Black Forest, Wescott fire districts talk merger

Two north El Paso County fire districts soon will begin discussing consolidation.

Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection District and the Wescott Fire Protection District are neighbors and often work together, said Black Forest spokeswoman Lt. Kathy Russell.

"A fire that breaks out anywhere in the north part of the county will hit all of our pagers, and we're on the road," she said.

Both districts' boards want to know whether a closer legal relationship could benefit their citizens. After months of preliminary discussions, subcommittees recently reported that some form of consolidation might reduce property owners' taxes, as well as improve efficiency and flexibility.

But Russell cautioned it's too early to say what the best avenue will be.

The Black Forest district's 49 firefighters, 10 of them full-timers, serve roughly 3,500 homes in a 48-square-mile area. The district reaches to Woodmen Road on the south, Hodgen Road on the north and from Highway 83 on the west to a mile west of Meridian Road on the east.

The Black Forest Fire Department dates to 1945 and became a special district in 1968. Its mill levy is 6.444 mills (one mill equals $1 for ever $1,000 in assessed value), which generates $846,846 annually.

The Wescott Fire Department serves about 6,500 homes in 20 square miles located between Highway 83 and Interstate 25. Its north boundary is Hodgen Road and Baptist Road and it reaches to Interquest Parkway on the south.

The district has 34 firefighters, 14 of whom work for the district full-time. It was established in 1982 but dates to 1972 when it was known as the El Paso County Volunteer Fire Department. Wescott levies 7 mills, which generates $1.7 million a year.

"This is a plus," Wescott Chief Jeff Edwards said of exploring some kind of merger. "It will broaden our overall capabilities. We'll be able to hit a lot of areas faster.' If the departments should merge, there's been no thought given yet to what it would be called, Russell said.

"That's way, way too early," she said.