 |
There are construction plans in the Spokane Valley Fire Department’s future.
Fire commissioners Monday approved a $29.5 million budget – up from $26.8 million last year – for 2010 that will include the construction of a new $2.2 million fire station. The structure, dubbed Station 10, will be built at 17217 E. Sprague and will replace temporary quarters in a manufactured home.
The station was to have been built this year, but commissioners agreed to hold off when the economy turned sour a year ago. The plan is to start construction next spring with completion in the fall.
To make the budget work, the commissioners agreed to take advantage of the voter-authorized levy lid lift to $1.50 per $1,000 assessed property valuation in 2010. The additional revenue – the district’s levy was set at $1.44 this year – will help ensure that more is set aside for a “rainy day” fund while the construction project continues.
“It would put more into the reserve,” Chief Mike Thompson told the commissioners on Monday. He added that continuing the construction project would also put the money “back into the local economy.”
Spokane Valley voters overwhelmingly agreed in 2007 to allow the fire department to raise the levy to $1.50 for six years in order to pay for several new construction and remodeling projects. Fire Station 9, at 32nd and Whipple Road, was finished last year while Station 10 was put on hold temporarily. The new stations replace two medic houses, which are unable to house larger equipment.
Also on the horizon is a plan to build a new administration building adjacent to the existing Station 8, located at Wilbur and Montgomery. That project is now slated for 2011.
The budget also includes:
- $40,000 for the creation of a swift-water rescue team.
- $500,000 to replace a 1999 rescue truck, complete with life-saving equipment.
- A 2-percent raise for the department’s 175 employees. Thompson’s raise, should he receive one, will be determined by the commissioners as part of an annual review process.
|
|
By
Mike Huffman
