GOLDEN GATE CANYON — The Golden Gate Canyon Fire Protection District (GGFPD) approved an IGA with the city of Golden for fleet maintenance during a March 26 meeting at the Grange. The Board also approved a new spending policy and adopted a countywide wildfire resiliency code.

Board members present for the meeting were Deb Curlee, president; Mike Sever, treasurer; Karla Grahn, secretary; and Dave Primmer. Marith Reheis, vice president, was excused. Chief Kyle Benson attended online.

Chief’s report

Benson introduced an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for fleet services with the City of Golden.

During his report, Benson also said he continues to work with the City of Golden on an IGA for fire marshal and fire investigation services. This need has been further underscored by the recent Geneva Fire, as well as a notable increase in building permit activity within the district over the past 30 days.

The IGA process for fleet services with the City of Golden has been completed and presented to the Board for approval at this March meeting. Benson said the IGA is “a good thing for all of us moving forward.” Sever added the rates were very fair. The Board approved the IGA.

Benson introduced adoption of a countywide wildfire resiliency code. Municipalities, fire protection districts, certain metropolitan districts, and counties are required by state law to adopt the code.

The Board approved the resolution.

Also during the Chief’s report, he requested grant match allocation for the Colorado VFA Grant (wildland fire and mitigation equipment), not to exceed $20,000, based on budgeted funds for equipment, communications, and outreach. The Board approved.

Treasurer’s report

Sever introduced a review and vote to amend the 2023 GGFPD Spending Policy. He reported the financial review conducted by Logan, Thomas, and Johnson LLC, recommended updating expense tracking to include electronic approval of signatures and approved chain of authorization.

During his treasurer’s report, Sever said the firm had reviewed the District’s financials and found them very good except for the one recommendation.

According to Sever, “Following conversations with Chris Creech, we amended the 2023 GGFPD Spending Policy to include a Transaction Approval Process section requiring an electronic tracking system and Cloud storage for all expenses and revenue.

“An expansion of current duty and officer roles has also been updated under the Amount Guidelines to capture new roles and duties resulting from the expansion of the fire fighting team and the mitigation division.”

The Board approved the amended spending policy.

The next regular Board meeting will be on April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Grange, 25201 Golden Gate Canyon Road, Golden.