Bond Would Replace District 8 Fire Station

Moran Prairie plans to replace its cramped Fire Station 81, if voters agree to foot the bill.

Fire commissioners with Fire Protection District 8 - which includes four fire stations covering 110 square miles south of the South Hill - have put a $4 million bond issue on the ballot. If it passes, the bond would pay to replace the 57th and Regal station, among other things. Also, a new levy is on the ballot to help fund emergency medical services. The proposed permanent levy would replace a six-year EMS levy, which expires at the end of this year.

“If there is any doubt in people’s minds about the bond, they should just go down to the fire station and take a look,” Fire Chief Dan Stout said.

The station was adequate for staff when it was built in the 1950s, he said. However, there are more firefighters on duty each shift now, making the station cramped and uncomfortable for the firefighters who live and work there, he said. Meanwhile, a strip mall has sprung up around the station, which means that additions to the station are not an option.

Stout said building a new station has been discussed for many years and was included in the district’s 1998 strategic plan.

“I hope people understand this has been a long-term process,” he said. “A lot of work and thought went into this.”

The bond would ask voters to pay $4 million over 20 years, which would cost property owners 36 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value per year, or $36 on a $100,000 home.

Commissioners are not sure how much a new station would cost because they have not purchased the property yet, according to Commissioner Greg Hesse. Three properties are being considered, he said.

The bond also would pay for new trucks and other capital improvement projects, including an unmanned station in Hangman Valley, a live-fire training room and ventilation upgrades for all the stations.

“While the district’s general fund budget provides for the day-to-day operations of the district, it does not have adequate resource to pay for capital items,” Stout wrote in the Fall/ Winter 2000 district newsletter.

The levy has been put on the ballot, Stout said, to help offset the growing number of EMS calls for which District 8 is responsible.

The proposed EMS levy asks property owners for 50 cents per $1,000, double what the previous levy cost. By law, 50 cents is the most an EMS levy can assess.

Stout said the number of EMS calls District 8 firefighters respond to has increased by 3 to 5 percent every year for the last five years. While about 70 percent of the district’s calls are EMS-related now, only 15 percent of the budget is for EMS. The levy would help balance the discrepancy, he said.

The levy would pay for training, staffing, safety equipment and medical supplies.

For more information on the proposed bond or levy, call the district at 926-6699, or look it up on the Web at www.scfd8.org.