Public Safety & City Services Campus

Other Frequently Asked Questions

How will it be paid for?

The Fire District and the City were able to purchase the property via reserves saved for over time, and the two agencies have developed an interlocal agreement that addresses expenses and long-term repayment for the purchase and construction. The City is also working independently on a variety of funding options for construction, including requests for funding from governmental partners, low interest loans, and use of internal reserves set aside for public projects like these. The Fire District project will be funded from reserves and the recently passed Levy Lid Lift.

What are the benefits of a combined campus?

Locating fire services, police services, and city services on one site will enhance communication between agencies, providing improved service to the community. Consolidating city services in the same area will provide more efficient access for the public and creating multi-use meeting rooms and parking areas will be more cost-effective for taxpayers. The City currently has staff and equipment scattered across a half dozen locations, some in facilities that are over a century old. The existing infrastructure no longer supports the service needs of our growing community. The costs to upgrade facilities to current needs approach the costs to build new facilities, without adding additional capacity for future needs. Building a combined campus will protect taxpayers from the costs of ongoing facility improvements that are projected to support the services the community will require in the coming years. In addition, the new facilities will be designed to be much more accessible, energy efficient, and environmentally sustainable than any of the existing facilities.

Several other cities in Snohomish County have recently moved to—or are in the process of developing—a similar model, including Granite Falls, Marysville, Lake Stevens, and Mountlake Terrace. Our campus project will be unique in seamlessly combining two separate projects through the collaborative efforts of the City and Fire District 4.

The Fire District already has a headquarters off Avenue D. Why is this needed?

Snohomish County Fire District No. 4 commissioned a comprehensive study that identified current deficiencies and future needs of the District. Their stations were designed for volunteer staffing and not full-time firefighters, which our community requires. The current stations delay the Fire District’s ability to respond, with large, segregated areas and multiple floors. The District requires earthquake-proof structures and additional space for firefighters. The Fire District also requires modern decontamination areas to meet health and safety needs of firefighters and stations that can shelter emergency apparatus. The comprehensive study determined that locating the headquarters at a central station in the area proposed for the new campus would better serve the entire District.

Why wasn’t the former Snohomish County Public Works site considered?

While the Fire District had considered Snohomish County’s former Public Works site off Avenue D, that location does not achieve an increased level of service for overall operations, so it was removed from further consideration.

What does this mean for the City’s current Public Works Shop site, or potential development of “the pit” on City property located off Three Lakes Road?

A feasibility study of “the pit” was completed while the City was exploring options for this campus. The City would like to move as many of its operations to one location as possible to better serve residents. Architectural programming shows that all staff and most operational needs can be accommodated on the new campus site. The current goal is complete the campus, and then consolidate operations at the current Public Works Shop site into a smaller footprint so that a large portion of the property can be repurposed into a community space. This may include additional parking, improved river access, a small amphitheater for outdoor performances and movie nights, areas for community markets and/or food trucks, community rentals, etc. The pit off Three Lakes Road would be retained for additional Public Works operational needs. 

Did the Fire District use eminent domain to condemn the property for the new facilities?

No, the seller and the Fire District reached a voluntary purchase and sale agreement. However, eminent domain was a possibility if a voluntary agreement was not reached, so the Fire District Board passed a resolution stating that. This allowed for clear negotiations and provided advantages to the seller that would not be available in a purchase and sale agreement with a private party. 

How much was the agreed value? 

The value was set by fair market value through the process of mediation. The final price was agreed at $6,350,000. 

What environmental concerns were identified?

During the feasibility period, the City’s geotechnical consultant developed a robust testing plan but their access to the site was restricted and the testing plan had to be modified. That round of analysis identified the possible presence of arsenic and Tetrachloroethylene. These preliminary findings suggested clean-up costs could be anywhere from $300k to over $1M, and that additional testing that went deeper and included access to more locations on the parcels would be needed to determine the extent of potential contamination.
 The property owners independently hired a separate geotechnical consultant who was given access to the full site. Their testing, completed with a different testing method and lab, did not show the same levels of contamination and estimated that clean-up costs were more likely to be less than $200,000. 

The parties followed an agreed upon mediation process, which set a $1M “hold-back” from the purchase price to remain in escrow while a third geotechnical analysis is completed. The Fire District hired a mutually agreed upon consultant who will be sampling the same locations where possible arsenic and Tetrachloroethylene contamination had been identified, in addition to other locations on the property now that the Fire District owns the parcels and all tenants have vacated their properties. That work is expected to be completed in January or February, with a final report and cost estimate for any potential clean-up requirements to follow. That information will be used to determine any final hold-back amounts from the purchase price to cover clean-up and/or construction costs directly linked to environmental mitigation. Both the City and Fire District continue to work with Restorical Research to identify old insurance policies with funds that can be recovered to reimburse for possible clean-up costs. 

What happens to the current fire stations?

The current station off Maple will be maintained as a support services area. The station on Avenue D will be used until the construction of the new campus is completed, at which point it will be rebuilt to incorporate the needed earthquake, apparatus and firefighter health and safety issues. Renovations and/or construction of these projects will not impact the level of emergency services. 

What happens to the joint ownership in the current stations?

The current interlocal agreement (ILA) between the City and Fire District 4 was completed in 2004 and was in need of updates. The two agencies have developed a new ILA that clearly separates ownership of existing facilities while continuing the same collaborative working relationships into the future.

Is this plan going to raise my taxes?

Neither the City nor Fire District #4 have current plans to ask the citizens for new taxes to complete any of these capital projects. The Fire District’s capital facilities plan has been in effect for some time and their current levies, as have been passed and renewed since 2011, will fund their projects. 

How long will it take? 

The City and Fire District are partnering on requirements for road and utility improvements. The site will be secured with construction fencing, with demolition and site grading expected to start in Q1 of 2024. The Fire District anticipates starting construction in early-2025, with the City likely to follow later in 2025 or 2026. Additional improvements at the other fire stations and City properties will not start until construction at the campus is largely completed.