Voters take first step in seceding from Fire District 13

More than 90 voters on the northeast end of Fire District 13 on Friday submitted a petition to the county auditor seeking to withdraw from that district and join neighboring Fire District 2.

David Cunningham, county elections supervisor with the auditor’s office, said the county has 10 days — until March 14 — to determine whether the petition meets legal requirements set out by state law and validate the signatures.

Voters in the Channel Drive neighborhood, as well as voters on Downey Road and along McLean Road to the border of Fire District 2, signed the petition.

Cunningham said that if the wording on the petition does not meet legal requirements, it will be bounced back to the voters. He said while the county is not allowed to provide legal advice, he’s inclined to let them know what any potential deficiencies may be, should any be found.

Channel Drive homeowners Linda Ryan and Dave Buchan, who are spearheading the move to detach from Fire District 13 and merge with Fire District 2, point to response times and the main driver.

According to the group’s documentation, Fire District 13 responds from Snee-Oosh Road west of the channel, which means the units drive through Swinomish Village, across the Rainbow Bridge and through the Town of La Conner and north on La Conner Whitney Road to get to the neighborhood.

Fire District 2’s McLean Road Fire Station is a straight shot to Channel Drive and is 1.4 miles closer to the neighborhood than the Snee-Oosh Road station.

The 911 dispatch records indicate that as of Monday, Fire District 13 had not responded to a single call in the area seeking to withdraw so far this year. Most of its calls are in Shelter Bay, Swinomish Village and the Swinomish Casino, which is an area not supported by taxpayers.

About 29 percent of the district’s taxpaying property owners are on land east of the Swinomish Channel — the remainder comes from privately owned “fee simple” land on the Swinomish Reservation and from property owners in the east Anacortes area.

On Monday, the three-member Fire District 13 Board of Commissioners — Arne Fohn, Chuck Hedlund and Larry Kibbee — were scheduled to hold a secret meeting in the Bellingham office of the district’s lawfirm, Chmelik, Sitkin and Davis. The purpose of the meeting was to “discuss with the District legal counsel litigation or legal risks of a proposed action or current practice that is likely to result in adverse legal or financial consequences to the agency.”

District 13 Fire Chief Roy Horn would not say what the meeting was about, and when asked about the petition to withdraw from the district by a portion of its taxpayers, said, “I have no knowledge of that whatsoever.”

This newspaper first reported in September last year about a move afoot for many taxpayers east of the channel, including on Channel Drive and Pleasant Ridge to detach from District 13.

Should the Channel Drive neighborhood petition be found insufficient, the move will essentially be dead in the water.

If it is legal and allowed to move forward, the issue will go before the Fire District 13 commission, which must study the pros and cons. Cunningham said that one scenario would be approval. If the Fire District 13 denies the petition, the Skagit County Board of Commissioners will be asked to weigh in.

If both governmental bodies deny it, the matter could go to an election — and the lion’s share of the district’s voters live on the west side of the channel.

County Commissioner Ron Wesen said taxing districts can merge back and forth, and there is a legal process to be followed.

Wesen wouldn’t tip his hand on how he feels about the area leaving Fire District 13 to join Fire District 2, since he may be called upon to make a decision on it at some point.

However, he said, “I definitely understand what the issue is, and I’m very sympathetic to the concerns the people have.”

Also, he said, “I think it’s good they are going through the process.”