Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 18:00 by President Neil Frame

Attendance and Explantion of Absences

Board Members in Attendance: Neil Frame, Mark Villa, Greg Klaiber, Branch Russell, Keith Dierking

Also Attending: Josh Boyles, Kris Kleiner, Max Herte, Maddie Kosten, John Cummings

Attendance via Zoom: Christina Jantzef

Approval of the July 15, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes

A motion to accept the July 15, 2026 Board of Director Meeting Minutes  as presented was made, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Public Comment & Announcements

• No public comment.
• Update on the EAR – Josh Boyles
  • CEI and GFR Administration recently conducted a walkthrough inspection of the EAR to evaluate progress toward meeting vegetation rehabilitation requirements resulting from construction. The assessment indicates that seed establishment is likely once moisture is restored to the area.

Financial Reports

Review of June financials

• The July 2026 financial report was presented by Christina Jantzef.
  • Revenue collection is on target for the year, with 95% of the budgeted revenue collected to date.
  • Operational, Safety and Training, and Apparatus accounts remain significantly under projected spending for the year.
  • Administration line items are on target, with 56% of the allocated funds expended so far.
• A motion to accept the year-to-date financials as presented was made, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Review of Notable Payables

• Nothing to report. 

Reports of Officers, Committees, Professional Consultants

Administrators/Training Coordinator – Lt. Max Herte

• The Mountain Fire Academy has concluded, successfully establishing four new probationary firefighters who will join the GFR ranks.
• Two members attended the Rocky Mountain Unmanned Aerial Systems Conference to advance knowledge and support the growth of the GFR Drone Program. Additional training is scheduled in collaboration with South Metro Fire to integrate joint operational procedures and ensure coordinated training between both agencies.
• Seven active members of GFR are completing their Firefighter II (FF2) certification. This raises the proportion of active GFR members holding Firefighter II status to roughly half.
• Two members are currently completing their EMT training this fall.
• To date this year, 2,500 training hours have been completed.

Deputy Chief Report – Chief Josh Boyles and Lt. Kris Kleiner

•  Chief Boyles reported that a three-member crew was deployed to Mesa Verde on a fourteen-day assignment to support firefighting operations in southern Colorado. The crew mobilized using Brush Truck 959 to respond to the incident.
• Lt. Kris Kleiner reported 213 total calls for July. Of those, 45% were medical responses. July is on track to be the highest call-volume month of the year.

Apparatus Coordinator – Chief Josh Boyles

• Schedule planned maintenance for all apparatus at the end of the year.
• Engine 931’s backup camera was rewired in-house; Engine 932 is next to receive a backup camera installation.
• All apparatus remain in service.

Recruiting Coordinator Lt. Kris Kleiner

• The Recruitment Officer, Lieutenant Kris Kleiner, reported that the Department is actively conducting ongoing recruitment efforts. The Department is currently processing candidates for a new recruit class; two candidates have already entered into the system and are slated to join next year’s class. A recruitment video produced through Responder MAX is scheduled to launch later this fall. The Department anticipates fully expending the SAFER grant funds allocated for recruitment costs.

Old Business

• 921 Status – Chief Josh Boyles
  • The outfitting of the new 921 Utility Truck is still in the development stage and waiting completion.

2027 CWPP – Chief Josh Boyles

• Chief Boyles reported that next steps for implementing or recommending the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) are ongoing. The Department is coordinating with partners to reduce the cost of conducting a fire behavior analysis and mapping program for the District. More updates will be provided in future meetings.

Repaving rear parking lot – Chief Josh Boyles

• Chief Josh Boyles reported that the decision to resurface the upper rear parking lot was made after consultation with a vendor, who advised that resurfacing was feasible and would yield cost savings for the Department. Instead of performing a full removal and new installation of an asphalt lot, the Department prudently chose resurfacing, realizing savings of tens of thousands of dollars. The resurfacing project was completed at a cost of $7,500.00.

Building Addition – Chief Josh Boyles

• Preparation for completing the final design plans for the building addition is ongoing. Chief Boyles expects this process to accelerate after hiring a new engineer. However, the timeline remains uncertain, and several steps will still follow completion of the final plans, including permitting and competitive bidding

New Business

Fire Shelters – Josh Boyles

• Twenty new wildland fire shelters were procured to replace eighteen aging, obsolete units. This overdue investment was necessary to ensure frontline firefighters have up-to-date, life‑saving protective equipment while operating in the field.

Ear Report – Chief Josh Boyles

• Genesee Fire Protection District conducted a Community Evacuation Drill on July 25 to introduce the Emergency Access Road (EAR) to residents. The exercise was broadly regarded as a successful demonstration of the newly completed EAR. Over the course of the drill, 117 civilian vehicles transited the EAR in under 35 minutes. The Department received numerous compliments about the exercise and requests to continue similar drills in the future.
• Department administration assessed the exercise as a valuable planning tool for future emergency operations. Observational data and operational metrics captured during the drill provided critical insights into how to implement and manage emergency response activities for incidents requiring EAR use. Overall, community feedback was very positive regarding both the EAR and the conduct of the operation.

Meeting Adjournment

There being no further business, the board meeting was adjourned at 19:08