By Olivia Johnson
Daily Record
PENROSE, Colo. — On Tuesday, Nov. 12, the Florence Volunteer Fire Department was served a letter titled “Demand to Cease and Desist Using District Facilities” from the Florence Fire Protection District’s attorney, Ireland Stapleton.
The two-page document listed a number of issues to be resolved, including the currently undefined line between the volunteer organization and the district.
“For example, without any approval by the District, the Volunteer Organization\\ scheduled a blood drive to be held on District property and is using the District’s name as part of the publicity for the event. On its Facebook page, the Volunteer Organization states that that ‘we handle medical and fire calls,’ and includes the Fire District’s website as if it were the website of the Volunteer Organization, and also includes the Fire District’s address and phone number. It also states that the Volunteer Organization is a government organization, which is untrue. The Volunteer Organization is a separate 501(c)(3) entity that is not affiliated with the District any further,” the letter reads.
The letter went on to note that undefined roles between the two organizations, “fails to take into
consideration the potential legal issues that such confusion and misrepresentation can create.”
At the time of the letter’s delivery, the volunteer department used the District’s address and phone number, “for all filings and correspondence it has with the State.”
“Due to the legal implications on the District and the District’s taxpayers, the District has determined it is no longer willing to provide facilities, mail or utilities for the Volunteer Organization,” it read.
The letter went on to notify the volunteer department that it must, “vacate the District’s premises, and more specifically Station 1, for all activities by no later than December 31, 2024. It also must cease from using the District’s facilities, mail address and phone number for any of its activities or filings.”
Additionally, the letter read, “Finally, the Volunteer Organization must not attempt to use the District’s name or suggest it has any association with the District for any purpose, including when the Volunteer Organization seeks any grants or other sources of income related to fire or EMS response. Indeed, we believe doing so could be tantamount to fraud as the Volunteer Organization does not provide any fire or EMS response, and yet its most recent 990 filings suggest it is providing fire response.”
The Daily Record reached out to Florence Fire Chief Bill Ritter on Thursday.
Ritter, who has been Fire Chief since 2020 and a paid district employee since 2021, noted the long history between the volunteer and district organizations.
According to Ritter, the original Florence Fire Department was formed by volunteers in 1890 and continued to work alongside the official department after it was formed in the 1950s until the current day. Ritter noted, however, that the volunteer department began running EMS calls and services in the mid-1930s and, by the late 1980s, realized that various grants were becoming available for EMS equipment.
“They had to develop the 501-c3 to be able to bill the patients; you had to have some sort of organizational thing and that’s what they filed,” Ritter said. “And then they were eligible to get grants to buy new ambulances, replace equipment and vehicles.”
In July 2021, Penrose EMS was suspended because of the lack of volunteers, increased demand, and increased populations which caused a strain on nearby agencies.
In response, a mill levy increase of 10 mills was presented to the community in November 2021. This was done to fund an EMS Service and augment fire protection within the district and meet the needs of these growing communities. The levy passed with the approval of 70% of the voters.
The mill levy increase was to support two ambulances, one stationed in Florence and the other in Penrose, along with the full-time, professional staff.
According to a Sept. 8, 2022 Daily Record article, six full-time employees staffed the Florence ambulance.
“The volunteers in Penrose couldn’t support their ambulance and they had a 501-c3 for the same reason as the Florence volunteer department and they went out of business,” Ritter said. “Florence…was struggling with volunteers and had looked at forming an ambulance district to get the money to pay people and it was going to be a 2-3 year venture to get all the paperwork done and the filings to get on the ballot to do this so the District board decided to take it over because they could just put it on a ballot question for a mill levy increase.”
When asked about the possible dissolution of the volunteer department, Ritter noted that a formal agreement had not been struck when the mill levy increase passed — at least that he was aware of.
“The volunteers did not agree to dissolve their 501-c3 right away — they still had money in their coffers…They’ve been working on taking care of their assets,” he said. “There’s nothing in writing that I know of…the Board was under the impression that they were going to dissolve.”
Currently, the paid department is staffed by three full-time firefighters and the volunteer department includes roughly 32 individuals. The Florence ambulance is responsible for 249 square miles and 10,000 residents in Florence, Penrose, Rockvale, Williamsburg, and Coal Creek.
Ritter doesn’t anticipate that EMS or fire response times will be affected.
“I anticipate services to stay the same,” he said. “I would encourage everybody in the community to come to the board meetings and listen first-hand to what is going on and make their decisions.”
On Sunday, the Daily Record received a statement from Ireland Stapleton.
“Because the non-profit corporation has continued to make representations about their role in the District’s operations, the Board felt it had no choice but to formally require the non-profit corporation to vacate the Fire District’s facility and to request they stop engaging in activities or making statements that confuse our communities into thinking they are being made by or carried out by the Fire District. As a Board, we believe in transparency with the communities we serve, and we could not in good conscience allow this situation to continue,” the letter read.
“The need to address this situation with the non-profit corporation will not impact the emergency services provided to our communities by the Fire District’s paid emergency responders or District volunteers. We are saddened that the non-profit corporation has suggested we are getting rid of the volunteers. This is not the case,” the statement continued.
“We trust that our Fire District volunteers will continue to serve our community to the best of their ability. We certainly know that having volunteers under the District’s legal umbrella (instead of through a separate non-profit corporation) provides better protections to the District, the individual volunteers, and ultimately the taxpayers and citizens we serve.”
When asked what was next for the District, Ritter’s reply was simple.
“It’s tough getting volunteer firefighters and I hope they stay and help the community out,” he said.
The Florence Fire Protection District Board meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month at Florence Fire Station 1, located at 300 W. Main St. in Florence. Upcoming meetings will take place on Dec. 3 and Dec. 17 .
(c)2024 Daily Record, Canon City, Colo
Visit Daily Record, Canon City, Colo at https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
