Sharla Steinman
Loveland Reporter-Herald, Colo.
LOVELAND, Colo. — The Loveland Fire Rescue Authority Board voted Monday to continue with the process of terminating Loveland’s fire chief.
The board held an online-only special meeting where they voted for an already established personnel committee, made up of Board Chairman Jeff Swanty and Loveland City Manager Jim Thompson, to prepare a letter of intent to terminate Fire Chief Tim Sendelbach, which will be considered by the full board in another special meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“Depending on the outcome of Thursday’s meeting, per the employment agreement, next steps would include a meeting with the chief and the board,” said Loveland City Council Member Andrea Samson, who also serves on the agency’s board.
The board placed Sendelbach on paid administrative leave Jan. 28 . Loveland Mayor Pat McFall, who serves on the board, said the action wasn’t sudden and pointed to long-standing disagreements during public board meetings over the fire authority’s 80-20 city-rural funding split.
During the meeting, which began at 11:30 a.m. and was attended by nearly 300 people, the board also ratified the past actions of the personnel committee, which included the decision to place Sendelbach on paid administrative leave, appoint Assistant Chief Greg Ward to temporary fire chief, and to consider a 10% increase in Ward’s pay if he continues as acting chief for more than two weeks, which would be on Feb. 11.
During the meeting, 45 minutes of public comment were allowed. The meeting also included a closed executive session where the board received legal advice regarding the fire chief personnel matter.
At the meeting’s start, Thompson clarified that the personnel committee established at the board’s last meeting was to address Sendelbach’s performance and to ask if he preferred to resign or proceed with the process.
“At the time that Chief Sendelbach was placed on administrative leave, the (personnel) committee inquired whether Chief Sendelbach would prefer to resign his position before the board considered whether to proceed further with this personnel matter,” Thompson said during the meeting.
In an interview after the meeting, Sendelbach said he continues to stand strong in his decision not to resign, adding that the continued influx of community and international support has humbled him.
“Today just reinforces it, the community and the fact that the union went public with their vote of no confidence — nobody’s ever seen this,” he said. “It’s not what I want, I don’t think it’s what our community wants, nor deserves, but it’s where we are and I’m going to stand my ground at this point.”
Thompson also said that the personnel matter is confidential, adding that the board and lawyers are unable to share details on the situation.
During public comment, a speaker asked if the board would provide more transparency if Sendelbach agreed; McFall brought that question, as well as four others regarding the recall process, cost to replace the fire chief, secrecy from the board, and how rural district taxes fit into the 80-20 split, to the agency’s lawyer, Emily Powell. She said she would work with the board to answer the public’s questions in the future if able.
Thompson also addressed what he referred to as recent misinformation he’s read about the board’s values.
“Each board member is committed to supporting the authority, its firefighters and the well-being of this organization and the authority’s citizens that we serve,” he said during the meeting. “Because the authority board is the fire chief’s direct supervisor, it is the board’s obligation to address concerns that arise involving the fire chief.”
During public comment, which was criticized by speakers for being limited to 45 minutes, a majority of speakers used their time to speak in support of Sendelbach, asking for transparency, and sharing their lack of trust in the board. Some notable speakers included Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen, Johnstown Mayor Michael Duncan and chairman of the Fire Rescue Advisory Commission Scott Kretschmer.
Loveland resident Stephanie Lane told the board that its decision to place the chief on leave is hurting Loveland’s reputation.
“It is our first amendment to be able to let our board know what they need to do,” she said. “ ... It is hard to find fault in a chief who is protecting and fighting for his family and his community.”
Craig Willard, president of Local 3566, a union representing many of Loveland’s firefighters, shared the union’s formal vote of no confidence in the agency’s board.
“They (the board’s recent decisions) are part of a broader series of decisions that have destabilized Loveland Fire Rescue Authority and undermined its ability to operate as a modern, effective, and financially stable fire department,” he said. “ … These (budgetary) reductions have occurred despite rising service demands, inflationary pressures on equipment and apparatus, and increasing expectations placed on fire and EMS delivery.”
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After public comment, the board voted to ratify the personnel committee’s past decisions and entered a closed executive session. Upon return, Samson asked that viewers understand that the board is following a process and will share more information as they are able to.
The meeting ended with the motion to prepare the letter of intent to terminate Sendelbach, which will be discussed by the board Thursday in another virtual meeting. Depending on the outcome of that meeting, Sendelbach will then be given a chance to discuss with the board in a closed executive session and the board will then have to vote publicly on his termination.
The Loveland Rural Fire Protection District cancelled its meeting scheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m., a decision Sendelbach said shows the board’s lack of transparency.
“When you represent the people, you face the people,” he said. “They have consciously shut that opportunity down.”
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