Vote YES for Elk Creek Fire Protection District's November 2019 Mill Levy

13 Aug 2019 14:14 - 13 Aug 2019 14:29 #1 by ASaferConifer
The Elk Creek Fire Protection District Board of Directors has voted to put on the ballot a mill levy measure for district residents to consider and vote upon this November. A group of concerned citizens, the Friends of Elk Creek Fire, has officially formed in order to help inform the community about the issues facing the district and why it's important to support our firefighters and this mill levy. The Board of Directors will be holding a special meeting on August 22nd at 6pm at Station 1 to affirm the ballot question language and to discuss the apportionment of the new monies if passed.

Chief Bill McLaughlin gave a presentation before the Rotary Club of Conifer on July 23rd, you can find a summary of it on their website here:
Program: Growth Projects, Wildfire Risk, and Challenges by Bill McLaughlin, Elk Creek Fire Chief.
Some of the facts he shared, per the Rotary post:
  • Currently, projects requested by builders would increase the local population by 20%
  • First responders are averaging one accident per day on US 285 now
  • Last year, there were 450 homes lost in Colorado alone, that is the same number that were lost throughout the entire country a mere 20 years ago
  • The Elk Creek Fire Department chipping program has helped over 1500 homeowners mitigate their properties
  • There is a 10 man fire mitigation crew currently at the fire department

We will be sharing more information over the coming months, scheduling community presentations, and are currently asking for donations to help with mailings, yard signs and banner purchases (and locations to place them, such as your yards and businesses). Please bookmark our website and check back for new information added, Like and Follow us on Facebook , and share the information we add with friends and family, post testimonials if Elk Creek Fire has ever helped you or your loved ones in an emergency, and help us get the word out to vote yes! If you'd like to donate, please make checks out to Friends of Elk Creek Fire, c/o Neil Whitehead III, and mail them to 31634 Black Widow Way, Conifer CO 80433.

Here is a video of the July Board meeting in which the board made their initial vote. We are working on processing video of August's meeting and will get that posted as soon as it's finished. Thank you for your time and support!


PO Box 353, Conifer, CO 80433
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14 Aug 2019 07:40 #2 by ASaferConifer
Our thanks to the Canyon Courier for publishing their story on this issue.

While the fire board decided last Thursday that it would hold an election, it will have a special meeting on Aug. 22 to finalize ballot language. It’s planning to ask for just over 5 mills, which would bring the district’s total mill rate to about 12 mills. This would result in an additional $12 a month in property taxes for a home valued at $400,000.

“We think that’s a reasonable request. The money needs to not only get us back where we were but ensure that as things grow in the next five years, we can meet requirements,” said Gary Barrett, treasurer of the Elk Creek Fire board.

If passed, additional funds from the mill levy increase would be earmarked for several things, including:

• Replacing two paid firefighter paramedics.

• Purchasing two new ambulances.

• Renovating a station to include new volunteer sleeping quarters.

It last passed a mill levy increase in 2013, but hadn’t increased property taxes prior to that since the fire department’s inception in 1948, according to Chief Bill McLaughlin. “Since that mill levy passed in 2013 over 50 percent of that additional funding was taken away essentially by the Gallagher Amendment,” McLaughlin said.

Elk Creek Fire Protection District to go for mill levy increase

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16 Aug 2019 11:59 - 16 Aug 2019 19:36 #3 by ASaferConifer
We've uploaded the video of the Elk Creek Fire Protection District August 8 Board of Directors Meeting to our Facebook Page (and YouTube Channel). This is only the portion of the meeting that includes discussion of the mill levy being put on this November's ballot. The board voted to place a mill levy of 5.085 on the ballot which will put the department on par, on the lower end, with other area fire departments (Elk Creek Fire is currently at 7.47, North Fork Fire is at 12.0, several others are at 12.5, Platte Canyon Fire is 14.29).

As discussed in the meeting video, the Board will be holding a special meeting on August 22, 2019 at 6:00pm at Station 1, 11993 Blackfoot Rd, Conifer CO 80433 to finalize ballot language that is due September 6 to Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder.


www.facebook.com/103685330990030/videos/2151570768282128/

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19 Aug 2019 20:35 #4 by Eanies
The following user(s) said Thank You: ASaferConifer

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19 Aug 2019 21:54 #5 by ASaferConifer
Thank you for your support Eanies!

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21 Aug 2019 14:57 #6 by ScienceChic
Not to scare y'all, but earlier today, Elk Creek Fire had 3 simultaneous medical emergencies that all required substantial time on scene. They are stretched so thin that they had to request mutual aid from nearly every other area dept (all but Indian Hills) to help respond to those calls, and at one point Jeffcom couldn't get hold of anyone at Elk Creek and the dispatcher decided to call in Inter-Canyon for assistance. Platte Canyon itself was on multiple calls at the time as well.

Even helping each other out, it's not enough for the amount of emergencies that get called in each month now because almost all the departments face the same under-staffing problem combined with our aging mountain population, increased development, and increased through-traffic. If you want them to be able to maintain a swift response time and the same (or, deservedly, better) level of service, they need our help. They need volunteers and they need funding to add more EMT/paramedic/firefighter positions, ambulances, and engines. They need stations that can house staff and volunteers (the only station in ECFPD with living quarters is Station 1 of the 4 stations).

Growth in inevitable in our mountain corridor. Yes, it absolutely needs to be better managed; we need our commissioners and our Planning & Zoning department to understand our challenges and work with us to build safer homes and neighborhoods, and allow that growth to pace our infrastructure and services, but already our departments struggle to keep up with what's already developed and the increase in tourism traffic which will not abate. Our Chief has gone to bat for us before the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners, the Elk Creek Fire Board of Directors has sent a letter to the county calling for a moratorium on development, and asked for impact fees on new developments; but, in the end, it's up to you, the residents of Elk Creek Fire's district to decide whether you want to support your fire department's current level of service or not. As the Chief said in his testimony to the Planning Commission: "We'll do what we can, but we can't keep adding more and losing funding. There already are times when you call 911 and nobody is there to come. That's just the reality of being a rural area and having the funding issues that we've had" - Chief McLaughlin (~17:00 mark)

"This is a problem. I don't know that I've ever, in my seven years of reviewing cases at this dais, had the fire protection district tell me that they couldn't provide service." - Planning Commission Leader (~20min mark)

Planning Commission Hearing Testimony:


Please vote yes on Elk Creek Fire's mill levy this November.

"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther

The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill

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24 Aug 2019 17:54 #7 by ASaferConifer
Video of the August 22 ECFPD Board of Directors Special Meeting
www.facebook.com/watch/?v=363607364588129

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28 Aug 2019 15:13 #8 by ASaferConifer
The Canyon Courier's latest article on the Special Meeting held by the ECFPD Board of Directors on the 22nd where they adopted the final language for the mill levy.

Should voters accept the proposal in November, the language approved last week allows Elk Creek to use the additional money to:

• Ensure adequate volunteer and career staffing to meet increasing call volume and community expectations.

• Restore the level of fire and emergency medical services to meet community needs.

• Provide funding for fire stations, equipment and water supply capabilities needed to protect the community.

• Continue to provide wildfire prevention, mitigation and slash disposal.

• Provide adequate numbers of paramedics and ambulances for increasing calls and multiple calls within the fire district and neighboring areas.

McLaughlin said that, among other things, money will go toward revitalizing some of the department’s stations, purchasing new water cisterns and restoring the ones Elk Creek already has.

“Water supply is actually probably going to be the first thing we work on,” he said.

www.canyoncourier.com/content/elk-creek-...oves-ballot-language

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11 Sep 2019 19:35 #9 by ASaferConifer
The August 22 Special Meeting of the Elk Creek Fire Board of Directors is on YouTube, for those who don't have Facebook:


The fire department has uploaded their mill levy presentation on their website, you'll find the powerpoint slides at this link: elkcreekfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2019...or-Website-FINAL.pdf

We now have an official ballot number - 7B - for the mill levy. Yard signs will be in shortly, if you would like one for your yard, please post here and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your address so we can deliver it to you!

We'll have a table at the upcoming Conifer Town Hall Meeting on September 18th at 7pm at West Jeff Middle School (9449 Barnes Ave, Conifer) and you are welcome to stop by, get a yard sign, store front signs, flyers, and buttons (while supplies last, it's what is left from the last mill levy) to show your support or ask us any questions you may have. The Chief will be one of the presenters at the meeting, so please attend if possible for more details from him on "The Future of Elk Creek Fire." Thank you!

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24 Sep 2019 17:07 #10 by ASaferConifer
Last week, Chief McLaughlin presented at the Conifer Town Hall Meeting on Wildland Fire and Elk Creek Fire District. He explained the risk our community faces with wildland fires and went over the challenges our fire department faces in responding to both increasing fires and medical calls in our community. Please take 15 minutes to watch and learn why we need to support our firefighters. Thank you!



Show your support for Elk Creek Fire! Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your name, address & phone number and we will deliver a FREE yard sign (and install if you wish).

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