PORT TOWNSEND — A $530,000 bond to replace a Discovery Bay Fire & Rescue station has passed.
The bond measure, which appeared to be failing by a small margin Tuesday night, received a reversal of fortune when additional votes counted Wednesday pushed the approval numbers over the 60 percent supermajority threshold needed for passage of a bond.
“I’m thrilled,” said Willie Knoepfle, the department’s chief, one of 16 volunteers.
“We are going to get started on building a nice metal building for the community.”
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office counted an additional 953 ballots Wednesday. In other measures, the numbers changed but the outcomes did not.
On Election Day, the Auditor’s Office said that the next count would be Friday.
Betty Johnson, election coordinator, said that the office counted all the ballots that came in the mail Wednesday along with those from drop boxes.
“We counted today instead of Friday because a couple of issues were close,” Johnson said in an email.
“Our next count will depend on how many valid ballots come in tomorrow’s mail.”
The second count reflected approval of the Discovery Bay fire district bond from 109 voters, or 62.29 percent. Opposed to the measure were 66 voters, or 37.71 percent.
In Tuesday night’s initial count, 98 voters, or 59.76 percent, approved the measure while 66, or 40.24 percent, opposed it.
The money will be used to replace Fire Station 51 on the corner of Bentley Place and East Uncas Road in Discovery Bay.
The new building will have a metal frame structure of about 9,400 square feet, with four equipment bays, office space and a training-meeting room that also would be available for community events and a shelter in the event of an emergency, the district says on its website.
Knoepfle said that some plans have been discussed but will move forward more quickly “now that we have the money.”
The first step is to begin the permit process, he said.
The bond would be paid over 20 years. It will cost taxpayers an estimated levy of $1,88 per $1,000, or about $53 per year on a home assessed at $100,000.
After Wednesday’s count, the Chimacum School District’s $29.1 million construction bond remained below the needed 60 percent supermajority for passage, with 2,710 votes, or 57.97 percent, approving it and 1,965, or 42.03 percent opposing it.
Port Townsend’s $40.9 million construction bond gained more approval, passing with 4,830, or 73.23 percent, approving it.
Quilcene School District’s four-year maintenance and operation levy also continued to pass, with 433 votes, or 67.24 percent approval, as did Brinnon School District’s two-year maintenance and operation levy, garnering 325 votes, or 64.74 percent, approval.
The proposed $54 million Sequim School District bond continued to fail, receiving a majority vote but not the 60 percent supermajority it needed.
The total from counts in both Clallam and Jefferson counties was 7,441, or 57.02 percent, approving it, to 5,609, or 42.98 percent, opposed.
