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Council approves 2025 county fire protection agreement; city to receive brush truck funding support
Summary
Gunnison City Council unanimously approved the 2025 county fire protection agreement after discussion about rising county call volumes, grant funding for brush trucks and in‑kind credit toward state wildland protection assessments.
Gunnison City Council approved the 2025 County Fire Protection Agreement and authorized the mayor to sign the contract after hearing a report on increasing call volumes and state funding opportunities.
The approval came after Ed Hanson Farchi described call trends and a plan that will allow the city to apply in‑kind work and equipment purchases toward a state wildland protection assessment. "Last year, we had more calls in county than we did within Gunnison," Hanson Farchi said, noting changes to reporting and that the city has already tracked more calls inside city limits this year.
The agreement matters because state and county grant formulas and recent state initiatives tie community assessments or matching in‑kind work to eligibility for wildland protection funds. Hanson Farchi described a state program that pairs a jurisdiction's cash match with state funds to help purchase brush trucks; "they'll give $80,000 to the fire district if the fire district will put in $80,000 and then buy a brush truck each year," he said. Council members discussed how that pairing reduced the city's planned budget payment for a brush truck and will allow Gunnison to obtain additional apparatus without the full budgeted charge. Council members also thanked local firefighters for service and noted plans for a new engine and a second brush truck arriving later in the year.
Why it matters: The city intends to use in‑kind work and equipment purchases to satisfy part of the state's wildland protection assessment, which affects how much a jurisdiction must remit or invest to qualify for state funding. Council and staff said the arrangement will let Gunnison acquire apparatus while reducing direct budget charges to the fire budget.
Councilman Mike Warner moved to accept the county fire protection agreement for 2025; Councilman Robert Anderson seconded. The motion passed with recorded “yes” votes from Charles, Warner, Crane, Hill and Anderson.
Council and staff also discussed operational staffing and volunteer turnout for the department, with Hanson Farchi reporting about 18 active members and that 15 to 17 of those volunteers frequently respond to calls.
The city will take delivery of at least one brush truck between October and December, and will retain existing apparatus to allow participation in mutual‑aid wildfire responses while keeping local coverage.
Ending: Council praised the fire district's regional work and committed to signing the agreement so the city and county can proceed with budget and apparatus planning.
