Clarification, October 10, 2025 2:29 pm: This article has been updated to include the addition of one more resignation.
Four members of the Estes Valley Fire Protection District have resigned in the past week.
In addition to the resignation of Paul Capo as chief of the EVFPD, on Friday, Oct. 3, the profile of Erika Goetz, who has served as chief of staff, has been removed from the District’s website.
Jason Dillingham, who was hired in May as the Division Chief of Operations and Training, has reportedly removed his personal belongings from the Dannels Fire Station, his photo has been removed from his biography on the District’s website, and his official last day with the District is in two weeks.
Dillingham is a finalist for the fire chief position at the Louisville Fire Protection District Station 1, located on Main Street, and will meet the public there, along with two other candidates, at a meet-and-greet on Oct. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Additionally Laura Shepard, hired in 2024 to work in wildland risk reduction, has also resigned.
The EVFPD has gone through three chiefs in the past two and a half years. In May 2023, the members of the Board at that time — Ryan Bross, Brian Tsang, Jon Hodde, Larry Leaming, and Dave Hamrick — agreed to accept a separation agreement with David Wolf following a lengthy executive session meeting and just days before a Board election. Larry Leaming lost his seat, and Marybeth Bruchwalski and Jon Hodde were elected.
Capo was then appointed as interim chief and held the position until Rick Lasky was hired in April 2024. Both Bruchwalski and Hodde resigned from the Board in 2024 and Chris Busar and Mike Lewelling were appointed to fill their seats.
After three months on the job, Lasky resigned suddenly in July 2024. His wife, Jamie Lasky, addressed the Board during the public comment session at the next Board meeting and said there was a “cancer” in the fire District that had to be addressed, and until it was, there would be continued problems.
Rick Lasky has not spoken publicly about the nature of those problems.
Capo was again appointed as the interim chief and then hired as chief in October 2024. In March, following a Colorado Open Meetings Law case in which the Board of Directors was found to have violated state law by making a decision to hire Capo in an executive session meeting, Ryan Bross resigned from the Board. Steve Ferrante was appointed to fill the seat until the May 2025 election.
On May 6, the voters in the Estes Valley Fire Protection District elected a new slate of Board members: Sandra Smith, Scott Dorman, Ryan Leahy, Jon “Hippy” Smith, and Jeff Robbins.
At the first meeting of the newly seated Board, it was noted that none of the outgoing Board members attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new Board, nor did any of the old members formally meet with the new Board to express support and solidarity for the succession and transition of authority.
In June, Capo was placed on administrative leave. During the June 16 meeting, prior to the new Board taking action to put Capo on administrative leave, the agenda included two items for an executive session. The first was to receive legal advice concerning “complaints alleging discrimination and harassment,” and the other was to receive “legal advice related to outsourcing the District’s Human Resources needs and the risks and benefits related to such action.”
The Board called a special session on June 23 and, in a brief meeting, voted unanimously to place Capo on leave. A human relations firm was hired to investigate the allegations, which had been brought to the attention of the new Board.
Because the nature of the issues relates to a personnel matter, the Board and its members cannot specifically comment on the allegations or the outcome of the investigation.
The five-member EVFPD Board appointed and authorized a two-person committee to negotiate the details of a separation settlement with Capo’s attorneys on behalf of the EVFPD Board.
A statement released by the EVFPD Board on Thursday afternoon and signed by the Board President regarding the resignations read:
The Estes Valley Fire Protection District Board of Directors has recently been made aware of the resignations of three staff members. While the Board is saddened by these decisions, it is confident that the District is equipped to weather these personnel changes and that this will enable the District to have a stronger, better, and more harmonious, workforce. In that respect, the Board President, Interim Chief Sutherland, and the District’s general counsel are all actively working to obtain proposals from potential Interim Fire Chiefs that will serve the District until a new permanent Fire Chief is hired, and such proposals will be reviewed at the Board’s upcoming meeting. Additionally, the District previously contracted with CPS HR, which is assisting it with various personnel and HR related matters, and the District is in the process of reviewing at least one proposal from a District management company that can assist with various administrative functions until the organizational structure of the District can be thoroughly reviewed. The Board will continue to act with intention to make the District a better organization and to ensure that the community is being provided the very best service.
The Estes Valley Fire Protection District Board will meet on Monday, Oct. 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the conference room at the Dannels Fire Station. The public can attend the meeting in person or via Zoom.