South County Fire advances $420 million bond to November ballot
Published 12:30 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2026
EVERETT — This November, South County Fire voters will see a $420 million bond on the ballot after the Board of Commissioners unanimously advanced the measure Tuesday.
The bond would fund the construction of four new fire stations, full replacements of six stations, and renovations and seismic upgrades at four stations.
Over the past 10 years, South County Fire staff have developed a capital facilities plan that includes asking voters for a bond in 2026.
“I would consider it as an investment,” commissioner David Chan said. “It’s an investment to save your life, and investment in protecting your property because we cannot deliver service without the proper stations with it.”
On May 20, Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen asked the board to reduce the bond amount to address immediate priorities.
“This request comes at a time when residents are facing many competing demands for public investment,” he said.
At the same meeting, the board decided to delay a vote on the bond, citing economic uncertainty and a desire to gather more community input.
On Tuesday, Edmonds resident Roger Pence urged the board to delay the vote again and conduct a public forum.
“You need 60% of the vote, you need an informed electorate, and the best way to get that is to go talk to them first,” he said. “If you wait until it’s on the ballot, then it’s a ballot measure. There’s no more civic conversation. It’s a political campaign at that point.”
All commissioners were against delaying the vote any further.
“At one point, I actually agitated for a Plan B, a Plan C, etc., but in realizing exactly what that meant, meant scaling back exactly what we were intending to do which was make our fire stations safe, make our community whole,” Vice Chair Michael Fearnhough said. “I realized that if we scaled it back, it was quite likely that some part of our community would suffer from not having received upgrades, not received the service improvements, but yet carried the full freight of the bond measure if it passed.”
On Monday, the board held an all-day work session, which partially focused on the need for station upgrades and replacements. Without replacements, some stations would not be operational in the event of an earthquake, according to the staff presentation. Other stations don’t have adequate HVAC, exhaust or air filtration systems, worsening the air quality for staff.
“To hear how unhealthy it is for all the firefighters, paramedics and personnel was upsetting and disturbing,” Mill Creek resident Barbara Heidel said during public comment Tuesday. “To hear how unsafe most of the fire stations are and not be seismically sound is not good.”
The board also voted 4-3 to move forward with a “levy-level” repayment structure for the bond. While the model includes about $50 million in interest, it lessens the immediate impact on taxpayers, commissioner Ed Widdis said. For his home in Mill Creek, he said the additional cost would be about $500 over 20 years.
“I understand that it ultimately does cost more for this,” commissioner Joe Wankelman said. “At the same time, right now, today, our gas is higher than typical, we’re being asked to pay more for food, we’re struggling in so many different ways.”
Commission Chair Jim Kenny, Fearnhough and commissioner Micah Rowland voted against the repayment structure in favor of a model that would cost taxpayers less over time.
“I can’t support an extra $50 million over the life of the bond,” Kenny said.
The measure will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. South County Fire serves residents in unincorporated southwest Snohomish County, Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
