At approximately 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, Timberline Fire Protection District (TFPD) held their monthly board meeting. President Rick Wenzel, Vice President John Bushey, Treasurer Whitney Donoghue and Member-At-Large Chip Smith attended the meeting as well as Fire Chief Paul Ondr, Administrative Chief Jennifer Hinderman and several other firefighters and Proximo representatives. Highlights included a public hearing for an Exclusion Request from Proximo Distillers, the presentation of the 2022 Budget, the resignation of Jeff Fisher and the Chief’s Report.

The board and attendees performed the Pledge of Allegiance and held a moment of silence for fallen firefighters. Roll Call revealed all were present. There were no changes to the agenda and no conflicts.

The public hearing began with petitioner evidence from Proximo that concluded that TFPD should allow the exclusion of the property from their service area which is south of Central City by way of Central City Parkway (CCP) because Black Hawk Fire Department can handle their needs.

“The economically feasible service district for the property is Black Hawk, not Timberline,” said Proximo Attorney Harmon Zuckerman. He continued, “Lake Gulch Road is part of the annexation and since Black Hawk owns it, they are the co-petitioner.”

The intended build will include an estimated ten thousand square-foot distillery, a visitor center and barrel houses and may cost fifty million dollars. Proximo wants to create an artisanal whiskey resort that is truly made in Colorado.

Proximo believes that Black Hawk Fire Department will be able to expand their services to meet the needs of the project by way of funding from the City.

City Attorney Cory Hoffman spoke on behalf of Proximo’s Exclusion Request citing the advantage of annexing with the City to take advantage of the services there. “Because this property is near Black Hawk, there isn’t a need for additional fire response from other entities.” he said.

He continued that most of the traffic will come from Miner’s Mesa through Black Hawk and that the City has designed the roads to reduce traffic from CCP. The traffic study showed eighty percent of traffic coming from Black Hawk and twenty percent from CCP. The proposed whiskey resort will expect about sixty thousand visitors per year.

Chief Paul Ondr took the podium and stated that Proximo did not pay their fees in October 2020 when they first made an exclusion request. Timberline agreed to a fee of $25,000 per parcel for the fourteen parcels which was eventually remitted to TFPD.

Ondr disagreed with Proximo’s representatives, stating that though Black Hawk could be there faster, TFPD could provide more personnel and that the property is already in TFPD’s district. He also stated that the amount of people that will be brought to the area will be traveling through TFPD’s district and that the exclusion would impact TFPD due to these costs and lack of benefits.

The activity Timberline would gain from this development would ensure that any future benefits would stay in the county. Ondr says there is no way to know how the exclusion of the property could impact Timberline, and that the City of Black Hawk and Proximo see Timberline as an obstacle instead of a partner.

President Wenzel asked why wouldn’t Proximo want the aid of both districts. The Black Hawk chief responded that confusion can occur with multiple response teams. He continued that Black Hawk employs a very aggressive fire prevention program with the newest sprinklers and techniques to protect new development.

Hoffman said that Proximo’s annexation into the city of Black Hawk means they can reap City services and that special districts like TFPD are meant to fill in areas that aren’t covered, not duplicate services.

Zuckerman said they are contractually obligated to apply for an exclusion per their annexation agreement with Black Hawk and that Proximo is not interested in paying an additional mill levy for TFPD.

After no public comment, the hearing concluded at 7:30 p.m. A motion was made to go into Executive Session. Motion was seconded and all were in favor.

Regular session resumed at approximately 8:50 p.m. Bushey delivered the deliberation on the Proximo Exclusion Request, “Although we don’t agree with the conclusions drawn and believe there is a lack of evidence, we believe it is not in the best interest of the taxpayers to continue foreseen litigation with Proximo on this matter.”

Smith added that the mutual aid agreement between Black Hawk Fire Department and TFPD should be thoroughly reviewed.

Smith made a motion for TFPD’s legal counsel, General Attorney Linda Glesne, to prepare findings of fact and approve the exclusion for Proximo LLC. Donoghue seconded and the motion passed.

New business included correspondence in the form of a letter from Sheriff Rick Albers of Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office thanking TFPD for help with the Miners Candle Fire.

Smith moved to approve the November 9 minutes. The motion was seconded and carried.

The board then opened the floor for a hearing on the 2022 Budget. No public comment was made.

Ondr said he is very pleased with the zero-deficit budget. Smith moved to adopt a resolution to increase the mill levy from 8.342, the voter-approved mill levy, to 8.391, to make up for the reduction in the residential assessment rate, per the 2018 approval to adjust the general operating levy to account for any loss in tax revenue.

Donoghue moved to adopt the 2022 budget which was seconded and carried. An additional motion to appropriate funds was approved. The resolution to adopt the 2022 board meeting schedule was also motioned and approved.

Jeff Fisher recently resigned, creating a vacancy on the board. Any letters of interest can be sent to rwenzel@timberlinefire.com by January 11. The position only needs to be filled until elections in May 2022, and at that time, there will be additional openings.

Fritz Peak Observatory has been considered surplus Government property available for disposal and Timberline will be submitting a notice of interest.

A motion was made to approve the Xerox copier contract, seconded, and approved.

Smith made a motion to adopt a resolution calling for the 2022 regular district election and appointing a designated election on May 3, 2022, naming Micki L. Mills as the Designated Election Official. All were in favor.

A motion was made to adopt the Chief’s employment agreement, which includes a salary of $85,463. Motion was seconded and all were in favor.

Next the board discussed a potential agreement with Jolly Green Properties for a proposed building at 180 Jankowski Drive which would require access within a thousand feet of 15,000 gallons of firefighting water. The agreement would give Jolly Green Properties six months to secure an agreement suitable to TFPD or they must install a private cistern. Bushey made a motion to sign the agreement. All were in favor.

Ondr then discussed old business saying that the dump truck was removed from Station 10 in Virginia Canyon.

In the Chief’s report, TFPD responded to 43 calls in October, and brought in seven new volunteers.

On December 5, TFPD was requested to assist with the Miners Candle Fire in Clear Creek County and were able to send three trucks and ten people, spending about twelve hours on site.

Special thanks go to the Schneider family for making Thanksgiving dinner for the on-duty crew.

Gilpin County granted preliminary funding of $25,000 to complete a thousand hours of mitigation work on county property.

Gilpin County Sheriff enacted Stage 1 Fire Restrictions on November 19 and it will remain that way until significant snow is seen.

At 10:08 p.m. the board adjourned to conduct the pension board meeting.

The next regular board meeting for Timberline Fire Protection District will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2022, at 6 p.m. at Station 5, 14908 Highway 119, Black Hawk, CO 80422.