Camano fire district wins appeal on station project

Published 8:27 pm Monday, December 16, 2013

CAMANO ISLAND — A federal administrator has ruled in favor of Camano Island Fire and Rescue regarding a disagreement over the Terry’s Corner Fire Station construction project.

The fire department in 2010 was awarded more than $330,000 in grant money to remodel the fire station at 525 E. North Camano Drive. The former station, built in 1975, was torn down to the slab and rebuilt to be safer in case of an earthquake, according to the ruling.

Construction wrapped up in summer 2012. Afterward, FEMA and the district disagreed over whether the project exceeded what was permitted under the grant. District officials were told they would no longer receive all of the money as planned.

After multiple appeals by the fire district, FEMA in November issued a final ruling from its Washington, D.C., office, saying the fire department had followed the rules of the grant, and the money would be re-awarded.

“We felt like we were always within the scope of work and that we followed their process,” Fire Chief Mike Ganz said last week. “The remodel and seismic update of this fire station is a great enhancement to this community.”