The Estes Valley Fire Protection District is expected to select its next fire chief later this month after narrowing a field of 19 applicants to four finalists.
EVFPD board President Sandra Smith said during the June 1 board meeting that the finalists will visit Estes Park on June 17 and 18 for a series of interviews and meetings with district leaders, staff, community partners, and residents. A final selection could be made during the board’s June 22 meeting.
The district worked with GMP Consultants, a Washington-based executive search firm specializing in fire service leadership recruitment, to identify the finalists.
“The leadership, paid staff, volunteer members, and community representatives will be pleased with the finalists based on their qualifications,” Smith told board members during the district’s June 1 meeting.
The district plans to release the names, biographies, and photographs of the four finalists by the end of the week.
As the interview process moves forward, Smith reminded board members to avoid discussing candidates among themselves outside properly noticed public meetings in order to comply with Colorado’s open meetings laws.
District prepares voter survey on potential sales tax
The special fire district is also moving ahead with plans to gauge public support for a possible sales tax measure that could appear on the November ballot.
Interim Chief Warren Jones said The Welchert Company, a Denver-based public affairs and government relations firm, is expected to deliver draft questions for a commuinty survey as early as June 2.
The district hired Welchert to conduct voter sentiment research on a potential sales tax dedicated to funding the fire protection district. If survey results indicate sufficient public support, the district could ask voters to approve the measure in the November midterm election.
Under Colorado campaign finance laws, the district would be prohibited from advocating for or against the measure once ballot language is formally submitted through election channels. The deadline to certify ballot questions for the November election is Aug. 8.
Jones said the board is expected to review the survey results and decide by June 29 whether there is enough community support to move forward with a ballot proposal.
The potential tax measure comes as the district faces uncertainty about future funding, and as several other special districts also need to ask local taxpayers for support.
Currently, the Town of Estes Park provides the fire district with 7% of its sales tax revenue for general operations, along with a share of revenue from the voter-approved 1A sales tax dedicated to wildfire mitigation efforts.
Town officials have indicated they are considering redirecting those funds toward the construction of a new police station and public safety incident command center.
The Estes Park Police Department is currently housed in a former school building on Elkhorn Avenue that is nearly 90 years old. Police Chief Ian Stewart has repeatedly described the facility as inadequate for a police department serving a town of just under 6,000 that hosts more than 4 million visitors annually.
According to Stewart’s community presentations, the police station is cramped. In 1970, the EPPD employed roughly 20 sworn and civilian professionals. Today, it employs 41 sworn and civilian professionals.
When the EPPD moved into the building 52 years ago, the Town’s population was 1,616. In 2020, the Town’s official population was 5,904. In 1974, the Town saw 2,489,300 visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park; that figure jumped to 4,171,431 in 2025.
The current police station lacks a sallyport to safely transfer people in custody between the building and a vehicle. Congestion in Bond Park during festivals and other events compromises response time.
Jones told board members that the district’s reliance on volunteer firefighters allows it to operate on an annual budget of slightly more than $3 million. If the district were required to staff all firefighting positions with full-time personnel, Jones said, annual operating costs would exceed $15 million.
He is hopeful that, given the wildfire and drought concerns, the residents of the Estes Valley will support the EVFPD’s efforts to become financially independent.
Competing infrastructure and financial needs
The fire district’s funding discussion comes as several government offices and special districts are confronting major infrastructure and capital needs.
The Upper Thompson Sanitation District is advancing plans for a wastewater treatment plant project estimated to cost about $100 million.
The Town of Estes Park recently completed preparing its 2026 Water Master Plan. The plan identified approximately $100 million in water system improvements over the next two decades, a cost likely to require future rate increases for customers.
Town officials also are exploring construction of a new police station and public safety facility expected to cost more than $30 million.
The Estes Park School District’s long-range planning committee estimated last year that approximately $15 million in maintenance and repair work is needed across the district’s three aging school buildings.
The Estes Valley Recreation and Park District also faces a funding decision. Its board is expected to consider whether to ask voters to extend a property tax that provides up to $200,000 annually toward operations at the Estes Valley Community Center. The tax, approved by voters in 2015, is scheduled to expire after collections in 2027.
A dedicated EVFPD sales tax could provide the district with long-term financial independence while helping to address future staffing, equipment, and capital needs.