Fire district to consider Carlsborg station funding options

Published 2:30 am Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Fire commissioners with Clallam County Fire District 3 look to have a pathway by the end of this year to fully fund a new $6.2 million Carlsborg Fire Station 33.

On Aug. 4, they asked staff to schedule a meeting with financial consulting firm D.A. Davidson to discuss options between a non-voted bond and a private bank placement. A discussion date has not been set.

Misty Shaw, the district’s finance director, said in an interview that D.A. Davidson’s representative will look at the district’s situation and help them go through a rating process to determine what they’re eligible for and what is the best pathway.

She said they’ve been told they need about four months to go through the rating process before receiving financing, and commissioners aim to have funding available by March 2027.

The station at 70 Carlsborg Road was identified in 2025 by commissioners as the district’s most immediate capital improvement due to size, age, lack of adequate facilities, and a lack of seismic resilience.

District documents state that officials look to construct an 8,000-9,000 square foot station at the Training and Operations Center, 255 Carlsborg Road. It will include up to six apparatuses, sleeping quarters, a day room, kitchen, showers, restrooms, cardio/fitness area, a shop, decontamination room, personal protection equipment (PPE) storage, and more storage.

Fire commissioner Mike Mingee, who also serves as the project lead, said they estimate costs at about $698 a square foot for construction with about $4 million for construction, $1.7 million on soft costs, and about $400,000 for sales tax.

Commissioners agreed in May to an $807,200 contract with Aetta Architects of Tacoma for project management, and architectural and engineering services.

The district has paid $37,000 so far for work on design and project scope, staff report.

Construction would take about nine months and tentatively break ground in April 2027.

While no set amount has been determined for how much commissioners want to borrow, commissioners have discussed borrowing $4 million to $5 million.

Shaw said on Aug. 4 they’re tentatively looking at $400,000 to $500,000 in annual debt service to repay on anything they borrow.

Mingee said that amount was manageable in relation to the district’s annual budget.

The district has about $1.6 million in funds available from the sales of multiple properties in recent years, including the Lost Mountain Fire Station property.

The sale of Station 33’s two lots could help with costs as well, Mingee said.

It was built as an unstaffed station in 1964 and remodeled in 1972, 1982, and 2023.

Funding options

In February, commissioners agreed not to ask voters to approve a bond to fund the project because of its proximity to the district’s August 2025 request for voters to increase the general levy rate from $1.11 to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Its new rate went into effect this year.

Mingee said Aug. 4 that he’s not opposed to a voted bond, but is concerned about the timing and the district’s need to consider asking voters in the future to approve an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) levy lid lift.

Fire commission chairman Jeff Nicholas said they’ll likely need to go to voters late next year to renew the EMS levy.

The district receives about 71% of its budget from the general levy, 23% from the EMS levy, and the remainder from grants, timber tax revenues, and more.

When the general levy passed last summer, the EMS levy was about $0.39 per $1,000 of a home value, rather than its originally approved $0.50 rate.

Fire Chief Justin Grider said in an interview that they aren’t seeking voter bonds because it’s “not in the best interest of constituents.”

“The EMS levy coupled with a bond seems to be a bit much in the district’s mind,” he said.