Why no fire boat for Everett?

I can’t believe that the Everett Fire Department doesn’t already have a fire boat, even with the current waterfront location of Fire Station 3. Seattle has a second fire boat on Lake Union now. Tacoma and Bellingham both have fire boats. And now Everett can’t decide if it wants to build a replacement station at the marina, even though Everett has no fire boat?

And how long have they had to figure this one out? The Port of Everett has been planning its expansion for over a year and the City of Everett has had full knowledge of those plans. Even before the port’s expansion project, the Everett Marina was known as the second largest marina on the West Coast. And Mayor Ray Stephanson still hasn’t decided what to do?

I know, why not pay a consultant to study the situation? And then another consultant could be hired to decide the location of a new fire station, if the first consultant decides there is a need for one. And then the mayor could appoint a Citizen’s Advisory Group to further analyze the options.

Perhaps by the time all of that happens Fire Station 3 will already be torn down, Everett will have had a major fire in the marina, and Seattle will have been called to help with its fireboat.

If Mayor Stephanson is such a great visionary for the City of Everett, why isn’t there already a plan in place?

Larry Longley

Stanwood