Election results likely won’t change much from first count

Measures in Marysville, Darrington and Sultan appear to be passing. Final results come in Friday.

EVERETT — Special election results are nearly the same as they were in Tuesday’s initial count with good news for two fire districts and schools in Darrington, but disappointment for backers of improvements at a Monroe hospital.

The numbers aren’t likely to change before they are certified on Friday, said Garth Fell, Snohomish County’s election manager.

Fire measures were still passing in Marysville and Sultan on Friday, along with a Darrington schools capital levy.

A levy lift that would reopen EvergreenHealth Monroe’s maternity ward was failing. It had about 43 percent approval.

Voter turnout is around 27 percent.

The $1.4 million Darrington School District levy would go toward a new roof on its elementary school, a heating system in the high school and security improvements at both.

The levy would replace a bond from about 20 years ago. Property taxes are not expected to change, according to the district.

The school district also relies on voters from Skagit County. So far, people there have voted in favor of the levy by almost 70 percent. In Snohomish County, that number reached about 62 percent. It needed a simple majority.

In Marysville, two fire services hope to create a regional fire authority. The city’s fire department and Snohomish County Fire District 12 have worked together for decades, but receive money from different places.

If the measure passes, funding would come from one source. That doesn’t include a separate tax for emergency medical services.

On Friday, it was passing by a slim margin of less than 0.5 percent.

Under a regional fire authority, residents of Marysville and Fire District 12 would each pay taxes of $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That equals about $435 annually on a $300,000 house.

Snohomish County Fire District 5 in Sultan proposed a 20-year bond worth $8 million for a new fire station. Property taxes would go up by a maximum of 55 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. That means a person who owns a $250,000 house would pay up to $137 more per year.

The district received more than 63 percent of the vote, and needed 60 percent to move forward.

EvergreenHealth Monroe requested a levy lift that would help reopen its birthing center, and contribute to several other improvements.

The maternity ward closed in 2011, and was the only one in east county. To give birth in a hospital, expecting mothers now usually drive to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett or EvergreenHealth in Kirkland.

The next count is scheduled to be posted on Thursday.

Julia-Grace Sanders: 425-339-3439; jgsanders@heraldnet.com.

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