University Place, Lakewood discuss fire department merger
BRENT CHAMPACO; Staff writer
University Place and Lakewood fire officials say merging the two districts makes financial sense. Some residents support the move, while others doubt whether their tax dollars would be spent wisely.
About 60 people attended a University Place Fire District 3 board meeting Tuesday night to discuss a proposed merger.
“I firmly believe this is a good deal for Lakewood; I do not believe this is a good deal for University Place.” said Scott Stephen, a UP resident who questioned whether his city needs the same full-time specialty services as its big-city neighbor.
Bill Bush, UP’s former fire chief, said the two districts have common interests. He said that wasn’t necessarily the case in the 1990s, when other merger attempts failed.
“As far as a ‘them-us’ mentality – please. We’ve been down that road before, and it serves no purpose,” he said.
After a yearlong study, the Lakewood Fire District 2 Board of Commissioners voted in January to pursue a merger. The two districts border each other in the west end of Pierce County.
Lakewood would dissolve its fire district and merge into University Place’s, which would be known locally as West Pierce Fire & Rescue. It would be governed by a single board, which initially would be composed of the merged boards.
The UP district’s board is now considering the merger and is scheduled to vote on it by early March. If the commissioners support it, then Lakewood residents, not UP’s, would vote as early as next year.
On Tuesday, chiefs of both districts – Mitch Sagers of UP and Ken Sharp of Lakewood – said a merger would be good for both communities.
The districts could pool their resources, including firetrucks, training facilities and experts, they said. Lakewood also would provide services that UP doesn’t have, such as a marine unit, which could be helpful when Pierce County opens two miles of beach at Chambers Creek Properties.
Sharp said the change would result in almost $1 million in savings to taxpayers. This year, Lakewood residents paid almost $3 per $1,000 assessed property value for fire and EMS protection, while UP residents paid $2.86 per $1,000.
Sagers said mergers – or “regionalization,” in firefighter talk – has been a trend throughout the South Sound; there were 32 fire districts or departments in 1990, compared with 21 last year.
The number could shrink by one more if voters approve merging the Edgewood Fire Department with East Pierce Fire & Rescue on Tuesday.
“All things considered, the merger is a sensible move,” Sagers said, quoting a consultant’s report from October 2009.
But some residents who spoke Tuesday didn’t agree.
Michael Holman was one of the people who pushed for University Place to become a city in 1995. He said locals wanted more autonomy of their government and tax dollars.
They would be giving up some of that power under a merger, he said.
“The fact of the matter is, you would shift control,” he said, pointing to the UP fire commissioners.
But Dixie Harris, who is active on the UP scene, said she trusts that the fire district knows what it needs to be successful.
“I can’t help but believe their decisions are in the best interests” of both cities, she said.
Brent Champaco: 253-597-8653
brent.champaco@thenewstribune.com
PUBLIC COMMENT
Residents will get another chance to speak about the proposed Lakewood-University Place fire district merger
When: At University Place's next board meeting, 6 p.m. Feb. 16
Where: Evergreen Primary School, 7102 40th St. W.
