South King Fire and Rescue officials are now proposing the Board of Fire Commissioners approve placing a $53.7 million bond on the April special election ballot.

If approved and passed by voters, the bond will fund the replacement of 27 vehicles and one boat. It will upgrade all of the eight fire stations and build a new one in the south end of Federal Way.

The bond will also upgrade the agency’s training campus and allow them to build a new vehicle maintenance fleet facility, replace equipment, and upgrade information systems and technology.

Fire officials first proposed the bond in September for $45.3 million and had an initial goal of getting it onto the February special election ballot.

“The commissioners looked at the possibility of that Station 60 being a combination of fire station and fleet facility and … and that wasn’t the right decision,” Capt. Jeff Bellinghausen said in an interview when questioned about the change in price from the initial bond proposal. “They made that decision that it was best to build a separate fleet facility and fire station.”

Citizens have not approved a South King Fire and Rescue bond since the early 1990s and because the fire district, which consists of Federal Way, Des Moines and parts of unincorporated King County, has increased in population, size and need, department officials say they need the funds now.

“We knew in the mid-2000s, 2005-2006, we would need another bond,” Chief Al Church said. “It’s been 22 years since the last bond.”

Church said calls for service have increased by 14 percent with 15,500 emergency calls in 2010 to 17,695 calls in 2014.

And he expects the upward trend well into 2020.

According to Assistant Chief Ed Plumlee, three apartment complexes, two senior living centers, one town home complex, a school and two businesses are in the works.

Throughout the years, the fire department transferred operating revenues from the general fund into a capital reserve account to fund capital equipment, apparatus and facility needs.

But, according to firefighter officials, the recession caused their capital reserve system “to be used only as absolutely necessary” and they experienced a 30 percent annual reduction in property tax revenue.

The proposed 20-year general obligation bond, as it currently stands, would cost taxpayers, who own a house costing $250,000, $6.50 a month or $78 a year.

“Our capital needs are incredibly important to the district,” Church said. “I’ve seen our apparatus, our facilities age quite a bit. There are stations that haven’t had work since I’ve been here and I’ve been here 37 years.”

The replacement of five engine trucks will cost $3.2 million, one ladder truck will cost $1.2 million, five aid car replacements will cost $1.18 million, the Marine 67 fire boat will cost $750,000, the Hazardous Materials Unit Tow Vehicle will be about $40,000 and the battalion chief’s command vehicle will cost $52,500.

Staff vehicle replacements will cost $600,000 as the department needs four new administrative vehicles, four prevention vehicles, three training/fleet vehicles and three motor pool vehicles.

Early cost estimates have the station upgrades slated for $26 million, which includes the construction of Station 60.

Stations 61, 64, 65 and the new facilities need new generators, all of the stations need “immediate” occupancy improvements, upgrades for earthquake safety, and decontamination and bunker gear storage facilities.

New roofing is required at stations 62, 63, 64 and 67, while fencing, security measures, maintenance and operational improvements for mechanical and electrical systems and fueling station upgrades are proposed for all of the stations too.

The stations were built between 1964 and 1987, with the majority built in the 60s and 70s.

“Everything gets old and used,” Bellinghausen said. “… The rigs are still old, the buildings are in need of upgrades and we have to find the money to do that so we have to ask people to give it to us.”

Board of Fire Commissioners Chair Bill Gates said the commissioners determined that $53 million is needed to get them through the next 10-20 years but they want to hear from the public before they approve the bond.

“The public can say, ‘Yeah, it’s too much, not enough or Ok’ but so far nobody has said there’s anything on the list that they don’t think we need,” Gates said. “There’s no objections. Nobody has said ‘Well I think you need three engines instead of four.’”

Gates said with the best insurance rating of fire districts in the state and a AA+ bond rating, the department is in a good position for lower interest rates on the bond.

Gates said he’s hoping the commissioners will arrive at a recommendation at a special meeting on Feb. 12, which would then give staff time to create the resolution and paperwork so they can formally pass it at their next regular board meeting, Feb. 24. The measure would then need to be sent to King County by March 13 for it to appear on the April 28 special election ballot.

For more information or to provide input on the potential bond, visit www.southkingfire.org.