The Estes Valley Fire Protection District announced today that the District has accepted the resignation of Paul Capo as its chief, effective immediately.
The resignation follows Capo’s placement on paid administrative leave by the Board in June. The Board hired a human relations firm to investigate issues that led to the chief being put on administrative leave. In August, the Board appointed a two-person committee, consisting of Board President Sandra Smith and Director Jon “Hippy” Smith, to negotiate the settlement.
Details of the settlement have not been released. Capo was hired as the interim chief last summer after the resignation of Chief Rick Lasky, who quit after three months on the job. It was then announced in October that the Board had decided, in an executive session meeting, to offer Capo the role of chief. Colorado Open Meeting laws do not allow decisions of a public board to be made in executive session.
The EVFPD denied a CORA request to release the recording of the meeting, but on December 30, 2024, Larimer County Judge Juan Villasenor ruled that the Board had violated the state’s open meeting laws and ordered that the recording of the private meeting be made public.
In May, five new Board members were elected to the EVFPD, and within the first month, the Board placed Capo on administrative leave related to an undisclosed personnel matter.
In a press release signed by Smith, the EVFPD issued this statement: “After engaging outside investigators to conduct an independent, thorough, and fair investigation, and after consultation with the District’s counsel, the District accepted Chief Paul Capo’s resignation from his position effective immediately. The Board will now focus its efforts on conducting an expansive search for a suitable new chief. We expect that this process will take at least several months. The District Board is committed to engaging in a thoughtful and thorough search process that will involve all the District’s members and staff, as well as members of the public.”
Capo is the District’s third chief over the past three years. The District entered into a severance agreement with David Wolf in 2023.
The Board will meet next on October 13 at 4 p.m. for a scheduled meeting at the Dannels Fire Station, 901 N. St. Vrain Ave., Estes Park. Board meetings are open to the pubic.