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Fire commissioners walk off job after levy loss

by Meg Olson

Point Roberts Fire District 5 ­ it would make great television, but what will make it a great fire department?

Voters gave an emphatic no to the proposition they pay double the fire taxes and the two commissioners who supported the plan sulked away, submitting letters of resignation. That left Bill Meursing the only survivor on the board, but effectively incapacitated since it takes two to vote. County council will need to come to the rescue, by appointing a commissioner; Meursing and the new commissioner can appoint a third. The trio will have the task of deciding how much fire and emergency medical protection the Point can buy with the current taxation level and whether the district will remain partnered with North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Services.

Over 80 percent of those who voted were against increasing the fire levy mill rate from 78 cents to $1.44. Countywide, voters also rejected a proposed levy for a new Emergency Medical Service (EMS) tax that would have brought an approximate $100,000 a year to help fund EMS on the Point. The measure needed the support of 60 percent of voters to pass, but only got 40 percent of the votes.

With Lofquist running for re-election unopposed, voters couldn’t register their disapproval by voting against him, but they could and did withhold their votes. Of the 376 registered voters who cast a ballot only 109 punched Lofquist’s name on the ballot, while 254 voted for Meursing, also running unopposed. Former fire chief David Gellatly received 76 votes as a write-in candidate for Lofquist’s position following a three-day campaign.

The fire district’s regular monthly meeting on November 13 was almost canceled because Lofquist and Frantz had indicated they would not attend, but Lofquist agreed to take up the chair one last time to insure volunteers stipends were approved by Christmas and bills got paid, since Meursing can take no action as a solitary commissioner.

Bills and the two resignations were all the business the board attempted in the 30-minute meeting. Lofquist received Meursing’s approval to postpone considering a preliminary budget for 2004 and a draft auditor’s finding. “Given the current status of the board I’ll postpone those until future meetings,” Lofquist said.

In their letters of resignation both Lofquist and Frantz predicted the levels of fire and EMS service on the Point would plummet without the tax increase. “I am unable to participate in the collapse of a structure which I, and so many others, have dedicated ourselves with such passion and pride,” Lofquist wrote.

Meursing acknowledged the defeat of the levy and the subsequent resignations would rock the district but appeared optimistic it would also knock it onto a path more appropriate for community needs. “We’re starting completely over,” he said. “In the meantime we’re in limbo a little bit. Just one person can’t do much, can’t do anything.”

Whatcom County Council clerk Dana Brown-Davis said council would consider a resolution at their November 25 meeting acknowledging the situation and their intention to appoint a commissioner to one of the two vacant positions. “It alerts the public to the fact we’re doing it so people can submit names,” she said. “We hope to have the position filled the first meeting in December or the first in January,” she said. Gellatly said he would be pursuing one of the two vacancies. “That’s definitely something I’d be interested in,” he said.

Gellatly said his initial position was that the district wasn’t getting much return on its investment in NWFRS and might want to consider a more limited partnership.

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