Major fire issues heat up Aug. 6 election for Camas-Washougal voters

Camas-Washougal area voters will help decide three fire-related issues during the Aug. 6 primary election. The three measures on the Aug. 6 ballot include a levy lid lift for the East County Fire and Rescue District, which responds to fires and medical emergencies in the rural area north of Camas and Washougal, and two bonds to build new fire stations — a headquarters station in downtown Camas and a replacement station in Washougal — for the Camas Washougal Fire Department (CWFD). Ballots for the Aug. 6 election were mailed to Clark County voters by July 19. To be counted, ballots must be postmarked by Aug. 6, or deposited into an official ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 6. The deadline to register or update an existing voter registration online is July 29. If registering or updating voter registration information in person at the county’s elections office, the deadline is Aug. 6. The county will certify the election Aug. 20. Proposition No. 4: $26.3M bond to build a CWFD headquarters station in downtown Camas Proposition 4 asks city of Camas voters to approve a 26-year, $26.3 million bond to replace the Camas-Washougal Fire Department’s headquarters station — Fire Station 41 — in downtown Camas with a new building that would be able to safety house emergency responders and their firefighting/EMS gear and vehicles and respond to emergencies in downtown Camas and its surrounding neighborhoods. Camas-Washougal Fire Chief Cliff Free has said building the new headquarters station and replacing the CWFD’s failing Fire Station 41 in downtown Camas is one of his top priorities. “This will be a building that serves this area’s emergency (fire and medical) needs for the next 50 years,” Free said. “This station is designed to (provide) our emergency service response for downtown Camas … and we are trying to do this as cost-effectively as we can.” A 2021 consultants’ report showed Fire Station 41 does not meet the guidelines for “an essential facility,” and would not withstand a major earthquake. The consultants hired to conduct the analysis said the CWFD headquarters should have been replaced by 2024. The bond also would provide $900,000 to purchase a new fire engine. “We need this as soon as possible,” Free told city officials in January. If approved, the $26.3 million bond would build a two-story headquarters fire station with crew accommodations on the second floor and operations, administrative offices and a public meeting room on the first floor on a city-owned site currently occupied by the Camas City Hall Annex building, at 528 N.E. Fourth Ave. in downtown Camas. Consultants had initially discounted the “annex site” due to its inability to accommodate the entire CWFD headquarters program and drive-thru vehicle bays, but realized the site could work if City officials were willing to vacate, or close off, a portion of Northeast Everett Street between Third and Fourth avenues. “We went back to the list and said, ‘What can we do to make it work for us?’” Free told Council members in early 2024. “If we vacate the north half of Everett Street, we could create the space we need.” Closing the north half of Everett Street, or the portion closest to Northeast Fourth Avenue, would still give private property owners access to Everett Street from Northeast Third Avenue and could create a small public “pocket park” along Northeast Fourth Avenue, Free said. Fire engines and other CWFD vehicles could directly access Northeast Third Avenue and avoid driving along the smaller, more crowded Northeast Fourth Avenue, the fire chief explained, adding that the downtown “annex site” has several pros, including the fact that it is central to the Fire Station 41 target area, has “a clear egress path to Northeast Third Avenue,” is close to the CWFD Fire Marshal Office, is already owned by the City and could help the Camas develop a municipal center complex in the heart of its downtown. The bond would cost Camas property owners 13 cents per $1,000 assessed property value (APV) annually, which would be about $84 a year, or $7 a month, for the owner of a home assessed at $650,000. Three former city officials — Don Chaney, a former Camas police chief and former Camas City Council member; Greg Anderson, another former Camas City Council member; and Camas Parks and Recreation Commission President Ellen Burton, who also is a former Camas City Council member and a former mayor of Camas — wrote a joint argument in favor of passing the proposition and building the new CWFD fire station headquarters. “Passing this critical bond means Camas will replace the failing, inadequate 57-year-old downtown Camas Fire Station 41, with a modest, modern and functional headquarters and living spaces for first responders. It also funds a replacement $900,000 fire engine that’s dependable, not broken, and unavailable,” Anderson, Burton and Chaney stated in their online voter’s guide argument in favor of Proposition 4. They also noted how much conditions have changed since the City built Fire Station 41 in 1967, stating that, “when Station 41 opened … it served 5,000 Camasonians,” and adding that “the current team works 24-hour shifts providing both emergency medical and firefighting services for over 27,000 citizens.” They argue that “the existing station is too small, lacks required health and safety updates and risks collapse during a significant earthquake. This jeopardizes first responders and could delay, or damage essential equipment needed for community response. It also lacks crucial, current decontamination facilities that limit firefighters’ exposure to carcinogens. Additionally, bathroom, shower and changing facilities are insufficient for a diverse workforce and proper ventilation is needed to prevent unhealthy exhaust fumes from entering City offices. Thus, Camas officials concluded, it’s not feasible to improve or fix the current station.” Gary Gaskill, a Clark County Republican Party precinct committee officer who resides in Camas, penned an argument in the voter’s guide against the proposition, and said he believes now is not the right time to pass the bond. “We all care deeply about our fire and emergency medical services and the job they do. We also care about our citizens on fixed income during rapid price inflation. Our jobs and cost of living adjustments aren’t keeping up with inflation,” Gaskill argued. “We are broke, so now is not the time to saddle us with 26 years of debt for an expensive facility that may be given to a new Regional Fire Authority (RFA) in a few years.” City officials in Camas and Washougal are currently exploring the idea of bringing a regional fire authority vote to both cities’ residents in the near future, but have said the creation of an RFA is separate from the need to replace aging fire stations in Camas and Washougal. Proposition 12: $15.7M bond to replace CWFD Fire Station 43 in Washougal Proposition 12, approved by the Washougal City Council in April, would authorize the City to construct and equip a new fire station adjacent to its police station; issue $15.7 million of general obligation bonds, maturing within a maximum of 29 years; and collect excess property taxes annually to repay the bonds. Washougal Mayor David Stuebe has said the new station will serve as a cornerstone for the city of Washougal. “I think it’s something for the next 50 years,” he said during an open-house session at Station 43 in Washougal in April. “If we’re going to build Washougal right, we want to be proud of our city. … We’re a growing city. People are proud to live here. I think the whole community will be proud to say, ‘That’s our firehouse. We were responsible for building this thing.’” City leaders announced their intention to construct a new facility in December 2023, saying the current fire station needs “immediate and total replacement.” “When all the water comes down the street, we (place) sandbags here because the station sits so much lower than the main road, to protect from water coming down into this walkway,” CWFD firefighter Vic Compher said in a City video. “Our only ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act-accessible) entrance into this building is actually through this front door, which is blocked by the sandbags, so technically, it’s not really an ADA entrance.” The station has also experienced “sewage backups,” does not have a dedicated space for decontaminating clothing and gear after responding to a fire, and lacks an exhaust system for fire engines to maintain healthy air quality, according to Compher. “After we have a fire, we have to come back and decontaminate our gear (using our) extractor for our turnouts,” he said. “But sitting right next to that is our laundry facility for cleaning our towels, washcloths and uniforms. It’s just not a big enough space. All of these things should be separated to keep our carcinogens out of our personal clothing and our uniforms. “While it’s a big engine bay and there’s enough room, we don’t have a way to mitigate the exhaust that’s in the engine bays when we fire the engines up to take them back out of the fire station,” he continued. “And then the carcinogens that are from the exhaust can get pushed into our living quarters.” The building is “over 50 years old and was not built to meet modern earthquake construction standards, meaning the firefighters in this building may not be able to respond after a natural disaster,” according to a statement in favor of the bond published in the Clark County Voters Pamphlet written by Jim Crawford, Ernie Suggs and Rod Morris. “Unfortunately, the issues can’t be fixed,” Compher said. “We’ll have to demolish a building and put up a new one.” The new fire station would be adjacent to and adjoining with the Washougal Police Department station to allow for shared use of break rooms, fitness facilities and a training/community room, according to the City. “The City has chosen a cost-effective solution by combining facilities with the existing police station,” according to the “pro” statement. “City leadership is also meeting some of the expenses by using existing funds to reduce the amount of the bond. Those steps bring the expense of the bond to about 18 cents per thousand, costing the typical home in Washougal less than $10 per month.” The City is securing the bond with an estimated 4.66% interest rate over a 25-year term. The monthly cost for the owner of a median priced home in Washougal ($583,000) would be $8.74, according to the City. Compher said if the bond does not pass, firefighters will continue to work out of the aging Washougal fire station. “But eventually we’ll have trouble responding here when people need us, and we’ll have trouble hiring good candidates for the fire service,” he added. Proposition No. 5: ECFR levy lid lift The East County Fire and Rescue District, which responds to approximately 1,100 fire- and emergency medical-related calls per year and serves more than 10,500 people who live in a 60-square-mile area north of Camas and Washougal, is asking voters in its district to approve a levy lid lift to help keep its two fire stations — Station 91 north of Camas and Station 94 north of Washougal — open and fully staffed and address its emergency vehicle needs. “The district has experienced a high turnover among part-time staff as they leave for full-time firefighter positions with other agencies. Frequently, the district has been unable to fill vacant part-time positions, requiring our limited number of full-time staff to work significant overtime, increasing expenses and stressing our personnel. When we are unable to maintain sufficient on-duty personnel, we are forced to temporarily close Station 94, one of the district’s on-duty staffed fire stations,” ECFR officials stated on the district’s web page detailing the levy lid lift. “It’s clear that our community’s safety demands a more stable solution. Transitioning to increased full-time staffing at Stations 91 and 94 is not just about maintaining our high standards; it’s an investment in the reliability and efficiency of services crucial to our community’s well-being. This approach would ensure that (ECFR) fire and rescue services remain ready, responsive and financially responsible, reflecting the values we all share for a safe and secure community.” The district said it “diligently maintains emergency apparatus to extend their usable lives,” but that nearly half of its fire engines and water tenders have reached the end of their usable lifespans. “We must purchase replacements and prefer to pay cash instead of financing these purchases, saving taxpayers money in interest payments,” the district stated. “We must also replace firefighter equipment, such as protective clothing and emergency radios, on a mandated regular basis.” If approved, the one-year levy lid lift would restore the fire district’s voter-approved levy rate to $1.50 per $1,000 assessed property value (APV) — increasing from its current $1.08 per $1,000 APV — and raise enough money to fund four full-time firefighters to staff both stations full-time and save money to purchase two new fire engines and water tenders within the next eight years. The levy lid lift would cost the owner of a $600,000 home $252 a year, or $21 a month for one year. The last time the district levied its $1.50 per $1,000 APV rate was in 2019.

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