Flag raised at new Station 9
Spokane Valley firefighters moved into a new Station 9 Thursday after a midday ceremony.
The landscaping won’t be completed until spring, but there was a flagpole for Thursday’s flag raising. Firefighters had to use a ladder truck to hoist the flag when the station was dedicated on Sept. 11.
The new 7,515-square-foot station at 12121 E. 32nd Ave. replaces a converted house at 11514 E. 16th Ave. The old Station 9 opened in fall 2004 as a temporary solution to the department’s need for a station south of Sprague Avenue.
Units at Station 1, across Sprague Avenue from the University City Shopping Center, had been forced by the Sprague-Appleway couplet to drive a half-mile out of their way to go south.
Now the “fire house” is to be sold as a regular house with what Assistant Chief Larry Rider describes as a “terrific garage.”
The garage was lengthened 20 feet to accommodate a Type 2 fire truck, which still barely fit even though it is six feet shorter than the department’s full-size trucks.
Chief Mike Thompson said the new station will have two full-size truck bays and room for more firefighters, if needs increase.
He said in September that he was pleased construction costs were only about $6,000 over the $1.4 million estimate, well within the standard 10 percent contingency allowance.
Thompson said the brick structure’s design probably will be a model for future stations. However, plans for a new Station 10 were put on hold last month when commissioners, citing the recession, voted to freeze the district’s regular property tax rate at $1.43 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Voters last year authorized the district to restore its basic levy to the statutory maximum of $1.50 per thousand and to keep it there for six years.
Commissioners restored the rate this year, but it slid again and commissioners decided not to restore it again for next year’s collection. The one-year freeze is expected to cost the district about $685,000.
The result will be at least a one-year delay in construction of a new Station 10 at 17217 E. Sprague Ave. The district relies on cash flow instead of borrowing to pay for capital improvements.
Thompson said district officials will review the situation late next year to determine whether to lift the tax freeze and revive plans for Station 10.
The station, which consists of a doublewide mobile home and a garage, is to be rebuilt at its current site.
The Spokane Valley Fire Department – also known as Spokane County Fire District 1 – serves unincorporated areas as well as the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake and Millwood.