‘Tremendous Strides in Professionalism ’Credited as Hagendorf Leaves Fire Post

Directors of Lake City Fire Protection District acknowledge they are at a crossroads and admittedly have big shoes to fill in the wake of the resignation of the district’s multi-tasking General Manager, Bill Hagendorf, who has filled the dual roles as both Fire District Chief and Fire Marshal on an as-needed basis for the past 13 years.
Above and beyond that, the retiring Hagendorf, who now lives near Monte Vista in the San Luis Valley, effectively filled a variety of other fire district-related roles, including mechanic, maintaining the first district’s fleet of fire fighting equipment and — perhaps paramount — grant writer, whose efforts augmented the fire district’s meager financial coffers with literally hundreds of thousands of dollars (see separate box, page 3).
“He was our Unicorn,” says fire district Board Chairman R.E. Hall, “he literally brought the fire department to a very professional level and showed us how a fire department should operate.”
Hall’s praise is mirrored by the fire district’s four-decade-tenured secretary, Michelle Warren Pierce, who, speaking to WORLD on Monday this week, sums up the situation with Hagendorf’s departure, “it’s a sad day and we’re struggling now to keep things operational.”

A former fire chief in Texas, Hagendorf’s dedication to Lake City Area Fire Protection District manifested itself shortly after he and his wife, Bernadette, moved to Lake City. He first attended a fire district meeting on January 25, 2012 and events rapidly transpired thereafter: he was named Lake City Fire Marshal in March, 2012, following the retirement of the former marshal, Ed Nettleton. The late Pat Holley resigned as Lake City Fire Chief on October 12, 2012, and Hagendorf applied and was named as his replacement.

Hagendorf’s work as Fire Marshal entailed inspections of newbuilds, restaurants, lodging and residents — the largest of which was a myriad of safety inspections he conducted for the expansion of Lake City Community School with gymnasium; as Fire Chief, he continually worked to upgrade equipment and gear, and instituting weekly training sessions for firefighters. The result of his work as both Fire Marshal and Fire Chief, as described by Hall, “was greater safety for both community and firefighters.”
Thirteen years later, Hagendorf submitted his letter of resignation as District Manager, Fire Chief and Fire Marshal at last Wednesday evening’s fire district board meeting. His resignation becomes effective April 30 and the dilemma of finding an individual to fill the multi-faceted position will be discussed at a special fire district meeting called for that purpose starting 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, at the Henson Street fire station.
At their meeting with SILVER WORLD earlier this week, R.E. Hall referenced his comparison of Hagendorf as the fire district’s lucky “Unicorn” with multiple talents ranging from grant writing, training, keeping abreast of ever-changing fire code regulations, and his work servicing and repairing both fire station and its fleet of emergency equipment.
Hall posed the question, “can we possibly find someone capable of all the duties he performed?”
Pierce thought for a moment and sighed, acknowledging “probably not.”
As described by both board chair Hall and board secretary Pierce, Hagendorf’s tenture with Lake City Area Fire Protection District has been nothing short of “miraculous,” says Pierce, “literally bringing the volunteer department up from nothing to, now, a professional, well-staffed and equipped basis which is recognized throughout the state.”
Principal discussion topic at the special meeting April 16 is a hoped-for answer to the question, “how can we maintain the current level of fire district operations until we can fill Bill’s position?,” says Hall.
Also on the mid-April meeting agenda is the potential of a voter-approved sales tax increase benefiting Lake City Area Fire Protection District.
Months prior to Hagendorf’s departure, fire department directors and staff had begun to address possible financial remedies for the cash-strapped fire district, including the potential of a ballot question in this November’s Coordinated Election asking county residents to approve an as-yet-to-be-determined sales tax increase.
A sales tax boost — rather than a more complicated and difficult to achieve property mill tax increase —is preferred owing to the fact consumers as a whole, including the influx of summer visitors, shoulder the burden and, according to Hall, “reap the benefits.”
Currently in Hinsdale County, a 7.9 percent sales tax is imposed consisting of 2.9 percent which goes to the State of Colorado, 4.0 percent which is split by Town of Lake City and Hinsdale County, and 1.0 percent sales tax to Lake Fork Health Service District.
If approved, the resulting cash influx could result in a salary attractive to an individual applying for the multi-tasking General Manager, as well as allowing the fire district to continue with the detailed equipment replacement schedule developed by Hagendorf. The added income, says Hall, “will keep us running in the black.”
Among the retiring fire chief’s talents was seeking out and writing successful state and federal funding applications which, among a long list, allowed upgrades to equipment, routine weekly training, and — vital in terms of firefighter recruitment — a moderate $25-per-firefighter stipend which is paid for each call and training session.
Partially as a result of that incentive, Lake City Fire Dept. now enjoys a full complement of 12 firefighters after “struggling for years,” says Pierce, with a minimal staff of just six to seven firefighters.
The present full roster consists of Patrick Tubbs as Deputy Chief, Evan Milski and Mike Ralph sharing duties as Captains, and firefighters Mike Tuttle, Willy Merfeld, Greg Levine, Crystal Earley, Nathan Wuest, Justin Thompson, Jared Sledge, Ben Walker, Lannea Walker, and Joel Collins.
Significantly, funding for the firefighters’ stipends comes as the result of a four-year Federal Emergency Management Agency no-match SAFER (Staffing, Adequate Fire Emergency Response) grant drafted by Hagendorf and implemented starting in 2022.
Over four years starting 2022 and ending 2026, the FEMA SAFER grant provides a bulk sum of $84,323 allowing for the $25 per firefighter stipend.
Successful fire district grant funding applications during Hagendorf’s tenure combined both federal funding through FEMA, as well as state funds through Colorado Division Fire Prevention and Control, the latter used primarily for fire fighting equipment and gear.

The future of FEMA funding is now very much in doubt — as can be attested by both Hinsdale County and Town of Lake City which have a “pause” in their major Operations Center and waste water treatment plant expansion projects as a result of a federally-mandated review of all FEMA funded projects. Included in the review are partially FEMA-funded projects which have already been put out to contract — as is the case with both the town and county — while non-contracted FEMA projects are assumed to be in even greater jeopardy.
In addition to a substantial amount of income which Lake City Area Fire Protection District has received as a result of Fire Chief Hagendorf’s grant writing skills, the district’s other sources of income are roughly $120,000 annually from the 4.229 property tax mill levy which has remained unchanged since 1992. Other sources of income for the fire district are $6,100 per year in earned interest, $4,000 on average from fees charged for fire response to property owners residing outside the boundaries of the fire district, $6,000 from motor vehicle registrations, and donations of varying amounts aggregating an average of $9,000 per year which are received from private individuals, Pioneer Jubilee Women’s Club, and through Lake Fork Community Foundation.
Summing up fire district revenues, Board Chair Hall says revenues “are basically flat while expenses have gone through the roof.” Without added income such as a sale tax component, he adds that the district will basically backtrack with the equipment replacement schedule necessarily disregarded and aging pumpers continued to be used for the foreseeable future.

Lake City Area Fire Protection District’s Board of Directors is evolving and at this writing consists of Board Chair R.E. Hall, Vice Chair Brent Boyce, Treasurer Dennis Cavit, and board members Crystal Brown and Evan Milski, together with long-time District Secretary Michelle Pierce.
Cavit, who was first elected to the board in 2012 and successively re-elected in 2014, 2018, and 2022, is retiring.
Also on the retirement track and leaving the fire district board is Brent Boyce who, in considerably younger years, was first elected to a four-year term as director in 1986 before a work-related move out of Lake City.
Boyce was elected to a four-year term in May, 1994, but resigned the following month when he again moved.
Most recently, he was appointed to fill a board vacancy in August, 2019, and was later re-elected in 2020 and 2022.
The board positions of both Cavit and Boyce will be filled by new San Juan Ranch Estates resident Gene Polenske, a two-year term, and Lake City resident, fireman, and county commissioner Greg Levine who will be appointed to a three-year term on the board.