Following failure of a $53.7 million capital bond measure last April, the South King Fire and Rescue board of commissioners approved at its July 28 meeting to place a new $39 million capital bond measure on the Nov. 3 special election ballot.
Commissioner Mark Freitas was the lone opposing vote. Freitas said poor leadership put the fire district in this predicament.
“We have good firefighters, good equipment, good service and now we’re asking for a handout because we didn’t manage well the resources we had,” Freitas told the Federal Way Mirror.
Freitas went on to say that he represents a segment of the Federal Way community that believes leadership is lacking. He said he represents the community residents, not the fire district, and is doing what he was elected to do.
The other four fire commissioners, including chairman Bill Gates, all emphasized how important passage of the $39 million bond would be in helping the district prepare for the future and to serve residents with exemplary service and equipment.
“This is essential for the survival of our fire district,” fire commissioner James Fossos said. “I hope people understand how serious this is.”
Not since 1992 has the fire district asked voters to consider passage of a capital bond measure, aside from last April’s bond proposal. For years, the fire district has maintained a lean operation, made possible by a base tax rate of $1.50 per $1,000assessed valuation.
“Our citizens are getting a great bang for their buck,” Fire Chief Al Church said. “Our district has a Class 2 insurance rating.We have used tax dollars incredibly well.”
Assistant Fire Chief Ed Plumlee said there is a perception in the community that the fire district has not invested in capital.But that is not the case, Plumlee explained.
“From 2001-2012, we were investing in capital expenditures at a tune of $10 million,” Plumlee said.
An excess maintenance and operations levy approved by voters in 2012 that added an additional 27 cents to the base tax rate, does not go toward capital expenditures but to staffing costs. This excess levy expires in January 2017.
“We’re asking voters in this bond to really improve the infrastructure of the fire department,” Plumlee said. “We can only go so far without investment in capital.”
Plumlee said equipment and fire apparatus paid for with the 1992 capital bond, like the above-ground fuel tanks, are coming to the end of their life and need to be replaced.
The $39 million capital bond measure, if approved by voters, would ask taxpayers owning a $250,000 to pay on average of$40 in property taxes per year or $3.33 per month.
Listening to voters, the fire commissioners decided to reduce the size of the bond measure from $53.7 million down to $39million, removing some of the improvements originally planned, including building a new fire station on the south end of the district, upgrading the fleet facilities building and purchasing a new fireboat.
The board has decided to do a two-phase approach. The first phase under the $39 million bond measure will cover priority upgrades and modernizations of facilities and replacements of equipment and vehicles. A critical focus will be making seismic earthquake upgrades to existing fire stations in the district.
“We need to consider the safety of our employees and citizens,” Gates said. “Seismic upgrades so stations meet certain earthquake safety standards are critical.”
If necessary to complete secondary priorities, the board may decide to approve a second capital bond measure in the future.
