Kibbee tabbed to fill Fire District 13 vacancy

Fire District 13 Commissioners Chuck Hedlund and Arne Fohn settled on a match for the vacancy on their three-member panel, avoiding punting the selection to the Skagit County Board of Commissioners.

Former Shelter Bay Board President Larry Kibbee was appointed and sworn into office during a sparsely attended special meeting Wednesday afternoon at the district’s Station 2 offices on SneeOosh Road.

Kibbee replaces former commissioner and veteran firefighter Doug Avery, who stepped down in April.

A native of South Dakota, Kibbee was one of four candidates for the post.

The others were former commission member Jim Grove, firefighter Ted Taylor, and Ron McFarlane, husband of District 13 Secretary Deborah McFarlane. Grove, as an incumbent, lost a spirited commission election race last November to Fohn, a La Conner area farmer.

Still, it was hardly a snap decision for Fohn and Hedlund.

They had met and taken no action on the vacancy matter two days earlier. After interviewing all four candidates, Hedlund announced that they could not agree on an appointment and would ask the county commissioners to decide.

But the two board members renewed their deliberations in a 20-minute closed session on Wednesday.

“We want to thank all four of these candidates,” Hedlund said prior to his and Fohn’s final review.

“This will be a tough choice,” he said. “Any of you who want to help with the district down the road, you’re welcome to it.”

Horn opened the door further on that option by saying he hopes to enlist the three runners-up to serve on a district advisory board.

“I’m looking forward to working with you,” Kibbee told Hedlund and Fohn upon receiving the appointment.

Kibbee, who ended his term as the board president of Shelter Bay Community in May, said he is looking forward to serving the district. He said he believes Fire District 13 is vitally important to Shelter Bay, and he believes it is one of the finest fire organizations in the state and that he is impressed with its operations.

The first order of business for Kibbee will be to wade through a slew of paperwork, much of it related to the district’s $741,000 budget and development of a long-range vision statement.

In the meantime, he will be brought up to speed on the district’s wide range of services and policies, including but not limited to fire prevention and emergency medical responses.

Kibbee is coming aboard in the wake of recent turmoil in the district. This newspaper sued Fire District 13 over violations of the state’s open government laws earlier this year. The district settled the lawsuit quickly, paying the legal bills and promising that its management would receive training in complying with public records and open meeting laws.

During his interview as a candidate for the position last week, Kibbee stated that he is well versed on open meeting and public records laws, having served at the helm of a governing body representing community residents.