Medical Lake fire chief Musser to step down

The city of Medical Lake will soon be looking for a new volunteer fire chief.

Interim Chief Bryan Musser is stepping down from his position, but will continue to volunteer with the department.

The city council approved a job description for the position at its meeting Tuesday night and will soon advertise both internally and publicly for candidates.

Councilmember Howard Jorgenson expressed concerns that the description did not include a clause requiring the candidate to live within a 30-minute response time from the department. He said that if there were two candidates of equal qualifications, one living outside the community and one inside, preference should be given to the one inside the community.

Councilmember Brenda Redell wondered if there should be a clause about how many hours a week the chief is required to volunteer.

City administrator Doug Ross said the job description instead includes a list of duties the chief is responsible for and city attorney Cynthia McMullen said she wasn’t sure the city could legally require the number of volunteer hours without the position being a full-time job.

“I think we’re going to know if the job is not getting done,” said Mayor John Higgins.

The council unanimously approved the job description with the provision a clause will be added about living near the community.

The next Medical Lake city council meeting will be held Sept. 15.