Fire District 12 to ask county to appoint commissioner

Not much business was accomplished even in the face of a deadline at the September Fire District 12 Commissioners meeting Monday night. Commissioners Dennis O’Hern and Norm Jenkins approved the agenda and voted to adjourn, but in between could not reach agreement on their key need: appointing a candidate to fill the seat left vacant by Greg John’s June resignation.

Since O’Hern and Jenkins did not agree on whom to appoint within three months, as prescribed in the state of Washington’s Revised Code, the Skagit County commissioners will fill the position.

In August, the fire district commissioners had interviewed Justin John, a fire department member. Monday they interviewed Donald Hoare, another department member. When O’Hern, chair of the commission, asked for nominations, Jenkins nominated Hoare. O’Hern seconded, “for discussion’s sake,” but voted against Hoare’s appointment.

O’Hern then nominated John and called for a second. Jenkins asked if the chair could legally make that motion then assented to it. Jenkins stayed silent when a second to the motion was called for, dooming it.

Jenkins stayed silent again after O’Hern made a motion to send the candidates’ names to the county commissioners. With “no second, that motion dies as well,” O’Hern declared. He said he would “pass the list of candidates to the county commissioners. They have six months to make a decision.”

Neither O’Hern nor Jenkins have spoken to the commissioners and could not say what their decision would be. The county commissioners can appoint any resident of the fire district to the unexpired term, which runs through 2019.

O’Hern asked for public comment. Doug Peterson, in the audience, expressed his disappointment, saying he “wanted the record to show that the refusal to second a motion allows for no discussion, defeating the parliamentary process.” Peterson is a candidate for the open seat created by O’Hern’s retirement in December.

In other business, the commissioners continued their discussion for contracting to install a sprinkler system in the fire house, a project that has not been executed for some years. Information on bids is to be gathered and brought to the October meeting.