Park County oversight hearing spotlights alleged misconduct on rural fire district board; requests for immediate appointments

A memorandum presented at the Park County Board of Commissioners meeting on Feb. 24, 2026, described a preliminary investigation that found credible, well-documented allegations of improper conduct among members of the Park County Rural Fire Department Board of Trustees. Paul Spitler of the county attorney's office briefed commissioners and recommended convening oversight steps including training on open meeting law, stricter supervision of staff per county personnel policies, and bylaw and agenda posting improvements.

The department's leaders called on the commission to act quickly. Kim Dell, assistant chief of Park County Fire, thanked the county attorney and said the department has been unable to pay bills or proceed with decisions because the board lacks a quorum. "Our members have and will continue to focus on serving Park County," Dell said, urging the commission to appoint new trustees or otherwise provide the authority the department needs to operate.

Rural Fire Chief Dan Babcox said the board vacancies have left the department unable to sign checks and risked operational continuity. "We have not done so. We're going on the second month now," Babcox said, describing unpaid vendors and the prospect that firefighters could be forced to use personal vehicles for responses. He recommended the commission appoint enough trustees immediately or authorize interim leadership so bills can be paid and training and recruitment can proceed.

Courtney Lewellen, a remaining trustee, echoed the request and asked the commission to place trustee appointments on the agenda for the upcoming special meeting, saying three signatures are required on checks and the district currently lacks the quorum needed to do routine business. "If we can get at least two [trustees] in the next few days, we could get bills paid, and then work towards getting an interim chief to support our assistant chief and firefighters," Lewellen said.

Members of the public who had applied for trustee positions introduced themselves and said they were available to serve. William Madigan, one applicant, said he wanted to put a face to a name for commissioners considering appointments. Ron Brown, another applicant and retired county fire worker, said he had put in an application for chief and would keep it active as the process moved forward.

Legal counsel told commissioners that three applicants had applied for three vacancies and, under the statute, the commission could appoint by acclamation. Commissioners discussed scheduling a reconvened meeting for Thursday at 1:00 p.m. to consider appointments and publicized the applicants and supporting documentation so trustees could be seated quickly and facilitate signing of checks.

The commission did not make appointments during the Feb. 24 session; it directed staff to add the appointments to the upcoming meeting agenda and to provide public notice. The county attorney's memo and the public testimony leave open follow-up actions including training and further administrative oversight.

Next steps: commissioners agreed to add trustee appointments to the Thursday meeting agenda and to provide the applicants' documentation to the public in advance of that meeting.