that can provide the best user-friendly experience, as well as more research on account maintenance fees and treasury service fees.
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, May 17, 2023, at 7 p.m. For more information go to: https://www.nfpd.org