The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
The Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) is holding a regular election on May 5 for three seats on its board of directors. Six candidates are vying for the seats.
A polling place will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Queen of All Saints Parish Hall at 401 Sopris Avenue in Crested Butte on Tuesday, May 5. Steps will be taken to maintain social distancing and otherwise ensure the health and safety of voters.
Absentee voting is also available and a ballot can be requested online by downloading the request form at www.cbfpd.org and emailing the completed form to office@cbfpd.org. Absentee ballots can also be requested directly from the district between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the CBFPD office at 308 Third Street. Absentee ballots can be requested by mail through April 28 and in-person up until Friday May 1. Eligible voters must be registered to vote in Colorado AND be residents or property owners within the fire district. All ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5.
The CBFPD serves 220 square miles of the Upper Gunnison Valley including but not limited to Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte South.
The CB News asked the six candidates their thoughts on a few issues pertinent to the CBFPD. We heard back from five. Below are their responses.
Name: John M. (Jack) Dietrich
Why are you running for the CBFPD board?
I am asking to be re-elected to the CBFPD board because of my experience and knowledge of Colorado’s Special Districts, and I want to continue to be a part of moving the district in a positive direction. I first arrived in Crested Butte in the spring of 1973, and on January 1, 1978, I was hired as the manager of the Crested Butte South Metropolitan District. As their manager for 40 years, I was in charge of the budgeting, planning and completing the construction of a multitude of projects, as well as running the daily operations and monthly meetings. During my time working for CB South we went from 12 houses to 650 living units. I am a retired volunteer firefighter who has served on the Crested Butte Fire Protection District for 10 years, and has served on the board of directors for the last 10 years. During my years as an active firefighter, I was heavily involved in the construction of Station 3 in CB South. I have a good understanding of Special District laws, and the operations of this district.
What are your thoughts on asking voters to raise their taxes to build a new station and HQ?
As we look to the future, the board of directors has been discussing plans for a new station for several reasons. The Town of Crested Butte owns the property located at 3rd & Maroon and would like to see Fire Station 1 eventually moved out to the new town annexation. Being right downtown, Fire Station 1 is not in the best location for quick responses as Crested Butte continues to become more congested. The planned site for the new station at the corner of Pyramid Avenue and Gothic Road gives excellent access to Crested Butte, Mt. Crested Butte and Highway 135. It will have a place to house the firefighters and EMT’s that are on-call 24/7 as well as modern and efficient office spaces and training facilities.
People’s lives and finances have changed dramatically over the past few months with this current pandemic and it would be tough to ask voters to raise taxes at this time for anything. We had planned to take a bond issue to vote in November 2021, but I believe that will now have to depend on the recovery of our town, the state of Colorado and the country as a whole.
Some people have indicated they see the CBFPD moving away from being a small-town operation to a big city department. Do you see that being the case and are you comfortable with the direction the district is taking?
I don’t think the CBFPD will ever become a big city department, but we have moved away from being a small-town operation, to becoming a first-rate fire/EMS squad with professional cross-trained personnel and a fully staffed volunteer force. During my time on the board, I am pleased with the direction the district is going and proud to have been a part of continuing to make the Fire Protection District a professional operation. I have no hidden agenda. I ask for your continued support on Tuesday, May 5.
Name: Paul Hird
Why are you running for the CBFPD board?
Being a retired 15-year volunteer as an EMT-Intermediate with the Crested Butte Fire Protection District and being a full-time resident in Crested Butte for over 40 years, I have been passionate about the Crested Butte Fire Protection District since 1989. I have seen and or participated in many of the important issues and needs surrounding those front line staff and volunteers and the needs of the department. In addition, serving on the board of directors for the past 13 years along with my fellow board members and working with staff and volunteers, we have navigated the district through many exciting challenges and changes. I feel my well-rounded experience will ensure that I continue to provide rational and prudent judgement moving forward. It is my hope that I can earn your vote on May 5 and continue to be a part of this great organization by serving another term on the board as it faces those challenges and changes in the future.
What are your thoughts on asking voters to raise their taxes to build a new station and HQ?
As a homeowner, business owner and taxpayer in the district myself, I understand no one likes to see taxes being raised. On the other hand, I strongly believe our community will benefit from a well-designed, state-of-the-art station addressing the current and future needs of the district. With a growing department, added personnel, apparatus and the advent of station based personnel we have outgrown the current Crested Butte facility (Station 1) and the office building next door. A new facility will be designed to handle increasing future growth and the needs surrounding that growth of the district and the community for many, many years to come. Fortunately, we have been able to secure a lot in the Aperture Subdivision and are looking at the design and needs that will best serve the community, the fire department staff and the Fire Protection District as a whole. I would love to be a part of that process moving forward.
Some people have indicated they see the CBFPD moving away from being a small-town operation to a big city department. Do you see that being the case and are you comfortable with the direction the district is taking?
I do understand why some people may think it’s beginning to look like a big city Fire Department and not the small community department we all are used to seeing, whether it’s the standardized uniforms, added personnel or additional apparatus (with a new red/black color scheme) people see around town. I would suggest however, that it is more about maintaining the high standards of the district in an effort to provide the best service possible to our community as growth and needs evolve. Like so many rural departments, these changes have been dictated in large part by a decline in volunteerism throughout the country over the last decade or so and our department was no exception. The board members and staff realized back in 2010 or so, that we were going to have to implement some changes in an effort to recruit and retain those front line workers in order to provide a consistent level of service needed to take care our community members. In 2013 we began hiring full-time paid staff to accomplish that need. While trying to retain as many volunteers as possible, the district has been moving toward a paid service ever since. The volunteers we currently have on our service are invaluable and serve a very important role working with the paid staff to ensure we are providing the best possible service to our community members throughout the year.
Name: Tina Kempin, Nationally Registered Paramedic
Why are you running for the CBFPD board?
Because I love this place and the life I live here. Public service has given me so much in the way of working relationships, friendships and sense of community. I find that volunteering helps me in other aspects of my life (such as having medical knowledge while managing a bank during a Pandemic). I’ve served as a first responder for CBFPD (11 years) and CBSAR (18 years), so I understand the demands of being on the frontlines. I have worked hard to further the mission of the CBFPD by becoming a paramedic, responding when the call comes and treating patients with care and respect. I have previous experience with policy and financial oversight as CBSAR’s board treasurer (14 years), as the Adaptive Sports Center’s board treasurer (10 years) and also while working for The Crested Butte Bank (18 years). Serving on the CBFPD BOD would be an exciting synergy of my previous experiences.
What are your thoughts on asking voters to raise their taxes to build a new station and HQ?
This is an important question not just for CBFPD, but for other entities and agencies affected directly and indirectly by the possibility of a new station such as the Town of CB, the CB Marshal’s Office, CBSAR, the Mt. CB Police Department and the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office. We are fortunate to have such a high level of skill and emergency response from those agencies and a new building would help everyone do their jobs more efficiently. At the same time, measures that increase taxes must add value for the taxpayers and be evaluated in the context of our current situation. Everyone in this community is belt tightening as they distinguish between needs and wants. My frontline experience at CBFPD, combined with my financial oversight experience, will help me evaluate those tough decisions and maximize taxpayer dollars, while also assuring a high level of emergency service.
Some people have indicated they see the CBFPD moving away from being a small-town operation to a big city department. Do you see that being the case and are you comfortable with the direction the district is taking?
There is no question the CBFPD has changed. Volunteerism in general has decreased and the CBPFD had to make changes to assure adequate staffing by hiring paid personnel, some of whom commute here from outside the Valley. However, our current public health crisis demonstrated that the CBFPD is strongest, and serves its constituents best, when it has a robust volunteer program to complement the paid staff. I want to foster and preserve that backstop. Volunteers have been heavily relied upon during the pandemic to fill the call board, for COVID testing and to provide staffing for the Gunnison County Call Center. It has been an all-hands-on-deck scenario. Furthermore, many of the CBPFD paid staff started out in the volunteer program. CBFPD volunteers provide an important pool of qualified local first responders to fill paid positions when those become available. As a volunteer, I know what it is like to wake up at 3 a.m. to respond to an ambulance call, transport the patient, finish my patient care report and then go straight to work for the day. My respect for volunteers will guide my efforts to ensure that CBFPD is welcoming and grateful to its volunteers, while simultaneously providing its residents and visitors with the highest quality of emergency services.
Name: Sean Riley; Nationally Registered Paramedic, BSN Registered Nurse, Certified Flight Nurse, Emergency and Critical Care Nurse
Why are you running for the CBFPD board?
As a previous CBFPD board member and 27-year veteran of The Crested Butte Fire Protection District, I have significant experience with the challenges, complexities and operational functions in providing emergency services to our community. I look forward to continuing my service to the community that I call home. Some motivations that I have for becoming a board member are; to rework the paradigm between the board and the operational functions of the district, to have more transparency, communication and participation by the community in fire district functioning. I would like to instill term limits for board positions, and most importantly, look at the needs and well-being of fire district employees and volunteers.
What are your thoughts on asking voters to raise their taxes to build a new station and HQ?
Asking voters to raise their taxes is a huge responsibility and not one to be taken lightly. The recent evolution of the fire district to include paid staff that live at the station for 48-hour shifts which necessitates a station with proper living quarters and offices to house staff. The town is the centralized location for operations and the location of the majority of our annual requests for emergency services. Whether to address this challenge by reworking our operations model or by building a state-of-the-art fire station tends to be an emotional issue for all involved. I believe these decisions need to be arrived at by objective discussion, data driven and based in evidence.
These are not decisions that should be driven by what we feel we need.
Some people have indicated they see the CBFPD moving away from being a small-town operation to a big city department. Do you see that being the case and are you comfortable with the direction the district is taking?
There is a strong push for CBFPD to model some kind of “big city” fire department. I have not seen much objective evidence to support this move in many areas. However, I do think we are at a level of complexity with our operation that we require more paid staff than we have had previously. It has been constantly touted that volunteer numbers are down across the country and that is why we have so rapidly switched to an almost completely paid department. That being said, volunteers have operated this department exceptionally well since its inception in 1972. I feel that our current and future volunteer staff requires support, consideration and equal communication and training as our paid staff. Maintaining a robust, engaged and high functioning volunteer staff is one of the most fiscally responsible strategies for the taxpayers.
I would like to give kudos and recognition to this resilient community and all of our CBFPD Emergency Services personnel in these trying times.
Name: Eric Tunkey
Why are you running for the CBFPD board?
For the last four years I have held the seat of secretary on the CBFPD board of directors. I am throwing my hat into the ring again to continue the progress my fellow board members and I have guided the district through as our volunteer fire department has morphed into a predominantly paid staff and volunteer-assisted Fire Protection District. Before I was on the board of directors I was an active firefighter volunteer for our district for 13 years. Upon my retirement from the department I took several years off. During this time off I felt the will to be back in the district, helping our community in some capacity. As a father of two and a business owner the volunteer aspect of the department seemed too sporadic and random to allow me to fulfill that commitment. The board of directors seemed a perfect fit.
What are your thoughts on asking voters to raise their taxes to build a new station and HQ?
As a homeowner and a business owner I am well aware of what these proposed taxes and mill levies do to our taxpayers. It is definitely a tough but necessary pill to swallow. Since 1974 when the district was created our town, our population and our department have all grown. Our main station in downtown CB, Station #1, has not. Our fire apparatus are much bigger, our workforce is much bigger and our call volume is much bigger. Now that our district is mostly a paid staff of professional firefighters and paramedics running three full-time crews we are in need of an infrastructure upgrade. Our office staff work in two separate buildings, our crews sleep in two different stations in makeshift “bedrooms,” have no communal kitchen, living room, classroom or training grounds. The needs of the district have changed. Our current situation cannot handle the load we have placed upon it. Unfortunately the only practical answer is a new facility and as we know design and build is not cheap.
Some people have indicated they see the CBFPD moving away from being a small town operation to a big city department. Do you see that being the case and are you comfortable with the direction the district is taking?
This question is a question we as a board have debated for the last three years. Yes, you see the present day crews walking around in their “blues” looking professional and tight. Shiny district vehicles and apparatus driving here and there. A street presence that we never had as a true volunteer department. About five years ago a national trend swept our country and our county too: volunteerism was way down. Down so much, we as a District could not cover our ambulance shift board and staff a fire call if the pager went off.
As a board we followed the direction of our chief to hire some volunteers, give them certain job titles and keep them at the station. Well the volunteer numbers continued to decline creating the need for more professionals. Being a small community we had to do as all small communities across Colorado had to do: we put out statewide ads hoping our pay grade and benefits matched or beat the other competing districts for this niche occupation of a cross-trained firefighter/paramedic. So that is where we are today.
Many of our professional staff commute from all over Colorado on a weekly basis to keep our district safe. So instead of looking at the department from the outside and saying “Man, I don’t know ANY of the people on the fire department anymore!” Walk up, introduce yourself and say ‘thanks’ for driving so far to keep our district safe.” Just like we need a new fire station/HQ we need a professional staff. Times change, that’s just the way it is.
