MARYSVILLE – Their job is to fight fires, but in the heated debate over the Whiskey Ridge-Sunnyside annexation, politics has proved hot enough to pay attention to.
Officials with Fire District 8, the Lake Stevens fire department, have said they won’t enter negotiations with Marysville to provide coverage in the proposed annexation area until the fate of the 1,500 acres is decided.
“Those citizens in Whiskey Ridge have been with Fire District 8 since our inception,” Chief Gary Faucett said.
“They’ve been loyal to us. They are citizens who are opposed to the annexation. With that in mind, we’re standing with our citizens.”
Some people who live in the proposed annexation area have said they don’t want to be a part of Marysville.
They identify instead with Lake Stevens, where they shop and send their children to school.
The fire district move comes as Marysville is preparing for what it hopes will be a ruling in its favor when the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board meets tonight.
“Our expectation would be for a positive outcome,” Marysville Community Development Director Gloria Hiroshima said.
If the annexation goes ahead as planned, Marysville had hoped to contract with Fire District 8 to continue to provide fire and emergency aid in the area until the Marysville fire department, Fire District 12, could build a fire station in the area.
But Faucett said he’s not going to enter those negotiations until the annexation is final. Also weighing in his decision is a legal review of Snohomish County’s decision to extend Marysville’s urban growth area.
That legal decision is before the Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board, which is expected to issue a decision by Sept. 15.
At the time the County Council reviewed changes to the urban growth area, Lake Stevens had competed with Marysville for the Whiskey Ridge area. The County Council voted to give Marysville the area.
As a result of the uncertainty about providing emergency services to the area, Fire District 12 officials have created tentative plans to build a temporary fire station in the area.
“We are fully prepared to take over that area if the annexation is approved,” Chief Greg Corn said.
The two-bay, temporary station would go up near the city’s water tower on 65th Street NE near Highway 9.
Corn said an offer will be re-extended to District 8 if the annexation is finalized.
He said contracting with District 8 is the preferred option over building a temporary station.
In the meantime, several locations are being considered for a permanent fire station in the area, should the annexation be finalized, he said.
District 8’s Faucett said the jurisdictional issues do not interfere with an otherwise good working relationship his department has with Marysville.
“This is not an issue that we’re trying to be obstinate on,” Faucett said. “It’s a political matter on boundaries.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
