The Rye Fire Protection District (RFPD) Board of Directors was finally able to hold a meeting on Monday, November 29, the first meeting held since September 2021. Ordinarily, board meetings are held on the third Monday of each month, but due to unforeseen circumstances the last two meetings were canceled and November's meeting rescheduled.
The board was updated on day-to-day operations by RFPD Captain Jim Beach an Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District (BFPAD Fire Chief, Bryan Ware. Ware has been assisting RFPD for the last approximately six weeks since Fire Chief Bennett became ill.
Ware, being Fire Chief of Beulah, a similar-sized department with comparabl terrain and resident base, ha been extremely valuable hel RFPD and BFPAD also use many of the same computer programs and billing companies, so Ware has been able to help keep up with paperwork. Pueblo West Fire Chief Brian Caserta has also been helping out.
Ware and Beach have put together a proposed budget for 2022 as the budget deadline to be submitted to the state is December 15. The proposed budget was presented to the board at the November 29 meeting. There will be a special budget meeting on Thursday, December 9, at 5:00 p.m. December’s normal monthly meeting may also be held at that time if the accountant can get access to all of the November month-end reports.
Through a mutual aid system that the Pueblo County Fire Departments participate in, numerous well-trained and highly qualified people have been assisting RFPD in their time of need. Participants from BFPAD, Pueblo Fire Department, Pueblo Rural Fire Protection District, and Pueblo West Fire Department have all spent time helping out at RFPD. Through the mutual aid system, there is no cost to RFPD for the people who have come to help during emergency times.
RFPD has purchased a fogging machine to assist in COVID prevention. They are currently fogging the fire stations once a shift and fog ambulances if they transport or treat a suspected COVID patient.
RFPD is tentatively planning to bring a federally funded state COVID bus to Valley Market’s parking lot on Sunday, December 12, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The bus will provide 1st, 2nd, and Booster vaccines, as well as flu shots, at no charge.
Mark Paolucchi, CPA, who recently took over RFPD’s accounting, gave a detailed accounting of funds and expenditures. He also answered questions about interest rates and types of bank accounts available to RFPD. Paolucchi also advised the board of a payment that was missed to the State of Colorado in 2018. He is working on straightening that issue out and finding out what additional fees and penalties have occurred due to the payment not having been made.
The board discussed changing maintenance work on RFPD’s vehicles from the City of Pueblo shop to local business, The Service Center. Everyone agreed they would rather spend the money in the valley to support a local business. Some board members questioned if The Service Center was fully qualified to work on the emergency vehicles and if there would be a longer repair time there. Mike Christian, RFPD Chaplain, agreed to talk to the business owner and obtain copies of the mechanic’s qualification certificates and discuss the time frame for work to be done.