Fire commissioners pause bond survey, board expansion talks

Published 3:30 am Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Clallam County Fire District 3 fire commissioners have agreed to halt talks on surveying the community about a potential bond to construct new fire stations and to pause any pursuit of expansion of the board from three commissioners to five.

Their decisions came at their April 7 board meeting with commissioners saying it wasn’t the right time to pursue either matter.

In recent years, fire commissioners have set a priority to replace Carlsborg Fire Station 33 due to its size and condition and place a new, larger station at the nearby Operations and Training Center nearby on Carlsborg Road.

Discussions have been ongoing about where and when other fire stations should go to match the Sequim area’s growing population.

The district firefighters’ union Local 2933 has also requested commissioners to gauge the community’s response for supporting a construction bond, which led fire commissioner Jeff Nicholas to ask staff to investigate potential costs for a survey.

Fire Chief Justin Grider said they considered different survey companies and chose FM3 Research. The consulting firm’s estimate was that to interview 300-400 locals about a potential bond, it would cost $25,000 to $31,500 depending on the amount of people interviewed and the length of the interview. However, commissioners voted 3-0 against doing a survey.

Fire commissioner Mike Mingee said the survey was a timing issue as the district likely needs to go back to voters in 24 months to renew and restore its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) levy.

“We cannot afford to not pass the EMS levy,” he said.

He also said the fire district just asked the public to renew its general levy in August.

“My God, people, this is not the time to go back for more,” Mingee said.

Clallam County Fire District 3’s general levy lid lift passed on Aug. 8, 2025 with more than 64% of voters in favor of increasing the levy rate from $1.11 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value as its rate declined over the years due to levy compression and tax revenue growth limitations.

Voters first approved the $1.50 levy rate in 2004 and restored it in 2018. It makes up about 71% of the district’s budget.

The district’s EMS levy is now at $0.34 cents per $1,000 of a home value, rather than its originally approved $0.50 rate. It makes up about 23% of the district’s budget.

Nicholas said running a bond is expensive and that they’d be required to accrue legal costs, such as receiving a bond rating.

“If we run a bond and don’t pass it, what’s the cost of that, one to two (firefighters)?” he said.

Mingee said residents are experiencing sticker shock with their property tax bills, and that now wasn’t the time to talk about bonds.

Grider said in an interview an EMS lid lift will need to be done.

Part of the EMS revenues support local ambulance users who have a balance left over after a transport to the hospital, he said.

It helps those transported both by the fire district and Olympic Ambulance and the levy absorbs the remaining costs.

“It’s a good feature, but unfortunately it’s typically on the worst day of their life,” Grider said.

More discussions

At the Feb. 5 fire commissioners’ board workshop about district priorities, multiple firefighters asked commissioners to ask the public if they’d be willing to support a bond. They encouraged commissioners not to preemptively say voters would not support a bond.

Firefighters also said waiting too long will only increase costs for future fire stations while potentially cutting into expenses to hire more firefighters/medics as the district grows.

Mingee said passing a bond would be difficult due to the 60% supermajority required to pass, and that he’s concerned about any bond discussions impacting the EMS levy lid lift.

Nicholas said they should have gone for a bond five years ago, but Bill Miano, the fire commission’s board president, said the line keeps moving and they have to stop it because it keeps getting higher.

To help pay for a new Carlsborg station, fire commissioners have sold multiple district properties, and they’re considering selling a home next to Sequim Station 34 at 305 N. Fifth Ave., formerly earmarked for district use.

However, commissioners have not made a decision on the property after some pushback for proposing to sell it and not use the property for district use in some capacity.

In response to the pause on the survey, Firefighter/EMT Jon Donahue, representing the firefighters’ union Local 2933, wrote in an email that they’re “extremely disappointed that the commissioners decided not to run a survey to gauge potential bond support, but we respect their sentiment to ease the financial burden on property owners given the current cost-of-living increases and an uncertain economic future.”

“However, Fire District 3 is understaffed, facing high call volume plus an extreme workload and we need more resources to effectively protect life and property,” he wrote.

“We anxiously await a financial plan to scale up the department over the next few years, enabling us to serve the community and its growing needs.

“The department must double in size soon or risk detrimental impacts to safety, recruitment, retention, response times, training, and the health of firefighters and constituents alike.”

Donahue said by the end of 2030, the district’s estimated 12,500 annual call load will require more fire stations, units and staff to sustainably cover the region.

“The longer the department’s imperative growth is delayed, the more it will cost taxpayers due to the rapidly growing cost of construction, vehicles, and equipment. It is regrettable that decisions weren’t made to scale up the department years ago when costs were more affordable.”

According to Battalion Chief Elliott Jones, the district responded to 9,824 calls in 2025, or about 27 calls a day.

He said they also had 207 days last year where at least four or more people were off for paid time off, comp time, and other matters.

Firefighters have emphasized that Level Zero situations have increased where all units are already responding to calls for service. District staff said they’re still trying to narrow down exact numbers for how often this happens.

The fire district currently has 55 career firefighters working three shifts.

Asked on April 7 about cutting budgeted overtime to create more positions, district staff said if it was cut in half, they could hire two more firefighters, but it would require renegotiating union contracts.

Three commissioners

Following concerns by Miano on whether the fire district should expand its board of fire commissioners from three to five or seven, they ultimately decided now was not the time.

Miano asked in February if the district must follow RCW 52.14.015 as its wording seemed vague to him and a listed threshold allows districts with a budget exceeding $10 million a year to have seven fire commissioners.

In a staff report, they wrote that expanding to a five-member board would expand representation, improve oversight, and better align future and current needs.

Neighboring districts have a mix of three- and five-member boards, while fire districts such as in Kitsap County with budgets above $10 million to have five-member boards.

Staff also estimated that if the district were to have five commissioners, it would cost much more; for example, a three-member board in 2025 costing about $72,000 a year compared to $120,000 with five members, including election costs. There would also be additional expenses for creating voter districts.

Mingee said he wasn’t in favor of expanding the board now because it’s not required, and that it’s money they don’t need to spend. He said the public is not asking for it either.

Miano said he wanted to get out in front of the potential issue as it will come up later as the district grows.

Nicholas said he wanted to wait for a joint regionalization study being done between Fire District 3, Port Angeles Fire District, and Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue.

Regionalization study

Grider said in an interview commissioners agreed last fall to budget up to $30,000 for a joint regionalization study with the other districts to see the pros and cons and costs of having one regional fire authority for three agencies spanning from Lake Crescent to Gardiner.

“We’re in our infancy,” he said. “It’s a study looking at it if it’s even possible.”

Fire chiefs were scheduled to meet on April 15.

The fire districts have agreed to work with AP Triton on a feasibility study, Grider said.

The three agencies have automatic and mutual aid responses for certain calls based on location and its qualifications, which Grider said has been working well for a few years now.

He said emergency response is one aspect they’re investigating along with training, how they deliver services, management, and much more. Grider said they are asking if there’s a better process to be better stewards of tax dollars.

For more information about Clallam County Fire District 3, visit ccfd3.org.