Community News 9/26/08
Fire department headquarters will move
By Mike Huffman
Spokane Valley News Editor

The administration for the Spokane Valley Fire Department will be on the move in the not-too-distant future.

After discussing the matter at two meetings, the board of commissioners for the department decided Tuesday that – barring any unforeseen events – the headquarters for Valley Fire should be located next to the existing Station 8 at 2110 N. Wilbur.

That location, approximately a quarter-mile west of Pines Road on Montgomery Avenue, may be a bit off the beaten path now, but Fire Chief Mike Thompson said the area will be one to watch in the future.

“Looking into a crystal ball, that area is ripe for development,” Thompson said. “Just look at what’s taking place now east of Pines.”

Pines, Montgomery and Mansfield are currently in the midst of an overhaul to improve traffic in the often-congested intersection at the freeway. The fact that the Union Pacific Railroad main line is also at that location doesn’t improve matters, but the tracks will be abandoned as part of the “Bridging the Valley” plan in the future.

Money to fund a new fire administration building will come from the nearly $12 million approved by voters who agreed to lift the existing levy from $1.23 per $1,000 assessed property value to $1.50 for six years.

That money is also used to construct a new Fire Station 9, which was dedicated at 32nd and Whipple Road on Sept. 11.

The district is also planning a new Station 10 to be built at 17217 E. Sprague, which was the second choice for a new administration building. That was deemed to be too far east of the central city area by commissioners.

The fire department is looking to move out of its space at 10319 E. Sprague at Station 1 due to shrinking space. The old meeting room for the commissioners at that location has been converted to office space, so the board now meets at Station 8.

It was also discussed to build a new administration building near the proposed city center at Sprague and University. However, it was decided it would be too costly as land alone could cost more than $1.3 million.

It’s likely fire officials won’t be ready to occupy the new space until 2010.
“We’re still a couple of years away,” Thompson said.