GARDINER — Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge has certified a petition from Gardiner residents who want to be part of Clallam County Fire District No. 3 instead of Jefferson County Fire District No. 5.
Eldridge said the group collected a total of 204 valid signatures from Jefferson County precincts 101, 102 and section 4 of 103.
That number is more than 60 percent of the registered voters in the area, meaning that no election is necessary. The petition will be presented straight to Clallam County Fire District No. 3 commissioners.
State law considers the proposed change to be a partial merger of one district into another, said Bob Rhoads, public information officer for Clallam Fire District 3. The proposal is only for the three precincts from which signatures for the petition were collected.
The board of commissioners is scheduled to meet Tuesday. Rhoads did not know on Thursday if commissioners would discuss the matter then.
Attempts to contact commissioners from both Clallam County Fire District No. 3 and Jefferson County Fire District No. 5 were unsuccessful Thursday.
Aug. 1 deadline
Jefferson County Assessor Jack Westerman III confirmed that taxing districts in the state must have their boundaries set on Aug. 1 for the upcoming year.
According to state law, Clallam Fire District No. 3 must adopt a resolution declaring Gardiner to be within its boundaries before the Aug. 1 deadline in order for changes to be made to the taxing district for 2010.
In June, groups of Gardiner residents twice gathered at the Gardiner Community Center to discuss the proposed annexation of their homes into the Clallam district.
Klaus Hintermayr, who led the campaign to get the signatures, said the reason for the proposal is that only a handful of able-bodied volunteers have been left in the Gardiner district.
Also, Hintermayr said if an emergency occurs while no one is on duty at the part-time station, Gardiner residents must wait for help from Quilcene or Port Ludlow, both of which are about 20 miles away.
Clallam County Fire District No. 3 has a station in Blyn, about 5 miles from Gardiner.
The Blyn station is staffed 24 hours a day by a certified firefighter and an EMT, said Clallam County Fire District No. 3 Chief Stephen Vogel.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsula dailynews.com.
