Welcome to my Webpage for the Elk Creek Fire Protection District Community…
- The skilled firefighter/EMT personnel who are committed to serving our community,
- A rewarding workplace for our firefighter/EMT professionals, both volunteer and paid, and
- A sound, well-managed financial position made possible only by sustained community engagement.
Our Challenge – Experience has shown that Elk Creek FPD will need to continue its current, aggressive program for recruitment of firefighter/EMT personnel as emergency calls continue to increase slightly with time and as local wildfire hazards continue to be problematic.
Solution-oriented Policies – Only through a clear understanding of the mission-critical needs of the fire district, drawn from the day-to-day operational experience of the firefighter/EMT in the field, coupled to a committed, community-oriented management practice by senior leadership at the fire district will all residents be able to thrive. That is why I continue to advocate that fire district leadership focus on identified needs that are mission-critical including: Skilled volunteer and paid personnel; essential capital equipment, facilities, and new construction only when the need is demonstrated; and service programs that are sustainably supported by the community.
ELK CREEK FPD INFORMATION
ELK CREEK FPD “UNIFICATION” ANNOUNCEMENT: As many of you may have heard, the fire chiefs of the Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon, & North Fork FPDs have publicly stated that they have recommend to their respective boards, a plan for “unification”—a plan that would not only subvert the will of the Elk Creek FPD electorate but completely undermine the citizens’ rights to due process of law—all this while purporting to lawfully use appropriate processes contained within the Title 32 Special District Act of the Colorado Revised Statutes called “inclusion” / “exclusion” / “dissolution”.
The scheme, unlawfully concocted in behind-the-scenes meetings and without the knowledge, consent, or inputs of the citizens, taxpayers, and other affected stakeholders, would attempt to consolidate / merge the three fire districts without a vote of the electorate. Can the fire chiefs and respective boards lawfully do this? We don’t believe they can but please stay tuned, send us an email volunteering your time to help fight this, and come to the upcoming Elk Creek FPD Board Meeting to voice your opinion (or just observe) regarding this thoroughly underhanded attempt to subvert our democracy by violating the will of the people! Also, to read the gory legal details of this outrageous perfidy, you can find a draft board meeting packet with “legal documents” here
The next monthly Elk Creek FPD Board of Directors Meeting is scheduled to be held in-person Thursday, September 26th beginning at 6pm at Station 1, which is located at 11993 Blackfoot Road, Conifer CO at the US-285 Richmond Hill exit and via Zoom. You can find Zoom login details at: Elk Creek FPD Board of Directors Meeting
If you have questions and/or concerns about any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone at: (720) 260-9212 (mobile) or via email at: cnewby@elkcreekfire.org
MEETINGS: Elk Creek Board of Directors & Pension Board of Trustees Meeting dates have been changed such that, respectively, Board of Directors Meetings are now held on the 4th Thursday of the month beginning a 6pm at Station #1 (please see map) and Pension Board of Trustees Meetings are held the 2nd Thursday quarterly in January, April, July, & October only via Zoom. The Zoom remote meeting option can be accessed here: Elk Creek FPD Board of Directors Meeting via Zoom Meeting ID: 813 3590 3811
RELATED DOCUMENTS:
— ECFPD Board of Directors Meeting Packet 6/27/2024
— ECFPD Adopted Budget 2023
— ECFPD Audited Financials 2022
CONTACT ME: If you have questions related to the Fire District services or policies, please do not hestitate to reach out to me either via my official email: cnewby@elkcreekfire.org using my private email: cnewby.co@gmail.com or telephone me: (720) 260-9212.
ESTIMATED COST OF THE FIRE DISTRICTS’ CONSOLIDATION EFFORTS: After submitting 26 CORA (Colorado Open Records Act) Requests to the three fire districts as well as to Jefferson, Park, and Douglas Counties, we have finally been able to complete a report—which can be found here—with respect to the direct cost to taxpayers for the efforts to consolidate/merge the fire districts. Importantly, our estimate reveals that the consolidation effort cost the taxpayers of Jefferson, Park, and Douglas Counties as well as the State of Colorado taxpayers at least $343,000—more than the cost of a brand-new, fully equipped ambulance.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Broad organizational experience shows that grass-roots level community engagment is essential to a high-performing, rural fire protection district comprised volunteer and paid staff. Some important advantages that come from robust community engagement are:
– Better identification of the community’s values, needs, & ideas.
– More informed community members regarding important issues.
– Improved decision-making, more impact & better outcomes.
– More community buy-in & support, much less contentiousness.
– Faster decision/project implementation, less need to revisit issues.
As we consider the long-term future for Elk Creek FPD, I believe that genuine, sustained community engagement is essential. Please join me in conversation by via email by expressing your values, needs, ideas, & recommendations for how the fire district can best serve the community going forward at: cnewby.co@gmail.com (I will keep these communications strictly confidential).
WILDFIRE HAZARD RESOURCES:
— Neighborhood Wildfire Risk: Community Wildfire Protection Plan
— Community Wildfire Risk Reduction: Wildfire Mitigation Resources
— Wildfire Risk Reduction for the Neighborhood: Firewise USA®
PROGRAMS:
— Home Assessment: Wildfire Prepared Home Assessment Program
— Property Mitigation: Neighborhood Chipping Program
— Help in Your Neighborhood: Community Ambassador Program
ELK CREEK FPD STATION 1
11993 Blackfoot RD, Conifer CO 80433
– at US-285 Richmond Hill exit –
About Me:
mIn the fall of 1998, my family and I moved to Valley-Hi after my career took me to the Denver Technology Center where I worked as an R&D engineering executive for several Fortune 100 satellite and cable television technology companies including PrimeStar (now DirecTV), AT&T Broadband, and others. As an electrical engineer specializing in the design of communication systems, I have spent a career practicing the art of using teamwork to solve complex systems problems — technically, logistically, and financially.
Additionally, I have operated my own engineering consultancy in Colorado for more than twenty years. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army having served at Camp Page in the Republic of Korea with the U.S. 8th Army, 1st/42nd Field Artillery Battalion as the leader of a nuclear weapons detachment from 1971-1972. I am also dedicated to family, having been married to the same lovely woman for almost fifty years. Joanne and I have three wonderful children and four delightful grandchildren, all of whom live in Colorado.
If you would like to learn more about my education, work career, and get a sense of the technology teams with which I have been fortunate to have been involved, please see the following resume, which resides at my consultancy website: resume
AFFILIATIONS
Elk Creek FPD
Telecommunications Engineering
San Diego State University
U.S. Army Field Artillery
United Steel Workers of America
Copyright © C.F. Newby registered agent 2022 – 2024. All rights reserved.