Given my availability and my familiarity with the Fire Protection Code (NFPA and IBC) as a structural engineer, I decided earlier this month to be a candidate for the Arvada Fire Protection District. This special taxation district operates separately from the City of Arvada and has its own governance, consisting of (5) five Directors on the board. These directors are voted in the spring of odd years by all residents and business landowners of the District:
Three of the five candidates are firefighters by trade. Three seats are open and candidates are elected at-large. One member not up for re-election is Ted Terranova, who is retired from the construction industry as well as being a past member of the Arvada City Council. I actually owe it to him for informing me of the deadline for candidacy.
One of the issues with the election itself is that voter turnout hovers at about 1%. About 20% of voters in the District request (or have requested in the past) a mail-in ballot. Circuit Rider, is the third party administrator of special taxation districts in Colorado and manages the election. You may either vote in-person on Tuesday, May 6th from 7am to 7pm at the APEX Center on 13150 W 72nd Avenue in Arvada. Or you may request and return an absentee ballot to info@ccrider.us:
Sarah Shepherd, Designated Election Official, PO Box 359, Littleton, CO 80160. She can be reached at 303-482-1002.
Link for application for mail-in ballot
For full instructions see the AFPD Website
Why run?
Like any member of the district who pays taxes and is concerned about the threat of wildfire, after the Marshall Fire of 2021-22, we need to come together as a community to see what more we can do to prevent such a tragedy.
Strategies such as home defensible space, evacuation route considerations, conforming to Jeffco’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan(s), various civil engineering methods or thinning hazardous fuel – dried vegetation, and enhancing public awareness – are all talked about, funded and acted on to that extent each year by Jeffco and the AFPD. I am very comfortable with these conversations after having run with 2 of 3 current Jeffco Commissioners. It is important to note that none of commissioner are fire response experts, and will typically defer to fire chiefs, if not FEMA.
My interest in the issue has been longstanding, having grown up in San Diego County, a top fire-risk county in the USA several times the population of Jeffco. Only three years of my life were spent residing in a relatively low risk environment in Western Mass; the rest of my time has been living in very dangerous areas in terms of the threat of wildfire:
I include this map of a comparable region and the very high wildfire threats that accompany life in an otherwise peaceful and pleasant area. The only appreciable difference is the side of the mountains the bulk of the vegetative fuel lies on. In Arvada and Fairmount our communities are to the EAST of the mountains and the threat of dry woodlands and higher desiccated brush area.
In addition to my interest in the maps and methods of reducing hazardous geographies, I have been very involved in the efforts in the Capitol this year to combat wildfire. Two bills came up this year and since there were concerns about government overreach and privacy invasion, I testified against one and supported amendments to the other: HB25-1009 Vegetative Fuel Mitigation & SB25-011 Detection Components for Wildfire Mitigation.
The most important consideration for all the candidates is naturally how effectively is the taxpayers money being spent. The property levy for AFPD is 15.7 mils as of 2024 and that represented a 5.62% increase over 2023. While I know, inflation and cost of living spikes have been particularly bad in Colorado and this might only represent a modest increase, we can never spend our money too wisely. Also, we are only a few years removed from the Fire Chief allegedly paying his family member for no job/work. He resigned in order to avoid further investigation.
In terms of positive things the AFPD does, it already responds to thousands of calls and incidents that the community depends on each day to keep us safe. I laud their work.
Ultimately, I am running because my sons see me and firefighters as heroes, and I would never let them down by not being prepared.
