EVERETT — Schools in Darrington may be getting renovations soon, according to early results in Tuesday’s special election.
Sultan likely also will get a new fire station. Marysville’s proposal to combine two fire services into one was passing, but by less than 0.5 percent.
The final item on ballots was for a levy lift that would help reopen EvergreenHealth Monroe’s maternity ward. It had about 41 percent of the vote in the initial count.
The next results are scheduled to be posted at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Voter turnout reached about 23 percent. It’s estimated that about 100 more ballots remain to be counted, according to the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office.
That number usually is higher in fall elections. Ballots tend to come in faster during spring, said Garth Fell, Snohomish County’s elections manager.
“With limited issues, people know right away how they are going to vote and if they are going to vote,” he said.
The Darrington School District asked for a $1.4 million capital projects levy. The money 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 to remodel the high school that passed about 20 years ago. Because of that, property taxes are not expected to change, according to the district.
The school district also relies on voters from Skagit County. Tuesday night’s results showed that people there voted in favor of the levy by nearly 67 percent. In Snohomish County, that number was more than 61 percent.
In Marysville, the fire services hope to create a regional fire authority. For decades the city’s fire department and Snohomish County Fire District 12 have worked together, but receive money from different places.
A “yes” vote would mean all their funding comes from the same place. That doesn’t include a separate tax for emergency medical services. It needs a simple majority to pass.
Taxes would change differently for voters depending on where they live. They would all pay the same amount 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. The department already owns the land it plans to build on, along Cascade View Drive.
The district received more than 62 percent of the vote, and it needed 60 percent to move forward. These results mean that it probably will end up passing, Fell said. Someone with a $250,000 home would pay up to $137 more per year.
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.
Final results in the special election are scheduled to be certified May 3.
Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @stephrdavey.
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