The search for a new fire chief for the Estes Valley Fire Protection District will be focused internally rather than to seek external candidates. The decision to hire from within the district for the job was made Wednesday night during the board’s mid-month meeting.
Board members Brian Tseng and Christopher Buser will lead the interview and selection process. The board appointed Paul Capo, Assistant Chief of Operations and Training, to serve as the interim chief two weeks ago following the unexpected resignation of Rick Lasky July 26. Lasky was hired in April to fill the role left vacant by David Wolf who left in May 2023.
The board will use Prothman, a national recruiting firm headquartered in Washington, to assist with the vetting process of candidates. The firm helped the board to recruit candidates this past year when Lasky was hired.
Because the EVFPD has a contract with Prothman that was entered into less than a year ago, the recruiting firm will not charge the district for additional professional fees for their services. The district spent $27,304.94 to Prothman and also incurred $3,459.47 to bring three finalists to Estes Park for a meet and greet with the board and community before a job offer was made.
Tseng told the board members that by hiring internally, they can expect a decision to be made in early October. If the board had decided to look externally for a new chief, the process to recruit, interview, and hire for the position could take until November or December to have a new chief.
At the beginning of the meeting, the board heard public comments from three individuals. Firefighter Kelly Brenner told the members of the board that they are difficult to hear and asked that the board members speak up. The way the conference room is arranged during board meetings, members sit with their backs to members of the public.
Lieutenant Ronald Bruchwalski told the board that there was a great deal of anger and lack of confidence in the board’s leadership among many members of the fire district. He said he had heard talk in the community about recalling the board. Speaking for fellow firefighters, Bruchwalski said many firefighters were disappointed that none of the board members came to the recent family dinner or had called a meeting to address the firefighters after the resignation of Lasky or to inform them about the appointment of Capo as the interim chief.
Frank Theis also spoke during the public comment period to tell the board they were doing a good job.
In additional business before the regular board meeting, a meeting of the EVFPD Pension Board was held to discuss the volunteer members’ pension fund. A presentation was made about the pros and cons of sticking with the current pension plan which has been managed since 2006 by Buckingham Strategic Wealth and switching to a plan managed by the Colorado Fire and Police Pension Association which has outperformed the returns over the past 10 years of Buckingham.
In a side-by-side comparison, Buckingham’s average return over the past 10 years has been 2.75% per year compared to CO FPPA which has yielded a 9.21% return.
The board decided to make a change in the management of the volunteer members’ pension fund. A meeting will be called to present the information to the current and retired volunteer firefighters.