PORT TOWNSEND – In the wake of the defeat of a proposal to raise the levy rate for fire services within the city of Port Townsend, staff with both the city and East Jefferson Fire-Rescue are seeking funding for equipment repairs and other district expenses.
“We need to replace our aging fleet,” said fire district Chief Gordon Pomeroy.
“Two of our five engines are in bad repair or out of commission.”
In order to streamline fire services, Port Townsend city officials have said the city must join with the fire district, either through creation of a regional fire authority or by annexing the city into it.
Port Townsend is not now part of the district. It contracts with the district for fire and emergency medical services.
A proposed levy lid lift, which was on the Aug. 17 primary election ballot for Port Townsend voters, was intended to provide funding for fire services within the Port Townsend city limit until the new fire structure was established.
The levy raise would have generated $620,000 and raised tax rates about $3 for a $300,000 home. Voters defeated the measure, 54.14 percent to 45.16 percent.
Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said the city has not yet had time to develop alternate funding sources, but expects to do so during the budget process, which began Thursday.
“We need to find long-term funding but also need to immediately deal with some service issues,” Timmons said.
Pomeroy said the district may not have adequate resources to handle a major fire.
One of the two questionable engines, a 1986 Chevrolet, has been repaired many times with cannibalized parts from other engines, but its capabilities are far short of what is needed, he said.
The second, a 2001 Pierce engine, is even less reliable, he added.
Pomeroy said the truck has an unpredictable electrical problem that causes it to stops short at random times.
“We can drive down the street and it just stops and then starts up again a few minutes later,” he said.
“We repair it and take it on a two-hour test drive and nothing happens. But the next time we take it out it just stops again,” Pomeroy said.
The engine’s anomaly means that the district cannot rely on the truck, so it is not used on fire calls if it can be avoided, the chief said.
Both engines are usable and will more than likely function in an emergency, but Pomeroy said, “We now have no backup and if we lose another engine, we will be in big trouble.”
The district’s seven ambulances are in slightly better shape but still in need of repair.
Pomeroy said that he hoped to allocate the funds generated by the levy to pay for some equipment costs, and also to cover staffing costs in the Lawrence Street station.
A new engine costs between $350,000 and $425,000, while ambulances range between $160,000 and $200,000 Pomeroy said.
The district commissioners are next scheduled to meet on Sept. 21, when Pomeroy will present next year’s budget figures, requiring $3.276 million for fire and $2,521 for emergency medical services.
Pomeroy expects to propose that the district offer bonds to raise funds to replace the fleet.
“We need to replace the entire fleet with the same type of engines and ambulances so they all use the same parts,” Pomeroy said.
Pomeroy said the ambulances he’d like to purchase incorporate a replaceable chassis system.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
