Monument Fire District, Jan. 25 – Palmer Lake declines ambulance contract; district leads county mass casualty plan

Ambulance service contract declined
District takes lead in mass casualty plan
EMS update
2022 auditor approval
Financial report
Board/citizen/staff comments
Station 1 Training Center update
Chief’s report
Board of Directors’ election 2023
Executive session

By Natalie Barszcz

At the Monument Fire District (MFD) meeting on Jan. 25, the board discussed a letter from the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees (PLBOT) declining Emergency Medical Services (EMS) from the district; heard about district staff leading a county mass casualty plan; received multiple updates; and held an executive session to discuss a meet and confer plus agreement and providing EMS service to neighbors.

Treasurer Tom Kelly was excused.

Director Jason Buckingham joined the meeting but was unable to take part in the voting due to work commitments.

Ambulance service contract declined

Fire Chief Andy Kovacs said that in 2015, Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District and the Town of Palmer Lake established an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to provide ambulance service to Palmer Lake. In that agreement, upon request from the Palmer Lake Fire Department (PLFD), the district would dispatch an ambulance for each EMS response in the town. The district in return received a fee of $500 for each transport out of Palmer Lake. Over time the fee has increased to match the consumer price index.

Note: PLFD and the Town of Palmer Lake administrator were informed via letter in December that a price increase would take effect Jan. 1, 2023 and MFD would begin charging $588.25 per transport. A price increase also occurred in 2021, charging the town $544.18 for each transport.

On Jan. 24, the district received a letter from PLBOT giving 90 days’ notice to terminate the IGA for service. Before receiving the letter, there had been no communication regarding the matter with the Town of Palmer Lake or the interim Fire Chief John Vincent of PLFD. Kovacs said the district values the relationship with Palmer Lake, and though we serve the residents indirectly through these various agreements, MFD remains committed to that relationship with the residents and to assisting Palmer Lake. He met with Vincent before the board meeting, and he recommended the IGA be continued. Vincent was due to meet with Palmer PLBOT on Jan. 26, and hopefully he will be able to convey the district’s concern to the trustees. There is time to reach an agreement in the ensuing 90 days, Kovacs said. See PLBOT article on page < 1 >.

Vice President Roger Lance said a lot of questions came to mind after reading the letter. What will they do for EMS ambulance service now that Palmer Lake no longer receives AMR service out of the Donald Wescott Fire Protection District (DWFPD) Station 4, on Gleneagle Drive. It does not make sense that they would rely on AMR ambulance from Colorado Springs when MFD is five minutes down the road, he said.

Kovacs said AMR is still the ambulance provider for Palmer Lake and they handle over 90% of their EMS calls. MFD only sends an ambulance to assist high acuity calls upon request from the PLFD. The town is billed quarterly, and they are not billed if an ambulance is canceled. They were billed about $8,700 for 16 calls last year. There is no mutual aid agreement, because Palmer Lake cannot reciprocate, he said.

Lance said that after 90 days, MFD will provide support out of the goodness of our hearts.

Kovacs said the subject will be discussed in executive session to receive direction from the board for future service.

President John Hildebrandt (attending via Zoom) said he was disappointed the district received the letter declining ambulance service from the Town of Palmer Lake, and he said the following:

The letter states Palmer Lake’s wish to continue a prosperous relationship, but he is unsure what that means.
MFD has received comments about double dipping, but the district also charges Monument residents for EMS service.
The concept everyone needs to understand is the district will bill a resident plus the Town of Palmer Lake.
MFD receives property taxes from Monument residents. Those taxes provide personnel and equipment to support services.
MFD does not receive property taxes from Palmer Lake, so the service is billed as a pass through because they cannot provide service.
The funds MFD receives help provide the service so they can respond, and the residents in both districts are not treated any differently.
No one should perceive that MFD will not respond in the event of an emergency, and the district wants to remain good neighbors and provide EMS.
The service to Palmer Lake does cost MFD money, and the situation needs to be resolved.

Kovacs said he hopes the concerns can be resolved and the IGA can be reinstated or redrafted to address any concerns. Ambulance service is valuable, accounting for 87% of MFD service calls. The billing does not exceed the expense of the service provided, and the district does not profit providing the service, he said. The set fee billed to Palmer Lake per call is still at the expense of MFD.

District takes lead in mass casualty plan

Kovacs said Battalion Chief of EMS Sean Pearson had been tasked with developing a mass casualty exercise for the district. The project grew exponentially, as all the partner agencies participated in the Regional Mass Casualty Incident Plan. The district received a $45,000 grant for county responders to receive equipment to carry out the plan, Kovacs said. Initiatives coming out of MFD are making a difference in the county. Kudos to Pearson and EMS Coordinator Stephanie Soll for establishing the plan—it became much larger than was initially assumed, he said.

EMS update

Kovacs said:

Two district ambulances responded to the Club-Q shooting in November to assist the Colorado Springs Fire Department and AMR. Both units were canceled during the staging of the emergency response.
The district responded to six of the nine EMS transport requests made by AMR so far in January. In January 2022 the district received 60 requests from AMR.
The district is working on a draft consolidated agreement for a county agency response to AMR requests.

Note: Station 4 on Gleneagle Drive continues to handle the highest EMS call volume in the combined district of DWFPD and MFD.

2022 auditor approval

Lance requested the board approve the letter of engagement for Erickson, Brown, and Kloster LLC to conduct the 2022 audit.

Director Terri Hayes asked if the cost of the audit had increased.

Kovacs said the cost had increased considerably from $6,500 in 2022 to about $17,100, with an additional $1,200 for amendments, plus expenses. The quote is in line with other auditors, but less than some competitors in the area. The cost does not include the DWFPD 2022 audit, he said.

The board approved the audit engagement letter, 5-0.

Financial report

Secretary Mike Smaldino read the financial report as of Dec. 31, 2022, and said the following:

The district’s overall revenue for 2022 was about $15.2 million, about 103% of the projected revenue budget of about $14.7 million.
The district’s overall expenses for 2022 were about $10.5 million, about 95.9% of the projected expense budget set at about $10.9 million.

Note: The combined bank balances total at year end was about $14.3 million. The district had about $8.1 million in the General Operating Fund year end. About $1.3 million was distributed among the Capital Fund account, the Fleet Capital/Public Fund, and the TABOR reserve fund.

Kovacs said the 2022 budget was very difficult because of the consolidation process of merging DWFPD with MFD and due to the unexpected departure of AMR from Station 4 (Gleneagle Drive) on Jan. 1, 2022. The departure created the need for a fourth ambulance, along with the increased cost of fuel, toilet paper, utilities, and the increased shared cost of the building management at the administration offices. The district also had to bring the Wescott fleet up to district standards in 2022. The district remained under budget despite all the additional expenses last year, and he is confident that most of the costs were one-time expenditures and there were no frivolous expenses, he said.

The board accepted the financial report as presented, 5-0.

Board/citizen/staff comments

Hildebrandt said the end-of-year healthy financial report substantiates the board’s decision to approve the mill levy match to offset the state Legislature’s two-year temporary reduction in the Residential Assessment Rate. See www.ocn.me/v22n11.htm#mfd.

Gary Nelson, president of Emergency Incident Support, thanked the board and the executive staff for managing to remain 5% under budget and 3% over the projected revenue at the end of 2022, especially after the merger of DWFPD and MFD. See DWFPD article on page < 20 >.

Note: The 2022 and 2023 budget documents can be viewed at www.monumentfire.org. Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District is doing business as Monument Fire District but has not legally changed the district name.

Station 1 Training Center update

Division Chief of Operations Jonathan Bradley said the district is still evaluating the options for the MFD Training Center but determined the Town of Monument site off Mitchell Avenue was not big enough to accommodate the district training site. The district is looking at a 4-acre site off Baptist Road/Terrazzo Drive and also evaluating a regional training approach with Colorado Springs Fire Department and Black Forest Fire Rescue Protection District.

Director Terri Hayes asked about the future of the 14 acres the district purchased adjacent to Station 1 in 2019 and said the site should not go unused after the expense of purchasing the property. See www.ocn.me/v20n10.htm#tlmfpd.

Kovacs said there was a possibility of Front Range Fire Apparatus using the site for an apparatus repair facility. If acreage cannot be purchased in the southwest of the district, the site will be used for training. It will not go to waste, he said.

Chief’s report

Kovacs highlighted the following from the November and December monthly activity report and said:

Firefighter Christian Schmidt was elected as the new Local 4319 president. The district and the board are looking forward to working with him in 2023.
Lt. Jon Bodinsky received the department’s “step-up” award for raising $14,770 for the annual Fill the Boot campaign in support of Muscular Dystrophy.
An orientation to introduce the new hires and their families to the district gave everyone the opportunity to visit all the crews at the five stations and meet with the Local 4319. The event was well received, and the staff enjoyed the meeting.
The district is working with OZ Architects to rebuild Station 3 on Woodmoor Drive. The relocated station will include district administrative offices on land just north of the YMCA.
The 2005 Smeal Type 1 Engine was sold to Elliot Fire Department, Iowa, for $40,000.
An ambulance went in for repair at a Ford dealership and returned with $1,500 worth of lights missing. The district filed a police report, and the dealership will be reimbursing the district for the lights.
The district completed 1,571 training hours for November through December, 2022.

Note: Included in the chief’s December report was the provision of staffing by MFD Company 512 to an all-hands Black Forest Fire Rescue Protection District training day, to allow their Station 2 staff to attend training. MFD also provided mutual aid assistance to a house fire on Pinery Drive in December. See BFFRPD article on page < 18 >. DWFPD and MFD district boards receive the same monthly activity report. See DWFPD article on page < 20 >. The reports can be viewed at www.monumentfire.org.

Board of Directors’ election 2023

Resolution 2023-01 calls for a regular election to elect four board directors, the seats currently held by Directors Buckingham, Hayes, Lance, and Tom Tharnish.

Kovacs said the 2023 election will complete the process of going from even- to odd-year elections, and terms will be for four years. Self-nomination forms will need to be submitted by Feb. 24. If the district receives more than four self-nomination forms, an election will be held. For self-nomination instructions, visit www.monumentfire.org.

Vice President Roger Lance announced that he will not run for re-election in 2023.

In a roll call vote, the board approved the election, 5-0.

The board also approved the 2023 Board of Directors Policy Manual, 5-0.

Executive session

The board moved into an executive session at 7:45 p.m., pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute 24-6-402(4)(b), to confer with district attorney Maureen Juran of Widner Juran LLP for the purposes of receiving legal advice on a specific legal question to review a meet and confer plus agreement; and pursuant to 24-6-402(4)(e), to instruct negotiators on a matter subject to negotiations concerning the provision of ambulance service within Palmer Lake.

Kovacs confirmed after the meeting returned to the regular meeting that no action was taken.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

**********

Meetings are usually held every month on the fourth Wednesday of the month at Station 1, 18650 Highway 105. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. Meeting attendance is open to the public in person or via Zoom. For joining instructions, agendas, minutes, and updated, visit www.monumentfire.org or contact Director of Administration Jennifer Martin at 719-484-9011.

Natalie Barszcz can be reached at nataliebarszcz@ocn.me.