Candidates Differ Over Plans For Future
Fire District 3
The candidates for Fire District 3 commissioner have different ideas when it comes to the future of their district.
Kevin Clark, a commercial vehicle enforcement officer for the Washington State Patrol, hopes to expand services. Ronald McKinley, an Amber Lake farmer, likes things the way they are.
After a six-year term, current commissioner Franklin Betz has decided to pursue other interests.
District 3 covers 565 square miles in southwest Spokane County, including the rural areas of Cheney, Medical Lake and Spangle, Amber Lake, Four Lakes, Marshal, Paradise Plaza and Tyler. It is an area with more than 12,000 residents. The expansive district has a staff of more than 120 volunteers and firefighters.
Recently, the district lost its bid for a $700,000 property tax levy. Too few voters turned out in September to validate the levy that would have funded seven new attack engines, although a majority of the voters approved the measure.
The levy would have freed the district’s annual capital budget to upgrade stations.
Clark, a volunteer firefighter in the district for five years, says the district will do fine without the levy.
He said there’s “more than enough money” to expand services in the district, something he said he’d like to see happen as commissioner.
“I’d really like to broaden emergency medical services throughout the district,” he said. “About 60 percent of our calls are emergency medical calls. It’s a bigger part of our call volume than fire calls at this point.”
There are 12 stations in the district, and three run emergency medical service programs, he said.
Clark, who lives in Marshal, said he’d also work to include the community in fire district issues.
“I’d like to see a little more public involvement,” he said. “It would be good to see the perspective of the taxpayer and the volunteer.”
Ronald McKinley lives on the end of Amber Lake, where he farms wheat and barley, and raises cattle. He has served as a volunteer firefighter for 40 years and has been captain of the Amber station for 25 years.
He said the district is doing well without expensive upgrades and new equipment. He supports the district’s efforts to buy used equipment instead.
“We are kind of in the middle - not buying lots of equipment but still providing good service. I’m a taxpayer myself, so I don’t want to see a big increase. I just want to hold the level where we’re at.”
Unlike Clark, McKinley said he would not want to spend more to increase the district’s emergency medical services. “We have enough already to serve the district,” he said. “I’m for EMS, but not at every station.”
, DataTimes