CAMANO ISLAND — Fire department administrators didn’t have to build a new headquarters. Instead, they plan to just move in.
Though the capital facilities plan developed by the fire district and funded by a voter-approved bond issue in 2007 called for construction of a new headquarters station, the purchase of an existing building turned out to be a deal too good to pass up.
In June the former Camano Properties building at 811 N. Sunrise Blvd. is set to house the Camano Island Public Safety Agencies. The move saves taxpayers about $500,000 and gets staff into a new building a year ahead of schedule, Fire Chief Mike Ganz said.
“In the current real estate market, the ability to buy an almost move-in-ready facility at a lower cost than building a comparable one made great financial sense,” Ganz said.
The new building also will serve as a command center during disasters and major emergency events, will house an Island County Sheriff’s and Camano Island Licensing offices and be the new public meeting space for the board of fire commissioners, Assistant Chief Levon Yengoyan said.
The fire department’s $10 million bond issue covers about six construction projects on the island. The money saved by moving into the former $1.4 million real estate office will be used to make sure the other projects at fire stations around the island are completed, Yengoyan said.
“The public is going to start to see these projects get going,” he said.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.
For more info
To learn more about the Camano Island Fire and Rescue projects, call 360-629-3008 or go to www.camanofire.com.
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